How long can R1 last you with the current high cost of living that South Africans are finding hard to navigate?
Well, this was what confronted a number of County Fair employees when they were apparently paid as low as R1 for their pay run on December 6.
The popular chicken supplier has blamed this on its new payroll system which it said caused the glitch when it went live on November 29, following an eight-week testing phase.
Marlize Keyter, spokesperson for County Fair owner Astral Foods, said: “Despite our thorough preparations, we regret to confirm that a small number of employees did not receive the correct pay due to an administrative error.
We engaged directly with the affected employees to resolve their queries, and they have been reimbursed.”
Keyter said that “extensive communication” efforts were made to ensure a smooth transition.
“Extensive communication was conducted with all employees through various channels, including in-person briefings, SMS notifications, and visual displays on noticeboards,” she said.
Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (Sactwu) provincial secretary, Deon Simons, said they were aware of the incident and were in the process of engaging with the company regarding the matter.
He also raised concerns regarding the biometric clocking and face recognition system recently introduced by the company. “We are in the process of further engagement with the company in relation to the biometric clocking system and the error that occurred during October and November,” he said.
“We have made a proposal to the company in relation to fixing the short payment that occurred. ”
Simon said the incident raised questions about the reliability of such systems and drew calls for greater accountability to safeguard workers’ rights and livelihoods.
Cape Times