Organised labour in the mushroom industry is aghast at insinuations that disgruntled workers could have set Denny Mushroom's plant at Shongweni afire.
The Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU) and the Transport and Retailers Workers Union (THORN) said they were on the eve of signing a seven percent agreement with the company when the plant caught fire, forcing more than 300 workers to sit at home while Denny's Mushrooms figures out the cost of rebuilding and resuming business.
"It is confusing that this was the second fire incident in about a week at the same plant. It is unfortunate the incident occurred while we were in the midst of wage negotiations, but workers had no motive to burn the plant," THORN's General Secretary Xolani Sisilane said.
Sisilane said at a meeting with company management on Tuesday, there was no talk of workers being responsible for the fire, likely to set the company back in rebuilding and recapitalisation.
Denny is SA’s largest producer of fresh mushrooms and operates from three plants in Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
The company is owned by JSE-listed Libstar, owner of other well-known food brands such as Cook ‘n Bake, Goldcrest and Cartwrights. It is also the SA representative for international brands such as Tabasco, Kiri and Robertsons.
Its spell of ill-luck goes back to the riots in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in July 2021, resulting in production stoppages at the Shongweni plant for one week, and the Deodar plant in Gauteng for three days.
'Had it not been for the protocol requirement that we had to report back to our members, the seven percent wage offer would have been signed already, we consulted our members and they were happy with the settlement agreement," FAWU's Provincial Secretary for Kwazulu-Natal Siphiwe Dlomo said.
FAWU said it had requested further meetings with management, but a CCMA facilitated engagement last week had paved the way for the seven percent increase now accepted by the workers who have to idle at home until there is further word from Dennys.
"I am 100 percent sure that whoever is responsible for the fire is not a member of FAWU. We left the meeting with the understanding that we could not agree to terms until members had voted the decision. Members are disappointed that this has had to happen,' Dlomo said.
In a statement to the media, the company did not elaborate on whether it believes disgruntled workers were behind the fire.,“We are working with the authorities to investigate the cause of the fire as well as assess the damage. We are unable to comment further at this stage as to the cause, extent or estimated cost of the damage. The safety of our people remains a key priority and we are thankful that none of our 319 employees were injured. We remain focused on servicing the needs of our customers from our plants in Gauteng and the Western Cape,” it said.
Dlomo said labour's hopes were that workers would be guaranteed their jobs back on resumption of operations. A case of malicious damage to property has been opened at the nearby Mariannhill Police Station after offices and a large part of the Denny warehouse were destroyed, before the fire was extinguished by local fire fighters from nearby stations.
BUSINESS REPORT