The following statement was circulated as part of the Clover Strike Solidarity Campaign, run by Clover workers and supporters, calling for support for the ongoing strike at Clover. We republish it here with the signatories.
As WASP we are appealing for all working class activists and progressive organisations to join in on the International Day of Action in solidarity with Clover workers on the 27th of January.
CLICK HERE to add your name or organisation.
You can find out more about the strike by reading our statement here.
“We, the undersigned, stand in solidarity with the 5000 Clover workers organised by the General Industries Union of South Africa (GIWUSA) and the Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU), who have been on strike since 22 November 2021.
The vast majority of workers at South Africa’s dairy giant, Clover, earn below a living wage despite the soaring profits Clover has boasted over the years. Milco SA, a consortium led by Israel’s Central Bottling Company (Coca-Cola Israel), purchased a majority stake in highly profitable Clover in 2019. Despite the workers’ objection to this, based on solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle against Israeli imperialism, the South African state authorities approved the merger on the basis of “creating jobs” as part of the so-called Masakhane project. Not only have Clover dismantled the project through retrenchments (lay-offs) of workers and managers that are part of it – meaning all 500 new jobs promised are gone – but by bringing their restructuring project, Sencillo, forward over 2 000 jobs have been lost. Clover wants to retrench 300 workers, additionally four branches are proposed to be shut down, adding another 350 jobs lost, not including workers who took the Voluntary Severance Packages (which amount to forced retrenchments). GIWUSA reported that the company wants to relocate the City Deep Branch to Boksburg, risking another 812 job losses.
Media propaganda says Clover is unable to continue its operations due to the “ongoing pandemic” and lack of service delivery in various locations. However, Clover made a sterling $673 million (R10.8 Billion) of revenue by the end of 2020 compared to the $462.3 million (R7.4 Billion) end of 2019. Yet with this job bloodbath, the South African government, who narrowly won the last elections on a mandate of creating jobs, is refusing to hold Clover accountable.
Milco SA’s real intentions with Clover are to dismantle the local productive capacity Clover has, while securing the market share and brand loyalty Clover enjoys in South Africa for dairy products and beverages to eventually be imported. This would mean mass job losses and soaring dairy prices for working class communities in South Africa.
The ANC government welcomed the take-over of Clover by Milco SA and turned a blind eye to the violation of international law by CBC with its operation in the occupied territories of Palestine. We are not surprised by this as the ANC government has been the active agent for both national and international capital. With its neo-liberal policies the ANC government placed the interests of capital at the centre of the development of the country. Instead of development and advancement of the lives of the masses, we have seen and experienced the entrenchment of the positions and wealth of the old-apartheid ruling class. Black cheap labour is still the foundation of South African capitalism and the ANC government is the facilitator of the supply of black cheap labour.
Not only are the workers of Clover affected by this brutal pursuit of profits. Many small towns like Lichtenburg in the Northwest, Heilbron and Frankfort in the Free State are going to be impacted with the closure of Clover Branches. Clover, as part of its restructuring strategy, is closing its in-land facilities and moving them to the coastal areas. The local economies of these small towns are going to be devastated because Clover operations form an integral part in relation to economic activity and jobs. Many farmers and farm workers are already feeling the brunt of these closures. With the closing of its facilities Clover has also terminated its milk supply contracts with the local farmers and the latter in turn are abandoning farms and cutting jobs. The security of milk supplies is coming under severe constraints and already the prices of milk are rising. These local towns are not only losing manufacturing capacity but also farming capacity and this is threatening food security.
Workers’ demands are clear:
1. The unconditional re-instatement of all retrenched workers
2. The complete scrapping of all austerity measures including the 20% salary cuts
3. The disinvestment of Milco SA/CBC
4. Nationalisation of Clover SA and its complete transformation into a co-operative run by workers and communities.
We urge organisations and individuals to donate to the union’s strike fund (details below) and join in solidarity actions across the world. We are also calling upon people in Southern Africa and the rest of the world too boycott all Clover products.
Clover workers are fighting against imperialist strategies of securing the “market share” to dump products in the neo-colonnial world in the name of securing profits on the backs of super-exploited workers and communities. This is a struggle for the international working class, which holds the most power when standing united against the bosses’ drive for increased profits.
The attacks on workers and our communities can only be overcome through uncompromising unity of the international working class. We call for principled unity in labour and progressive movements behind the striking Clover workers.
When workers use their collective organisation to fight and win, it lights a beacon to workers everywhere seeking to improve their conditions, showing that as an organised working class we have a world to win.
An injury to one is an injury to all!
Solidarity!”
Statement Signatories
Organisations
International
GRAIN
International Socialist Alternative
Working Class Movement Namibia
South Africa
Anti-Repression Working Group of the C19 People’s Coalition
African Diaspora Workers Network
Bishop Lavis Action Community (BLAC)
Casual Workers Advice Office (CWAO)
Commercial, Stevedoring, Agricultural and Allied Workers Union (CSAAWU)
Immigration Advisory South Africa
Independent Komani Residents Association (iKORA)
Keep Left/Socialism from Below
Makana Citizens Front
Makause Community Development Forum (MACODEFO)
Marxist Workers Party (MWP)
Nation Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA)
New Independent Militant Workers Union
One Voice of All Hawkers Association
Palestinian Solidarity Campaign
Palestine Solidarity Alliance (PSA)
#PayTheGrants Campaign
Socialist Group
Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party (SRWP)
Socialist Youth Movement (SYM)
South African Academic Network Against Apartheid Israel (SANAAI)
South African Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions Coalition (SA BDS Coalition)
South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU)
South African Jews for a Free Palestine (SAJPF)
Unemployed People’s Movement (UPM)
Workers and Socialist Party (WASP)
Young Christian Students Movement Johannesburg
Zimbabwe Exemption Permit Holders
Elected Officials
Mick Barry TD Irish Parliament, Socialist Party Republic of Ireland
Kshama Sawant Seattle City Councilmember, Socialist Alt. USA
Liv Shange Moyo Luleå City councillor for Rättvisepartiet Socialisterna Sweden
Jonas Brännberg Luleå City councillor for Rättvisepartiet Socialisterna Sweden
Individual signatories
Austria
Thomas Hauer Shop Steward for ÖGB, Sozialistische Links Partei (SLP)
Belgium
Irina Papadimitriou Union rep for BBTK union (pers. capacity)
Wouter Wanzeele Shop Steward BBTK Gent (pers. capacity)
Ruben Verstraete ACOD shop steward & Youth Commission Vice President (pers. capacity)
Tina De Greef ACV Puls
Sanne Coremans Union representative BBTK
Laurent Grandgaignage BBTK/ABVV Antwerpen
Bart Van der Biest BBTK-SETCa (socialist union) Saint Mary’s Hospital in Halle
Mathias Pauwels ACV PULS
Djuna de Lannoy Representative of CGSP-Cheminots
Simon Hupkens Shop steward social workers municipalité of Liège
Alain Mandiki FGTB
Giuseppe Raiselis Abvv/Algemene centrale Syndicaal afgevaardigde
Pierre Brouyaux CGSP Cheminots
Casper Boulez Linkse Socialistiche Partij (LSP)
Julian Cottenie Linkse Socialistiche Partij (LSP)
David Meeus Linkse Socialistiche Partij (LSP)
Jeroen Demuynck
Bram De Martelaere
Germany
Marc Treude Chair of Works Council of Next.e.GO Mobile SE, Member of the lokalen Board of the IG Metall (Personal capacity)
Ireland (North)
Neil Moore Regional Officer for Unite the Union (pers. capacity)
Namibia
Nehoya Martin
Leonardt Simson Working Class Movement Namibia
Samuel Shindume
Hewat Beukes Workers Advice Centre
Erica Beukes Workers Revolutionary Party
Julius Ashipala Dismissed Mineworkers Union of Namibia Branch Exec. Comm. Rőssing
New Zealand/Aotearoa
Joel Peeperkoorn E tu Union
David Bedggood Communist Workers’ Group
Jim Gladwin
Palestine
Abdallah Abu Rahmah Popular struggle coordination committee
Fareed Tamallah
Haidar Eid
Sweden
Katja Raetz Shop Steward for Vårdförbundet (pers. capacity)
Louise Strömbäck Member of SEKO (pers. capacity)
Raymond Stokki Local safety representative for Lärarförbundet (teachers union)
Kjell Olsson
UK
Dr. Anis Daraghma Institute of Palestine and South Africa
Thembi Luckett
USA
Cora Bergantinos-Crespo President of UAW Local 4100 (pers. capacity)
Ryan Timlin President of ATU Local 1005 (pers. capacity)
Jack Ganley Member of UFT NYC (pers. capacity)
Marty Goodman Former Executive Board member of TWU Local 100 NYC (retired)
Julia Kobelt Socialist Alternative
Mike Harris Retired union member
Carol Lang
David Hemson
Grace Shimizu
Steve Roddy
South Africa
Julia Eccles #PayTheGrants, WASP
Carmia Schoeman WASP
Caroline O’Reilly
Cole Meintjies
Paul Hendricks NUPSAW: Education Sector (pers. capacity)
Koni Benson
Nimi Hoffmann
Taole Mokhele Goldfields Community Forum
Eddie Cottle
Blessmore Kurebwa
Ewan Dawkins Own capacity and SRWP Gauteng Branch
Darlington Chiuta
Constance Masekwameng
Emma Smith WASP
Lungisani Executive Mukwevho
General Moyo Keep Left and the MACODEFO
Graham Siebritz BLAC
Munashe Mutasa
Jessie Harvey
Memory Gatsi Secretary of ZEP
Tonderayi Chigudu
Tafadzwa Choto Keep Left
Thobe Sibindi
Chiveyi Mudavanhu
Vanessa Pillay
Thabile Dhlamini Home Based Workers
Dorothy Solomons
Pam Adams
Shaun Arendse Marxist Workers Party
Lily Manoim SAJPF – South African Jews for a Free Palestine
Basetsana Meletse Passover community building organisation
Mandla Nkosi Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party(SRWP)
Mandlenkosi Phangwa National Unemployed People’s Forum
Mandla Nkosi Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party(SRWP)
Britt Baatjes
Riyaaz Ismail
Lamla Gush Community activist
Muzi Ntuli Ubunye bamahostela KZN (UBH) NPO
Mark Weinberg
Irna Senekal
Edgar Mokhola Casual Workers Advice Office
Eunice Manzini VPCR
Jabulani Sokela SRWP
Patrick Bond
Michaeel Tsotetsi
Angy Lindi Sithole SRWP
David Mthunzi Vilakazi Apdusa
Noor Nieftagodien
Claire Ceruti Keep Left/Socialism from below
