Woolworths to face five-day strike

Workers at South African retailer Woolworths will embark on a nationwide strike for five days from Wednesday, demanding union recognition, the union and company said today, Tuesday 16 September.

Woolworths is taking every precaution to ensure the strike action causes minimal disruption to normal store operations, customers and employees," said Zyda Rylands.

Woolworths Chief Operating Officer Support services Mike Abrahams, spokesperson for the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers' Union (Saccawu), said: "We hope the strike brings the company back to the negotiation table but we hope they come with something different this time."

The strike is the culmination of protest actions which included the withdrawal of labour over the past few weeks over the same issue in Johannesburg on 21 August, Durban on 29 August and most recently in Cape Town last Friday, 12 September.

Abrahams said more than 60% of Woolies' workforce in big stores heeded the call to down tools in all three industrial actions.

Rylands, who has been unable to give the exact number of workers that stayed off work in all three actions, said the effect was minimal and that all stores had remained opened.

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