Toilet row sets off claims of worker purge at SPAR

The SACP has lodged complaints over an alleged purge of nearly 20 employees at an Eastern Cape SPAR store, including a woman it says was disciplined for refusing to clean a messy toilet after her supervisor had used it.

The allegations at Cacadu SPAR, formerly Lady Frere, have drawn in the Department of Employment and Labour and the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).

Officials are due to meet worker representatives on Wednesday at the Komani Labour Centre.

The case of Luleka Fani is detailed in a nine-page complaint the SACP’s Chris Hani district compiled. According to the document, on September 16, a supervisor instructed Fani to clean after the supervisor had used the toilet. Fani allegedly refused and was issued with a disciplinary warning. The stated reason concerned a separate incident in which she allegedly refused to clean a blood spill.

The SACP disputes that version, saying another employee had attended to the blood while Fani fetched a mop.

The party alleges Fani’s treatment forms part of a pattern in which nearly 20 workers received final written warnings. It says managers transferred from Mthatha are building disciplinary cases against contract workers to replace them with employees from Mthatha.

SPAR rejected allegations of a purge or disciplinary action without due process. The SPAR Group said it had engaged the independently owned retailer and considered information and supporting documents supplied to it.

“Cacadu SPAR does not accept the allegations of unfair treatment or that employees have been subjected to disciplinary or employment action without due process,” the group said.

SPAR said labour matters were managed with help from an external human resources and labour relations provider. It said the store employed 97 people, including six skilled workers recruited from outside the area, through normal processes. It said the store had no record of complaints concerning some of the claims.

However, correspondence seen by Sunday World confirms the complaints reached the labour department, which arranged the October 7 meeting and invited the CCMA. Department official Nozicelo Tetyana said the meeting would clarify the department’s role and progress with the complaints.

The SACP wants the warnings expunged, allegedly unfairly dismissed workers reinstated and two managers transferred.