US union supports actions of SA's Coca-Cola strikers

The strike at Coca-Cola Amalgamated Beverages Industries entered its 48th day yesterday, and though the Food and Allied Workers' Union held meetings with ABI management, an American union threw its weight behind the strikers.

US labour organisation Service Employees International Union yesterday issued a statement in support of workers at ABI who are part of the Fawu strike.

Workers have been losing out on pay for five weeks as the no work, no pay rule applies.

Andy Stern, president, and Anna Burger, secretary-treasurer of the 2.2-million member trade union in the US said: "We stand together with our brothers and sisters of the Food and Allied Workers' Union in South Africa who, for five weeks, have been on strike protesting Coca-Cola ABI's ongoing practice of eroding workers' conditions and benefits through labour-broking and use of short-term contracts.

"We call on Coca-Cola ABI to pay the 9.5% wage increase demanded by its workers, and to cease their efforts to undermine workers' conditions.

"Workers in Fawu have already called for a consumer boycott of Coca-Cola products by Cosatu. If Coca-Cola ABI continues to refuse to treat their workers fairly and to deny a decent wage, we will seek support for this campaign from our members and other unions in the US and Canada."

With members in Canada, the US and Puerto Rico, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in the Americas. A delegation from the union visited South Africa last week.

During their visit to the country to meet local sister unions, Stern, Berger and other officials also met President Jacob Zuma.

ABI has offered an 8.3% total package increase, or an actual salary increase of 7.8%, arguing that their employees are already one of most the highly paid in the industry.