"Rainbow Chicken on a knife edge", 8 Jan 2017

One of South Africa’s biggest chicken producers is selling 15 of its 25 farms in Hammarsdale to stay afloat after fighting years of dumping by importers. Because of the cutbacks Rainbow Chicken, renamed RCL Foods, is retrenching 1350 workers from the end of the month. Mike’s Chickens (Limpopo), a family-run business in Polokwane for 38 years, has already closed, putting more than 1000 people out of work. Country Bird ...the country’s third biggest chicken producer behind Astral Foods...and RCL, is retrenching 1 500 workers...This week, Scott Pitman, managing director of RCL Foods, said he no longer knew what to do to save jobs. “Letting 1 350 people go at the end of the month will be the saddest day in my career. How do you get rid of people who have given you loyal service, some as long as 40 years?” he asked...Pitman said the government was doing nothing to tighten import controls on frozen chicken, and the EU and Brazil, especially, were capitalising on this with large-scale dumping...“Our company’s troubles could end and jobs saved overnight if the government placed tighter regulations on imports,” said Pitman...Katishi Masemola, general secretary of the Food and Allied Workers’ Union (Fawu), also warned that if the government did not step in, members would embark on rolling mass action...