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TOP Brand sauce manufacturing workers in Sandton down tools for higher wages

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TOP Brand sauce manufacturing workers in Sandton down tools for higher wages:

Workers at the Ribas Manufacturers factory in Sandton, Johannesburg downed tools on Friday morning to demand a higher wage increase from their employer.

About 100 workers downed tools at the Ribas Manufacturers in Sandton, Johannesburg, on Friday morning to demand a bigger wage increase.

Most of the workers are affiliated with the General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA) and the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU).

Ribas makes and distributes a range of condiments under the TOP Brand franchise and Cash&Carry house brand sauces. These are distributed across the country.

On Friday, workers told GroundUp they would continue striking until their employer increased their wage by R4 per hour rather than the R1.75 offered by the company. This follows deadlocked wage negotiations between the company and GIWUSA representatives in May.

The workers earn about R27.58 per hour (about R5,845 a month), but they say it’s not enough to cover their groceries, transport and electricity as the cost of living has risen. Workers claim they work 10 hours shifts but only get one 30-minute lunch break.

“We have workers who have been with the company for more than 10 years, and they are earning a minimum wage, which is too little. Workers also do not have proper working gear. Despite raising all these issues, the employer is refusing to meet our demands. The strike will continue until our demands are met,” said Sipho Linda from GIWUSA.

Thulani Ndhlela, a shop steward and packer at the company, said workers were entitled to an increment in May, but it was not implemented due to disagreements with the union.

“We have children at school and the money we earn is not enough. The employer should at least meet us halfway because the cost of living is too high,” said Ndhlela.

Another striking worker, Thembi Maake, said she spends most of her salary on transport. “It’s as if we are working for nothing. The increment we are asking for will make a great difference. All we want is to be able to look after our children,” she said.

GroundUp made several attempts to contact the company by email and telephone on Friday. The person answering the landline said the company would not be commenting on the workers’ strike.

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Sophiatown: The Lost “Paris of the Transvaal”

Sophiatown’s golden age was the 1940s and 50s. It was a dense, vibrant, and often dangerous neighborhood, characterized by “backyard” rooms, shebeens (illegal speakeasies), and a sophisticated social scene. It was the birthplace of Kwaito’s ancestors and the legendary “Marabi” music—a blend of traditional African rhythms and American ragtime. The streets were home to the most iconic figures of African literature and music: Miriam Makeba found her voice here; Hugh Masekela received his first trumpet from a local priest; and the writers of Drum magazine, like Can Themba and Bloke Modisane, used the neighborhood as their muse. They dressed in Fedora hats and double-breasted suits, channeling the style of Hollywood gangsters and Harlem intellectuals, creating a world that was cosmopolitain, intellectual, and radically multi-racial.

However, the “Bohemia” of Sophiatown was an existential threat to the National Party’s vision of total racial separation. The government viewed it as a “black spot” in a white area. In 1955, the state launched Western Areas Removal Scheme. On the morning of February 9th, 2,000 heavily armed police officers moved in, forcing families into trucks at gunpoint. They were relocated to the newly established matchbox houses of the South Western Townships (Soweto), 20 kilometers away. The resistance was led by figures like Trevor Huddleston, the Anglican priest whose church, St. Joseph’s, still stands today. Despite the slogan “Ons dak nie, ons pola hier” (We are not moving, we are staying here), the bulldozers were relentless.