IN PICS | Police fire rubber bullets to disperse Makro workers protesting outside Germiston store

The SAPS and Ekurhuleni metro police fired rubber bullets at a group of workers picketing outside the Makro store in Germiston, east of Johannesburg, on Friday.

Police clashed with employees singing struggle songs and allegedly disrupting traffic on the R24 highway and Herman Street.

Some workers barricaded a section of the street leading to the store’s entrance with rocks and branches.

Police fired rubber bullets to disperse the protesters, some of whom were injured. One protester was shot in the head.

The protesters dispersed in different directions and the situation appeared calmer.

Being Black Friday, the store was expected to be packed with but a car guard told TimesLIVE the turnout had been poor.

“I think people don’t want to come here, given what has just happened,” he said.

South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (Saccawu) regional secretary Dumisani Mavuso said they had initially gathered at the store’s gate because of a wage dispute with Makro.

“The gathering was peaceful. There were no complaints submitted to the union about customers' cars being pelted with stones or customers being prevented from coming to the store or being intimidated,” he said.

They had agreed with police to continue their picket on a section of the road, he said, adding they posed “no problem” to customers or other motorists.

“What baffles us is for cops to say our members were preventing people from entering, whereas they were there at the gate and it couldn’t have happened that any customer wanting to come to the store could have been prevented or intimidated while the cops were standing there.”

Mavuso said they had initially agreed to picket at one of the two entrance gates.

“While that was done as an intervention, suddenly we began to witness the cops shooting at our members — to the extent that some of them were injured. The cops started to shoot unprovoked and even some [protesters] surrendered and tried to hide behind the cars but were shot at.”

He said the union instructed members to leave as they feared for their safety.

“We were only able to gather information that two were injured. What we have seen is police brutality and we will report to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate,” he said.

A group of workers clad in yellow shirts and affiliated with Saccawu had since dispersed and left the store.

The union spokesperson told Jacaranda FM on Thursday that the aim of the two-day picket was to pressure the company to accept their demands over wages and working conditions.

Saccawu spokesperson Sithembele Tshwete said Makro failed to respond to their memorandum. Instead, in an internal memo, it threatened to withhold payment of bonuses, he alleged.

The union is reportedly demanding a 12% wage increase across the board, or R900; a minimum wage hike to R8,000 per month and an increase in sales commission.

Massmart Holdings, which owns Makro, said Makro stores were mostly — with the notable exception of Makro Germiston —  enjoying good customer support. 

“Saccawu members converged on the Makro Germiston store where they obstructed traffic on the public road outside the store. The SAPS requested that the Saccawu members clear the road. Unfortunately, the Saccawu membership responded in a highly confrontational manner,” Massmart said.

It said the labour court had issued an interdict ordering Saccawu and its members to immediately stop all unlawful conduct, including; disrupting Makro store operations, all acts of intimidation and failure to follow picketing rules.

TimesLIVE

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