Sweet factory wrapped in fear

Confectionery factories give off a delicious sugary scent – but inside retrenchment-threatened Candy Tops, that scent has turned into the sour smell of fear which reigns in the hearts of hundreds of women workers.

A source spoke to Saturday Dispatch this week of the threat of being hunted down by Lodestone Brands human resources executive Thabisa Moleshe, who is putting whistleblowers through a suspension and disciplinary process.

The source described how:

lWorkers, many of them single mothers, are living in fear for their children’s wellbeing and stressing as to how they will keep paying school fees if they lose their jobs;

lWorkers are demotivated. Confusion and fear permeates the Wilsonia factory;

lTheir biggest fear is they will not be able put food on the table for extended families;

lWorkers live off wages of less than R20 an hour;

lWomen in their 50s, who have spent their working lives in the factory, are deeply worried about not being able to find work again; and

lMany workers, some who have worked for the firm for 15 years, still live in shacks in East London slums like Duncan Village, Reeston and Mdantsane shack areas.

“Why should we carry on working if we are going to lose our jobs. This is the big question on everyone’s minds,” said the source.

Those who had had accepted their fate had sunk into depression and helplessness. Some still harboured the slim hope that the “company will change its mind”.

Men in their 50s were the sole breadwinners who put food on the table for their children and grandchildren.

Over the years, a number of workers had been trained to hold specialised jobs, such as quality controllers, but had no certificate to prove it – making getting another job even harder.

Workers were baffled at the sudden announcement on January 14 by Lodestone Brands chief operating officer and company director Johan van Zyl that the company was doing so badly – when nothing was communicated to workers last year.

One worker had been confident enough to buy a car through a bank, others had 25-month loans and no idea how they would pay them off.

One hundred contract workers employed through a labour broker did not seem to be in line for severance packages. Most of them were mothers.

Some feared even arguing their case in the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) for fear there would be reprisals from the company later.

lMoleshe has declined to comment while the CCMA hearings are under way, claiming reports will “prejudice the process and compromise positive outcomes”.