To: Premier CEO, Kobus Gertenbach, Premier FMCG

Stand in solidarity with striking Mister Sweet Workers ✊🏿

[Campaign update]: Mister Sweet strike ends: workers to return to work next week. Workers agree to Premier’s initial offer of a 7% increase
“We were faced with a situation where the festive season is fast approaching, and we had to sign a deal under pressure. People need to make money for their families for December and have school fees to think about for January,” said Jacob Potlaki from the Simunye Workers Forum. He said some workers had already returned to work last week
Read more here: https://groundup.org.za/article/mister-sweet-strike-ends-workers-to-return-to-work-on-november-11/

*[Campaign Update]: The strike has entered its 10th week, the Mister Sweet bosses collapsed wage negotiations on the 24th of October by saying they were seeking a discussion on a basic wage, which is one of our key demands. Instead, when the negotiations started, they stuck to their original percentage increase offer. They then offered to lend workers a few thousand rand to stop striking, saying they would deduct that loan from workers' salaries in 2025. The workers rejected
this. Read more here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/sJ9QZTghJfbMnE1A/

** [Campaign update]: Mister Sweet strike ends: workers to return to work next week. Workers agree to Premier’s initial offer of a 7% increase
“We were faced with a situation where the festive season is fast approaching, and we had to sign a deal under pressure. People need to make money for their families for December and have school fees to think about for January,” said Jacob Potlaki from the Simunye Workers Forum. He said some workers had already returned to work last week
Read more here: https://groundup.org.za/article/mister-sweet-strike-ends-workers-to-return-to-work-on-november-11/

- We demand you add your name to support Mister Sweet worker's fight for a living wage of R19500!

- We also demand you don't buy Mister Sweet products!

- Join the struggle for a living wage by contributing to the strike fund, all contributions are welcome.

We, the workers of Mister Sweet in Wadeville, are into the third week of our strike for a living wage of R19500. Many of us have been earning very low wages of R6000 or R7000 per month for 10 years now. Some of us who have been working for the company for 22 years are earning less than newer workers. Some operators are only paid as general workers or packers.

Mister Sweet belongs to Premier FMCG, which made over R3 billion in profits last year. That's enough money to build 10 000 houses for workers and their families. Premier itself is owned by big investment companies including Brait, Titan Premier Investments, Allan Gray and even the Public Investment Coorporation (PIC). All Premier's profits go to the shareholders of these investment companies. It should come to us, the workers and our communities who create those profits. The PIC, which is owned by the government, is investing workers' pension money to make more money for the bosses.

Why is this important?

Mister Sweet is punishing us for fighting for a living wage. It has locked us out of the factory and is demanding that we accept the three year wage deal it made with two minority sweetheart unions. The company also started reducing the 7% wage offer from the second day of the strike and will keep on reducing it by 0,5% for every week the strike continues until we are faced with a zero percent increase. Instead of negotiating in good faith, the company seeks to further divide workers by training casuals to replace striking workers. Mister Sweet is also making plans to shift production to Manhattan.

On 4 September 2024 Premier FMCG applied for an interdict against the strike. The interdict application will be heard on 10 September 2024.

We, the 23 below organisations, from six provinces, declare that we are boycotting Mister Sweet products because of the ongoing of workers at Mister Sweet.
The lowest paid workers at Mr Sweet are paid in the region of R6000 per month. The Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity’s Household Affordability Index for August 2024 puts the cost of a basic food basket a month at R5227,14.

With just R6000, workers must struggle to pay for food, transport, healthcare, education, and everything else. The wages that the Mister Sweet bosses pay the workers condemn them to poverty and a struggle to meet their needs.

Workers are demanding R19 500 so that they and their children can lead a dignified life.

When workers wanted to negotiate for a living wage, Mister Sweet didn’t listen. Workers are on strike, and are forcing Mister Sweet to listen. We need to support this through a boycott. It is only united working class action that will pressure Mister Sweet to pay workers a living wage.

We ask you to to support our struggle for a living wage, lets unite in the bigger fight to defeat this capitalist system that brings only misery and suffering for the working class.

To contribute to the strike fund, do so by depositing using these bank details:
Account name: Mr Sweet Strike Solidarity Fund Account

Account number: 10231607308

Standard Bank

Issued by Simunye Workers Forum members.

How it will be delivered

Petition will be delivered physically to the relevant bodies.

Wadeville, Germiston, 1422, South Africa

Maps © Stamen; Data © OSM and contributors, ODbL

Links

Campaign Facebook Page Campaign Website

Updates

2024-11-06 14:35:48 +0200

Mister Sweet strike ends: workers to return to work next week. Workers agree to Premier’s initial offer of a 7% increase
“We were faced with a situation where the festive season is fast approaching, and we had to sign a deal under pressure. People need to make money for their families for December and have school fees to think about for January,” said Jacob Potlaki from the Simunye Workers Forum. He said some workers had already returned to work last week
Read more here: https://groundup.org.za/article/mister-sweet-strike-ends-workers-to-return-to-work-on-november-11/

2024-10-30 11:31:48 +0200

The strike has entered its 10th week, the Mister Sweet bosses also collapsed wage negotiations on the 24th of October by saying they were seeking a discussion on a basic wage, which is one of our key demands. Instead, when the negotiations started, they stuck to their original percentage increase offer. They then offered to lend workers a few thousand rand to stop striking, saying they would deduct that loan from workers' salaries in 2025. The workers rejected this. Read more here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/sJ9QZTghJfbMnE1A/

2024-09-30 13:21:35 +0200

A casual worker at Premier‘s Mister Sweet Factory in Germiston is receiving treatment after his finger was cut off while on duty a week ago. This is amid a six-week strike by hundreds of the company’s permanent staff members. The incident is not the first time a worker at the Mister Sweet factory has lost a finger, according to the Simunye Workers Forum. Read more here: https://groundup.org.za/article/worker-filling-in-for-striking-staff-at-mister-sweet-factory-in-germiston-losing-his-finger-on-duty/?fbclid=IwY2xjawFnaIlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHSxi-6BDbc6xXJufxPeSnuUzbAJJ7SbglZmMbhBi_Mdl9pLp-cS4aD6rvw_aem_7CZLaK0ctXQoob0nCHyJ_g

2024-09-26 18:01:46 +0200

The Mister Sweet strike is still on! Please support by visiting the strikers outside Mister Sweet in Wadeville, Gauteng or contributing to the Strike Fund.
The strikers protested today outside Allan Gray which owns a stake of 10.08% in the Premier Food Group that owns Mister Sweet! See pictures here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/dC4YUMSgYvdLcRfA/

2024-09-17 11:46:17 +0200

https://elitshanews.org.za/2024/09/11/labour-court-rules-in-favour-of-mister-sweet-strikers/

2024-09-11 14:50:53 +0200

The Simunye Workers Forum union has defeated Mister Sweet's attempts to bring an interdict against the strike at its factory in Johannesburg which began on 19 August.
Read more here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/hbvP5wT7ZWEiVyWt/

2024-09-07 16:56:45 +0200

100 signatures reached

2024-09-07 15:25:28 +0200

50 signatures reached

2024-09-06 20:07:33 +0200

25 signatures reached

2024-09-06 15:29:24 +0200

10 signatures reached