Premier Foods factory closure: Talks break down

Talks at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) over the proposed closure of Premier Group’s fruit canning factory in Tulbagh have broken down.

According to Agricultural, Food and Allied Democratic Workers’ Union (AFADWU) Western Cape provincial secretary Nyaniso Gqalaqha, who was part of the talks on 26 August, Premier objected to two of the worker representatives joining the talks.

Read:

SA’s fruit canning industry under threat as Premier Foods plans closure
Life in Tulbagh depends on its canning factory, which is now shutting down

The deadline for the end of the consultation period between Premier and the unions at the CCMA is 26 September.

Premier Foods share price

Gqalaqha said Premier objected to the participation of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) Western Cape provincial secretary Malvern de Bruyn, who had been part of the previous round of talks.

Read: ‘There’s a lot of opportunity to drive costs out’ – Premier CEO

The company also objected to the presence of one of the union’s shop stewards, arguing that he was a seasonal and not a permanent employee and could not participate in negotiations as an AFADWU representative.

The dispute was referred to the commissioner, who stopped the proceedings and is expected to rule on the matter before talks resume on 8 September.

In response to GroundUp, Premier said only that the consultation process over the closure of the factory “remains ongoing”.

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It said that in order to “respect the integrity of the consultation process”, it would not comment further.

“Premier remains committed to engaging in good faith,” the company said, adding that it was exploring “practical solutions and opportunities for the future” of affected employees, farmers, suppliers, the community and the wider value chain.

The closure of the factory would affect 246 permanent employees and 178 fixed-term employees – 424 workers in total, according to Premier.

Unions call for more time

Gqalaqha, however, said there had been no further discussions about alternatives to the closure.

He said even if a new buyer was found, it would be too late for the next apricot season, starting in November.

The union and Cosatu, to which AFADWU is affiliated, have called for the closure process to be suspended for at least a year to allow time for alternatives to be investigated.

Cosatu, with input from another of its affiliates, the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (Sactwu), is also querying Premier’s handling of the closure on competition-law grounds.

On 6 March, the Competition Tribunal approved the merger of Premier and the Rhodes Food Group, which owned the Tulbagh plant.

Read:

Tiger Brands sells fruit business for R1 [2025]
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The approval was subject to conditions, including that no employee should be retrenched as a result of the merger during a three-year moratorium period.

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A clause inserted at the request of Sactwu stipulates that workers and unions do not have to prove that retrenchments are linked to the merger; the burden to prove otherwise lies with Premier.

However, the conditions do allow retrenchments for operational requirements unrelated to the merger, and Premier’s position is that the closure of the plant is an operational and financial decision, and not the result of the merger.

Closure investigated 

The Competition Commission told GroundUp it is investigating whether the closure breaches the conditions attached to the merger approval, and whether all relevant information was disclosed to the commission during the merger investigation.

If a breach is found to have taken place, the competition authorities can impose a fine of up to 10% of the firm’s annual turnover in South Africa and its exports from South Africa in the preceding financial year, or revoke approval of the merger, the commission said.

It hopes to finalise the investigation within the next three months.

Meanwhile, Cosatu and affiliated unions plan to picket outside Premier Group’s annual general meeting in Midrand on 9 September.

© 2026 GroundUp. This article was first published here.

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