Dis-Chem Pharmacies said on Thursday that it has reached a satisfactory agreement with the workers’ union to end their week-long strike at its outlets.
This comes after workers affiliated to the National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (NUPSAW) last week went on a countrywide strike at Dis-Chem Pharmacies over the recognition of their union’s organisational rights.
Dis-Chem group chief executive, Ivan Saltzman, said: “The agreement reached allows NUPSAW organisational rights at the appropriate level of workforce representation, which is aligned with those that are in existence with Dis-Chem’s various other unions.”
Saltzman said that trading and operations at Dis-Chem’s 131 stores remain unaffected.
NUPSAW, an affiliate of the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), was demanding union organisational rights at the pharmacies and had a disagreement on decisions relating to discretionary bonus payments to a portion of its members in December 2017.
At the height of the strike, approximately 760 employees protested at Dis-Chem’s distribution centre and head office in Midrand, Johannesburg. The strike had a limited effect on Dis-Chem’s distribution centre operations for the last seven days, though trading operations at its 131 stores remained affected.
The dispute between NUPSAW and Dis-Chem had been referred to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) in December 2017 but the matter remained unresolved. A certificate of non-resolution concerning organisational rights was then issued by the CCMA Commissioner.
Dis–Chem reached an agreement with NUPSAW ending the strike which had a limited effect on the Midrand Distribution Centre for the past seven days. Trading and operations at our 131 stores have not been affected.
— Dis-Chem (@Dischem) January 25, 2018
