Pretoria - It was no storm in a teacup when employees of a car dealership lost their tea and coffee privileges at work.
The Motor Industry Staff Association (Misa) stepped up and came to the rescue of employees whose dealer principal took away their privilege.
They were expected to pay for the beverages in future.
Martlé Keyter, Misa’s CEO of operations, said the union enquired about the status quo after receiving a complaint from a member in distress.
The member said the staff used to get coffee and tea, and a kettle was available. The dealership decided to open a coffee shop for customers to use while waiting for their vehicles.
The practice of providing employees with beverages was stopped with immediate effect, and they were told to buy from the coffee shop.
The member told Misa that he could not afford to pay for his coffee.
“There is no legal obligation on the employer to provide employees with coffee and tea. However, in this case, there has been an existing practice where employees got tea and coffee. Furthermore, other dealerships in the franchise provided the same to their employees,” Keyter said.
Misa wrote a letter to the group human resources, pointing out that providing employees with coffee and tea, free of charge, demonstrated concern for their well-being.
Misa said employees of the same group at other dealerships nationwide were receiving coffee and tea free of charge.
Misa asked the group to reconsider its decision in good faith, and the practice was reintroduced.
In another incident, at the end of last year, a small dealership in Mpumalanga, as a preventative measure to not embark on restructuring, claimed that it would save more than R14 000 a month if it stopped providing tea and coffee, from this year.
Keyter said she was grateful that sanity prevailed.
“The retail motor industry has been hit very hard with the devastating impact of the persistent dire economic situation in South Africa. The whole value chain is feeling the impact of consumers who are unable to afford new or used cars, and does not book them for services, or replace their tyres.
“We need to encourage and inspire each other that this too shall pass. We need to try our best, remain focused and motivated. Pettiness about requiring employees to pay for coffee and tea has no place in our industry,” Keyter said.
Pretoria News