Oct 25, 2023 MISA, the Motor Industry Staff Association, Martlé Keyter, Tiekie Mocke
MISA got members' coffee and tea back
MISA had to step-up and come to the rescue of employees whose Dealer Principal took away their coffee, tea and kettle expecting them to pay for these beverages in future.
Martlé Keyter, MISA’s Chief Executive Officer: Operations, says the Union enquired about the status quo after receiving a complaint from a member in distress.
According to the member they used to get coffee and tea at work and a kettle was available for them to use. The Dealership decided to open up a coffee shop for customers to use whilst waiting for their vehicles. The practise of providing employees with a kettle, coffee and tea was stopped with immediate effect and they were told to purchase from the coffee shop in future. The member told MISA that he simply could not afford to pay for his daily coffee.
“There is no legal obligation on the employer to provide employees with coffee and tea. However, in this case, there has been an existing practise where employees got tea and coffee. Further more other dealerships in the franchise provided the same to their employees. MISA wrote a letter to the Group Human Resources pointing out that providing employees with coffee and tea, free of charge, demonstrates concern for their wellbeing.
“Staff members enjoy a well-deserved break and feel rejuvenated and more positive about their day ahead of them. Free tea or coffee is not going to guarantee 100% staff satisfaction or retention, but if employees feels appreciated, it is a step in the right direction.” MISA also pointed out that employees of the same group at other dealerships nationwide were receiving coffee and tea free of charge. “My question is, why the differentiation in treatment?”
MISA asked the group to reconsider their decision in good faith and the practise of providing free tea and coffee was reintroduced. The members are delighted with MISA’s intervention as they felt the decision was unfair.
In another incident, closer to the end of last year a small Dealership in Mpumalanga, as a preventative measure to not embark on restructuring, claimed that they will save over R14 000 per month if they stop providing tea and coffee to their employees with effect January 2023. Keyter says she is grateful that sanity prevailed.
“The retail motor industry has been hit very hard with the devastating impact of the persistent dire economic situation in South Africa. The whole value chain feeling the impact of consumers who are unable to afford new or used cars, does not book them for services or replaces their tyres. “We need to encourage and inspire each other that this too shall pass. We need to try our best, remain focussed and motivated. Pettiness about requiring employees to pay for coffee and tea has no place in our industry,” says Keyter.
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