German carmaker BMW SA has denied claims of mass dismissals at its Rosslyn plant in Pretoria that led to workers downing tools on Monday, saying the protest is a response to a fraud investigation within the BMW Employees Medical Aid Scheme (Bemas).
“BMW Group SA will not tolerate any acts of bribery, fraud or corruption by its employees. All internal policies and procedures are being followed, and the necessary disciplinary action will be taken for any employee found in transgression of our disciplinary code,” the company said in a statement.
“The rumours of workforce reduction to cut a shift are untrue and, should there be any termination of an associate’s contract due to the fraud investigation, we will recruit and upskill new associates, ensuring business continuity.
“The integrity of Bemas is critical to our value proposition as an employer. Its core function is to guarantee that our employees and their families have access to the best possible healthcare.”
The carmaker said it was co-operating with law enforcement in the investigation to ensure that the rule of law was upheld.
National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) general secretary Irvin Jim could not immediately be reached for comment.
A BMW worker who identified himself only as Eugene said there was a “BMW side and a Numsa side to the conflict”. “The reality is that we had a labour issue with the company, which quickly turned into a mass dismissal affecting 700 people. We said to the company, ‘Let’s find alternatives and avoid mass dismissals.’ There had been continuous engagements with management for the past two weeks and when they dismissed the first 20 people on Friday, we said guys this must stop, hence the strike today [Monday],” he said.
Eugene said the production line had been affected because “all of us are outside. They called the police on us [and they] came here and started shooting at us.”
The industrial action at BMW SA follows one by Numsa at US motor company Ford in Pretoria in July in support of worker demands for profit-sharing. The strike ended with striking employees receiving a one-off R20,000 payment with no disciplinary action taken against them.
The automotive sector is one of the country’s biggest, contributing 5.3% to GDP in 2023 — with 3.2% manufacturing and 2.1% retail. It is also among the largest export sectors in the country and employs more than 100,000 people.
The export value of vehicles and automotive components increased by R43.5bn, or 19.1%, to a record R270.8bn in 2023, representing 14.7% of total SA exports.
SA remained the dominant market in Africa, accounting for 54.1% of the continent’s total vehicle production of 1,171,422 vehicles in 2023.
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