Pretoria – Thousands of workers at the Ford Motor Company of SA in Silverton, east of Pretoria, have gone on strike to press for a share of the company’s profits.
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) representing more than 3 000 workers at the Ford plant said the strike began Thursday morning, (4 July 2024).
For its part, Ford has approached the Labour Court in Johannesburg, on an urgent basis, to interdict the strike.
NUMSA said it was opposing the interdict application arguing that workers have a right to strike to press the company to share profits.
NUMSA said the strike was prompted by the company’s “refusal to share profits with the workers”.
Workers insist the company was raking in billions of rand in profits, which it was refusing to share with them.
Based on a three-shift 24-hour production schedule, the plant can produce up to 720 vehicles a day, or 200 000 a year.
By the end of June 2024 as many as 33 841 new Rangers had been produced at Silverton with domestic sales of the Ford truck hitting 9 258 vehicles over the same period.
On Thursday morning, disgruntled workers picketed at the gate of the company, where NUMSA President Andrew Chirwa told them that papers served on the union by Ford, claimed: “workers are not entitled to profit sharing, and can only make such demands next year during new negotiation season”.
NUMSA said the strike was “indefinite”.
Meanwhile, the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) said it supports the strike of its affiliate, NUMSA, which began today at Ford Motor Company.
“The strike comes after a deadlock between Ford Motor Company and NUMSA from negotiations that have taken place for two years,” SAFTU said.
“Given the profit growths the company has been able to score in the past several years, SAFTU argues that Ford can afford the annual bonuses, not just incentive bonuses.
“Remuneration packages are a claim on past earnings, and therefore, the net profits of the past year are a testament that the company can be able to afford the bonuses.
“Effectively, the company can afford annual bonuses to workers because the company makes profits each year.
“SAFTU encourages the workers to fight until they get a concession from Ford Motor Company to pay the bonuses.”
