This week marks the third week of the strike as workers of the Transpharm Pharmaceutical Wholesale are demanding a salary increase from R4 500 to R8 500 and a maximum of R12 500. The Bargaining Counsel, Advocate Maile Ngake from the Department of Health,was supposed to meet with the company to discuss the working conditions of the workers and negotiate the current demand made by the General IndustriesWorkers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA) howeverNgake didn’t make it.
Unfortunately Zwelizima Vavi did not come to engage with the workers but GIWUSA decided to approach the Department of Health seeking a solution for their demands. “Currently the company is still side lining us regarding the negotiations but no injuries or arrests have been made so far.
As a union we met with one of the directors of Transpharm but we couldn’t reach common ground as they maintained they don’t have enough money to meet our demands. We ask companies like Transpharm to be nationalized because workers are exploited and they don’t benefit,” said Chairperson of the Pretoria Breath Rustenburg branch Jan Magolego.
Gauteng News tried to contact the TranspharmPharmaceutical Wholesale but the Communications spokesperson refused to comment. We also tried to reach the Department of Health but were unsuccessful. Delegates from the union went to the Department at Pretoria to engage with the Bargaining Counsel but they were told he went to attend other cases.
Follow Gauteng News as the story unfolds.
