Fury at Sea Harvest no-show at Cosatu picket

Seafood, agri-processing and branded fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firm Sea Harvest left a Cosatu-led picket fuming after failing to accept a memorandum demanding answers over the deaths of 11 fishermen at sea.

Cosatu led a picket to Sea Harvest’s offices calling for transparency about progress made in the investigation relating to the company’s MFV Lepanto that sank in May, claiming the lives of 11 fishermen on board.

Anastacia Smith, the sister of Jeremy Minnies, one of the fishermen presumed to have drowned, said the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) informed them that the investigation was ongoing.

“Initially, we were told that the probe will take about three to four weeks then a preliminary report would be available. However, weeks after that, there were reports that the investigators were changed or something, which meant the investigation will be commenced by new investigators. Now, they were not sure how long it would take for us to know what the probe found. We are still eagerly waiting,” she said.

Cosatu attempted to hand over the memorandum of demands on Wednesday, which included calls for the employer to allow workers freedom of association and to promote fair labour practices.

However, when the company failed to send an official, Cosatu Western Cape secretary Malvern de Bruyn left the document at Sea Harvest’s doorstep.

“We have given management 14 days to respond and because we have seen the attitude today, we don’t think they will respond. We communicated our intentions of having a picket here which they acknowledged. The company told us an official will be sent to accept the memorandum, but today they pretend not to be in office. We will mobilise and return in greater numbers.

Cosatu also made attempts to speak to the families and the workers, but they were told not to speak with us. We are very concerned about how things are,we are not here to fight with them but to see how we can work together for the health and safety of the workers,” said De Bruyn.

Sea Harvest spokesperson Anthea Abraham said the company had decided it would not comment on the matter.

Samsa did not respond to questions by deadline on Wednesday.

Cape Times