GHC workers on strike. Photo by Nombulelo Damba.
14 July 2015
The Building Industry Bargaining Council is investigating employees’ claims that money is still owed to the Council by Good Hope Construction (GHC), target of a protracted strike during which one employee died.
During a meeting with the Council on 20 May, it was agreed that GHC would pay over outstanding amounts of R1.5 million, which the Council says represents “outstanding employee benefits including leave pay and retirement fund contributions, underpayment of wages and overtime”.
In terms of the collective agreement, all employers in the building industry must pay the legislated minimum wage and contribute to employee benefits.
GHC “did not contribute the legislated amounts within the prescribed period,” said the secretary of the Council, Ronel Sheehan.
Asked why the company had not been fined, as would normally be the case, she said the fines had been waived in terms of the settlement agreement.
“If the payments in terms of this agreement are not made, the fines will become due and payable immediately”. Fines can be up to 200% of the amount claimed, she said.
Sheehan said some employees had claimed that overtime worked had not been paid according to legislated rates, but this was still being investigated by the Council.
She declined to give further information.
GHC is involved in building schools around the Western Cape.
The repayment of the R1.5 million owed to the BIBC was one of the demands of several hundred employees who went on strike in April.
More than 130 workers were fired after a disciplinary hearing chaired by Advocate Morne Aggenbach in May found 170 workers guilty of taking part in an unprotected strike action, and also of condoning or supporting incitement of violence against GHC and against workers who were not on strike.
GHC employee Melikhaya Pisana was killed on 14 May when strikers marched to a site in Kraaifontein.
At the time, the National Union of Mineworkers, representing the strikers, said Pisana was killed by security guards working for GHC. But GHC director Raziek Rajah said the gates had been closed and the security guards had been inside during the march on the site.
Rajah said 57 acts of violence had been committed against GHC employees by the strikers.
Police are investigating.