Suspended Buco employees return to work after two-month strike

455 workers in the Eastern and Western Cape were instructed to return to work due to financial hardships

Suspended Building Wood and Allied Workers Union of SA members at Buco stores returned to work on Monday morning after being on strike since February 26.

They were suspended for breach of picketing rules.

The union temporally suspended its strike on April 2 and 455 workers in the Eastern and Western Cape were instructed to return to work due to the financial hardships faced by both employers and employees. Workers went on strike on February 26 and picketed outside Buco’s five stores in BCM and other stores across the province.

Union spokesperson Clarence Mtyenele said the strike had been “temporally” suspended due to the refusal by The Building Company — which owns Buco — to negotiate wage increases.

At the Beacon Bay store, more than 20 workers were serving suspensions.

“Workers were suspended at four stores, one in the Western Cape and three in the Eastern Cape, and they were called to start today.

“Some are being given notices to attend disciplinary hearings for breaking picketing rules.”

Mtyenele said discussions would continue behind closed doors.

“The employer hasn’t given us anything from the issues we have raised, so because the strike was prolonged, we decided to return to work,” he said.

“We haven’t resolved our issues. We still have disagreements.

“We decided with workers that we would return to work and let these processes unfold.”

On March 22, lawyers for The Building Company filed for an interdict against the strike at the Cape Town labour court and accused union members of breaching picketing rules.

The company had argued the strike was violent and striking workers were allegedly intimidating workers who had returned to work.

The interdict was granted. “They were given an interim order just to interdict the actions of the strike, not the strike itself, but the actions such as intimidation, threatening and so forth, they said the workers are deceitful by doing that.

“We were going to go back to court on April 19 to file our opposing documents, but the strike is now on suspension so the case is no longer live until we resume the strike,” Mtyenele said.

The company and the union have been at loggerheads since February last year after the union filed a document containing 13 demands.

The union had referred the matter to the Commission of Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) for resolution.

Among the workers’ demands were a basic entry-level pay of R6,000, an increase in sick days and annual leave, a 13th check, no work on Sundays, contributions to a provident fund and medical aid.

The Basic Conditions of Employment Act states that a worker who works five days a week is entitled to 30 days of sick leave every 36 months, and a worker who works six days a week is entitled to 36 days of sick leave every 36 months.

Comment could not be obtained from The Building Company.