Robertson Winery Strike Continues

The strike at Robertson Winery is entering its second week, with striking workers refusing to work until their demand for a monthly salary of R8 500 was met.

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The strike commenced on Wednesday, 24 August.

According to Trevor Christians, the general-secretary of the Commercial Stevedoring Agricultural and Allied Workers’ Union (CSAAWU), the workers currently earned between R2 900 and R3 500/month.

“The salaries paid to these workers are too low. They will never be raised out of poverty with the salaries they currently earn,” said Christians.

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In a statement, Robertson CEO, Anton Cilliers, said that the winery was offering a wage increase of 8%, which would raise the minimum wage for any permanent employee to R3 677/month. Cilliers added that Robertson was presently exploring the introduction of a private dispute resolution process, which involved the CCMA, to expediently deal with any workplace issues.

He also said that Robertson Winery remained confident that the present wage dispute would be resolved through the process of constructive engagement and negotiation between the union and the company.

Meanwhile, CSAAWU launched an international campaign to boycott Robertson wines. "By supporting Robertson Winery, you are supporting poverty wages,” Christians said.