Cosatu extremely concerned about crises at Daybreak
The National Council of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) this week reported that more than 1 million birds had been abandoned and it had culled more than 200 000 birds at a Daybreak contract grower who was without feed for days, resulting in mass cannibalism.
Poultry producer Daybreak's financial troubles came home to roost this past week as the company undertook a shocking culling of underfed poultry and workers protesting after not being paid salaries.
In an effort to alleviate troubles, Daybreak Foods initiated a search for the Public Investment Corporation's (PIC) approval to enter Business Rescue.
This past Wednesday, corporate affairs specialist Nokwazi Ngcongo confirmed to Business Report that DayBreak Foods was grappling with significant financial constraints that have hindered its operational capabilities.
The board is exploring avenues to implement business rescue, pending the active participation and agreement from shareholders.
"The Board has extensively communicated with the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), the company's shareholder, and made numerous requests for funding to support operations, including feed for birds and payment of salaries, and continues to engage the PIC in hope of a positive response," Ngcongo said.
On Friday, trade union Cosatu said they are concerned about the crisis at the company.
Cosatu said in a statement, "Cosatu and our affiliate representing workers at Daybreak, Sactwu, are extremely concerned about the crisis at the company. Many of these have been going not only for the past few months but in fact years. Daybreak and its employees have been subjected to systemic failures by several iterations of management."
"We are seeking urgent measures by the PIC as the owners of Daybreak, as well as the investment fund manager of workers' funds. The situation is intolerable and must be dealt with, not only to resolve the immediate crisis but also to ensure the company is placed on a sustainable path long term," Cosatu further said.
The company faced severe disruptions in its operations, resulting in an inability to meet its financial obligations, including staff payments and supplier settlements.
Animal cruelty
The National Council of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) this week reported that more than 1 million birds had been abandoned and it had culled more than 200 000 birds at a Daybreak contract grower who was without feed for days, resulting in mass cannibalism.
'The birds were over 28 days old but weighed under 700 grams. Daybreak Foods was contacted, and through urgent intervention, the NSPCA was granted consent to cull," it said.
"A poultry veterinarian also assessed the birds and confirmed they could not be salvaged. This resulted in approximately 200 000 birds being culled over two days,' the organisation said.
Hundreds of workers also protested outside the farm's premises demanding overdue salaries.
Ngcongo stressed that DayBreak Foods was fully aware of how these challenges impacted employees' livelihoods.
She also acknowledged recent challenges related to animal welfare at its poultry farming operations, including instances where birds went without feed due to financial constraints, resulting in cannibalism and subsequent culling.
Ngcongo said the company prioritized animal welfare, transparency, and accountability, and was working with the National Council of SPCAs to address these issues and ensure the highest standards of animal care.
"Currently, Daybreak Foods awaits a response from the PIC regarding the funding request and cannot commit to a specific date for employee salary payments," Ngcongo said.
"However, employee salaries remain a top priority for the company."
Meanwhile, the PIC said in a statement that it was "deeply disturbed" by current reports of culling and cannibalism amongst the poultry stock of Daybreak Food's farming operations.
The PIC said it continued to support Daybreak and has provided capital allocations to provide liquidity to the company, for the board and management to stabilise the business.
"The PIC is engaging its clients, the board of Daybreak and other stakeholders on an urgent basis to find a solution aimed at preserving the value of assets and, importantly, jobs in the company. The PIC's interventions must be aligned to the investment mandates of its clients and meet the requirements of internal corporate governance and approval processes," it said.
BUSINESS REPORT
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Citizen
2 days ago
- The Citizen
Cosatu says debate on B-BBEE is needed for beneciaries' benefit
Cosatu calls for reform of B-BBEE to ensure real empowerment for workers and disadvantaged communities, not just political elites and business insiders. The debate about the broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) is needed on how to ensure it benefits the beneficiaries. This is according to union federation Cosatu spokesperson Matthew Parks, who was reacting to the ongoing debate on whether the B-BBEE policy is aimed at being biased against whites. Inequality persists 'While we support the B-BBEE Act, we believe a debate is needed on how to make sure it reaches its intended beneficiaries, in particular historically disadvantaged individuals and communities,' he said. 'We support the objectives of B-BBEE. These are necessary given three and a half centuries of systematic discrimination and disempowerment under colonial and apartheid rule. South Africa is 31 years into democracy but remains the world's most unequal society.' Parks said the policy was a necessity to help historically disadvantaged persons and communities to enter the economy, not only as wage earners but also as owners of businesses. He said Cosatu cannot remain satisfied with progress when the colour of one's skin still largely determines one's economic status. ALSO READ: Minister extends date for comments on R100 billion transformation fund 'Ticking time bomb' He added the majority of shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange are owned by whites, similarly with regards to ownership patterns of businesses. 'This is a ticking time bomb that we must address. It's not racism against whites and, in fact, white women and white South Africans with disabilities are included. White South Africans and investors are not excluded,' he said. 'All the policy seeks to do is to boost the economic empowerment of those still disadvantaged. It has helped to begin the journey of building a nonracial society. While some progress has been made in building a black middle class and black industrialists, it is not enough given the inequalities still so prevalent.' Parks said more must be done to ensure 'it benefits workers and not just the elite and worker ownership and employee shareholder ownership programmes should be ramped up'. He added more must be done to ensure investors honour their B-BBEE shareholders and equity equivalents. Equity equivalents offer alternative for foreign investors When asked if Cosatu supports the equity equivalents, Parks agreed and said that has been one of two options under the B-BBEE Act for many years. He said they provide a useful option for international investors who are not able to do the B-BBEE shareholders' option. ALSO READ: DA transformation policies stance dents its image and may lose it votes, says expert 'Equity equivalent option allows investors to support local manufacturers, create jobs, skill workers or invest in local communities,' he said. 'These have benefited many local businesses, workers and communities. They have been successful in many sectors, including clothing and motor manufacturing. Many companies have utilised this option before.' Malatsi's draft policy Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi was recently criticised for unveiling a draft policy direction in the Government Gazette 'proposing an alternative to the B-BBEE ownership requirements for the ICT [Information and Communication Technology] sector'. 'The new model would allow companies to meet empowerment obligations through equity equivalent programmes rather than direct ownership transfers,' one critic said. The proposed amendment to the Act could facilitate the entry of investors such as Elon Musk's Starlink into South Africa's telecommunications market and contribute to the empowerment of the previously disadvantaged people without having done a direct transfer of ownership. Malatsi's critics said he was trying to pave a way for Starlink to do business in SA. Musk has previously criticised the B-BBEE policy, saying it was racist. NOW READ: Proposed Starlink deal 'wrong in principle and practice'
IOL News
3 days ago
- IOL News
Cabinet approves National Labour Migration Policy to regulate foreign employment
Cosatu has welcomed the Cabinet approving the National Labour Migration Policy (NLMP) White Paper 2025 for implementation. The paper will mark a significant step in regulating the movement and employment of foreign nationals in South Africa. Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said that the policy seeks to provide a framework to enforce proper and orderly movement and employment of foreign nationals in the country. 'It aims to achieve a balance across several areas, including addressing South Africans' expectations for job prospects, in light of rising unemployment and the perception that foreign nationals restrict labour market access.' Cabinet said that the NLMP introduces quotas on the total number of documented foreign nationals with work visas that can be employed in major economic sectors such as agriculture, hospitality and tourism, as well as construction, among others. 'The policy complements other interventions such as enforcement of a list of sectors where foreign nationals cannot be allocated business visas and amendments to the National Small Enterprise Act, 1996 (Act 102 of 1996), as amended, to limit foreign nationals establishing small, medium and micro enterprises, and trading in some sectors of the economy.' Cabinet added that the NLMP is the first comprehensive National Labour Migration Policy aimed at managing labour migration both into and out of the country. 'The policy is designed to promote a 'brain gain' by attracting skilled workers to South Africa, while also addressing the 'brain drain' caused by the emigration of skilled professionals. The Employment Services Amendment Bill goes hand-in-hand with the NLMP and has been created to make it legal for the government to regulate the employment of immigrants in South African businesses.' One of the bill's more contentious features is the potential introduction of employment quotas, which would limit the number of immigrants that businesses can hire and require employers to prioritise the hiring of South African citizens, the Cabinet said. Matthew Parks, Parliamentary Coordinator for Cosatu, said that he welcomes Cabinet's approval of the National Labour Migration Policy and the Employment Services Amendment Bill. 'Cosatu extensively engaged on both the Policy and the Bill at Nedlac and looks forward to the Bill's processing and adoption by Parliament and their implementation. The Bill and the Policy provide a long overdue response to the flood of undocumented migrant labour into the economy over the past decade.' Parks said this will enable the Minister for Employment and Labour to set limits on the number of documented migrant workers that can be employed in a workplace and an economic sector. 'These limits are critical for an economy battling dangerously high and rising unemployment levels of 43.1% overall and 72% among youth. We have seen countless unscrupulous employers in certain sectors, in particular agriculture, petrol stations, restaurants, and construction, among others; preferring to employ undocumented migrant labour as their vulnerability opens them to wildly abusive exploitation." Parks said they hope that the Department of Employment and Labour's recruitment drive for an additional 20 000 labour inspectors will provide a decisive boost to efforts to crack down on such violations of workers' hard-won labour rights. It is crucial that the Critical Skills List be continuously assessed by government with business and labour at Nedlac to ensure that it is positioned to attract scarce skills to South Africa, to upskill local workers and to ensure unemployed South Africans with such needed skills are prioritised, he said. 'Whilst migration is ingrained with history and South Africa is no exception, the current levels into South Africa are unsustainable, more so given the high levels of unemployment. The Bill and Policy seek to find the correct balance and to ensure the state is better capacitated to set limits and protect the needs of workers. These are badly needed, and their implementation must be expedited,' Parks said. BUSINESS REPORT Visit:
IOL News
29-05-2025
- IOL News
Matshepo More, PIC return to CCMA after unfair dismissal ruling
Former Public Investment Corporation chief financial officer Matshepo More is returning to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), where her erstwhile employer is challenging a CCMA ruling in her favour. Image: Screenshot Former Public Investment Corporation (PIC) chief financial officer Matshepo More is heading back to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), which previously ordered her reinstatement and awarded her over R6.7 million in compensation. In September 2022, CCMA commissioners Cameron Morajane and Nthabiseng Thokoane declared her dismissal substantively and procedurally unfair, and she was reinstated. The PIC was ordered to pay the costs, and in a supplementary award, the commissioners quantified her backpay and costs due at more than R6.74m and R39 000, respectively. More was fired by the PIC in October 2021 after being found guilty of misconduct. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ She was charged after approving R350m revolving credit facility to the now defunct VBS Mutual Bank in 2014, which was outside her delegation of authority. The PIC accused More of recommending the then chief executive, Dr Dan Matjila, to enter into the revolving credit facility agreement in breach of her duty to ensure that the terms of the agreement complied with the fund investment panels' approval before providing the confirmation and recommending that it be signed. More then referred her unfair dismissal dispute to the CCMA, where she argued that the alleged misconduct constituted a breach of contract. The CCMA found that the claim (charging and dismissal) that the PIC has against More is extinct through the running of uninterrupted prescription. The commissioners deemed the charges and subsequent dismissal incompetent. In addition, the commissioners stated that as the instruction was in contravention of the delegation of authority, More's dismissal was therefore premised on an unlawful and unreasonable instruction and the charges and the subsequent dismissal were unfair. 'More has succeeded in her claim for prescription. The outcome is that the dismissal is substantively and procedurally unfair. The instruction issued by Dr Matjila as found above was unreasonable and unlawful,' the CCMA ruled. The PIC then approached the Labour Court in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, arguing that the commissioners committed a material error of law. Last month, Labour Court Judge Connie Prinsloo reviewed and set aside the CCMA's arbitration award and the supplementary award. 'The matter is remitted to the CCMA for arbitration de novo by a senior commissioner or commissioners, as the case may be, other than the third and fourth respondents (Morajane and Thokoane),' reads Judge Prinsloo's judgment, adding that the record of proceedings generated the supplementary case shall serve as the evidence before the appointed commissioner or commissioners. The arbitration de novo (afresh) is to be conducted on such terms and in such manner as the appointed commissioner or commissioners may determine, and the CCMA was directed to enrol the matter for arbitration. Attempts to contact More were unsuccessful at the time of publication.
