Rainbow Chicken to rehire scores of retrenched KZN staff
A food workers union says it fully supports the move by Rainbow Chicken to rehire some 750 retrenched workers.
The company was forced to lay off some 1300 employees in 2017.
The poultry producer suffered a huge blow following the practice of chicken dumping by the European Union, which saw products sold below cost in South Africa.
The producer, owned by RCL Foods, marked its 60th anniversary on Monday by opening a new plant in Hammarsdale, west of Durban.
"In 2017 when Rainbow removed one shift at Hammarsdale P2 as a result of dumping, roughly 1350 employees were retrenched. With the Rainbow Hammarsdale expansion, Rainbow has re-instated roughly 750 jobs, with an additional 100 jobs to be initiated by June 2024," the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
Rainbow Chicken Hammarsdale is one of the country's largest poultry producers.
READ: Cosatu stands behind retrenched Rainbow Chicken workers
"Rainbow's strategic expansion of the P2 Processing plant marked a remarkable investment of R220 million, further bolstered by an additional R400 million from contract growers. This comprehensive initiative encompasses an intricate overhaul of the entire supply and production chain within the KwaZulu-Natal region, spanning from farms, hatchery operations to processing facilities," the company added.
"Key project components include the construction of 120 incremental new broiler houses, enhancements to the hatchery, the installation of air-cooling systems and equipment at the processing facility, and the construction of state-of-the-art gyro-type and box freezers."
Fawu's Vuka Chonco says the union is very happy with the turn of events.
"We appreciate the fact that not only the return of the retrenched but also the creation of jobs. We support the initiative because it conforms with the decision we have with the government when it comes to the master plan, which was created in 2019 that we should create jobs as and when there is an increase in productivity."
