Retail giant Pick n Pay has temporarily halted mass retrenchment processes after a meeting with Minister of Employment and Labour Nomakhosazana Meth on Wednesday.
The retailer kickstarted retrenchment talks, targeting over 22 000 employees, with the South African Commercial, Catering, and Allied Workers Union and submitted Section 189 of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 on May 4.
According to the group, the move to retrench was in an effort to improve efficiency and restore profitability in its core supermarket business.
Sunday World previously reported that the Pick n Pay Group reported a drop in profits for the year ending March 2026. Overall turnover increased by 3.4% to R120.3-billion masked by a 1.6% decline in Pick n Pay supermarkets, particularly store closures under its restructuring plans. Group trading profit dropped by 4.2% to R1.7-billion held down by the pressure from Pick n Pay, while the discount division, Boxer, delivered stronger growth of 12.3%.
Six-hour meeting
Meth met with Pick n Pay CEO Sean Summers, Solly Phetoe, the Cosatu general secretary, and SACCAWU president Patrick Hailane to discuss ways to avoid retrenchments.
After a six-hour meeting, the parties agreed to go back to the drawing board. As such, the talks meant to be had with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration as part of the retrenchment process have been temporarily halted.
“I want to highly commend the leadership of Pick n Pay, COSATU, and SACCAWU for their maturity, patriotism and willingness to find each other.
“By agreeing to actively look for alternative, sustainable solutions through the collective bargaining negotiations, it is a positive step for workers, the retail sector and South Africans in general. Furthermore, we extend our best wishes to all parties,” said Meth.
In the financial statement announcement, Summers said that outside factors like higher fuel costs and pressure on consumers could affect performance next year.
He added that the company has a plan to become sustainable, is making steady progress, and believes its efforts are starting to show results as it works to rebuild a stronger and more competitive Pick n Pay for the long term.
- Pick n Pay has temporarily paused its mass retrenchment process targeting over 22,000 employees after meeting with Minister of Employment and Labour Nomakhosazana Meth.
- Retrenchment talks began on May 4 with SACCAWU and COSATU unions under Section 189 of the Labour Relations Act to improve efficiency and restore profitability.
- The retailer reported a profit drop for the year ending March 2026, with group trading profit falling 4.2% to R1.7 billion, pressured by supermarket restructuring despite overall turnover rising 3.4%.
- Following a six-hour negotiation with unions and government officials, all parties agreed to seek alternative, sustainable solutions, temporarily halting talks with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.
- Pick n Pay CEO Sean Summers highlighted challenges like rising fuel costs and consumer pressures but emphasized ongoing plans for sustainability and rebuilding a stronger company.
