SAFTU condemns Dischem and all other private sector thugs taking advantage of the country in its worst crisis

24 April 2020

The South African Federation of Trade Unions – SAFTU strongly condemns Dischem and all others thugs who are shamelessly taking advantage of South Africans in their worse moment as they battle with the Coronavirus.

The competition commission says the blue surgical masks average price is around R43, 47 yet Dischem milks the public by selling the same at R156, 95 before tax which is a price increase of a staggering 261%.

SAFTU commend and salute the work done by the Competition Commission to expose this cruelty and thuggery and calls on the Competition Tribunal to waste no time in prosecuting Dischem for their act of cruelty and cold-heartedness. Should they be found guilty, the public broadcaster, the SABC should remove all the Dischem adverts as they provide no good example of how private companies should behave at this moment.

Dischem is a known union basher that treats a semi feudal relationship with its employees. It is not surprising that many employees of Dischem has been exposed to the deadly coronavirus and tested positive leading to the closure of at least one store in Boksburg.

SAFTU calls on the SAPS to increase capacity so that they too can play a direct role as the monitoring of the price gouging during this period.

SAFTU further makes a call on workers and consumers to be vigilant and to act as the defenders of all consumers against the companies involved in price gouging.

It is in the nature of the capitalist system in its so-called demand and supply to always increase their prices every time the demand increase. Any logical thinking person will think that with the increased demand for mask, gloves, sanitizers and the Personal Protective Equipment in general, the prices will fall to ensure that the poor and marginalised can also access these life savings goods. Not in the system based on greed, the survival of the fittest, dog-eat-dog and the law of the jungle.

That’s why SAFTU continues to advocate that the only alternative to the capitalist barbarism is socialism which is opposite to thuggery as it advances human solidarity, collectivism, ‘an injury to one is an injury to all’, humanity and ubuntu.

Issued by SAFTU, 24 April 2020