Cooks fired for tasting meals
15 kitchen employees fired for tasting food before dishing out to customers
Checkers supermarket in Mokopane, Limpopo, has fired 15 workers for tasting food that they cook for customers.
The employees were caught on camera by their manager, Sam Nesh, and were dismissed on Monday without being given either a written or verbal warning.
Johanna Mokgotho, 38, who had worked at the store since 2004, said she felt it was an injustice to them.
“We have been doing the same thing for a very long time. We cannot dish out food without tasting it to ensure that it meets the standard,” she said.
Another staff member, Maggie Dibetso, said management was harsh on them in that it never gave them any warning. “It is unfair to be dismissed without any prior warning. We want our jobs back,” said the 49-year-old woman.
Grace Malapane claimed she had been put in the firing line after she rejected Nesh’s proposal to engage in a sexual relationship with him. Nesh refused to comment on the sexual harassment claims made against him.
“For starters, when I was employed in 2015, I was in another unit and I was only taken to the kitchen last year without being told of the policy regarding tasting of food,” said the 38-year-old woman.
“But I guess I became the target after I rejected Nesh’s proposal to sleep with me.”
Itumeleng Mashishi, 25, said other colleagues had been caught tasting food before and no action was taken against them “because they are in the good books of Nesh”.
“Some of the women we worked with have endured sexual harassment at the hands of Nesh but they are afraid to speak out,” he said.
The workers claimed that the problem started in November when Nesh installed surveillance cameras in the store’s kitchen to monitor their working environment.
According to the dismissal letters, they were accused of misconduct. “Misconduct of consuming employers’ merchandise without authorisation. The value of the consumed item is unspecified,” read the letter in part.
Approached for comment yesterday, Nesh said there was no policy that allowed the kitchen employees to taste food.
“It is against the policy to taste the food,” Nesh said.
He further challenged the employees to get lawyers or go to the CCMA to challenge their dismissals.
Provincial secretary of the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union, Cyril Dibakwane, said they would demand the reinstatement of the dismissed workers. “If needs be, we will refer the matter to the CCMA,” said Dibakwane.
Kulani Mtileni, a private dietician, said it was important for cooks to taste the food before they dished it out to customers.
“There is no way a cook can prepare food and dish it out without tasting it. This is to ensure that salt or sugar is adequate,” Mtileni said.