- The EFF’s Floyd Shivambu says workers affected by the Clicks shutdown are “unfortunate collateral”.
- He claims the workers will benefit from their action in the long run.
- The party plans to protest for the entire week until their demands are met.
EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu says Clicks workers are “unfortunate collateral” in the party’s protest action against the retail chain.
LIVE | EFF shutdown: Workers ‘unfortunate collateral’ says Shivambu, Emalahleni Clicks ‘petrol bombed’
Speaking outside a Clicks store in Sandton City, Johannesburg, Shivambu said Clicks should suffer the consequences after the publication of an advert that depicted black people’s hair as “dry” and “damaged” but white people’s hair as “normal”.
There were about 30 EFF members at the protest in Sandton.
The protests have impacted many Clicks workers’ ability to go to work. Some stores closed their doors.
But Shivambu said the workers were “unfortunate collateral”.
“The employees of Clicks must know that after this action they are going to benefit forever because this management will start respecting black people by force,” Shivambu said.
He added that “the employees of Clicks must be rest assured that after our action, they are going to benefit from this”.
Shivambu claimed that after protests against retail chain H&M protests in 2013, workers gained “more respect” from their employees and that “all their demands were acceded to”.
Protests will continue
Shivambu vowed to continue with the Clicks shutdown until the chain meets the party’s demands.
“We are here to stop Clicks from operating. If they open, we enter… and there will not be any operation that is going to exist here,” Shivambu warned.
“There is no form of court order or anything that is going to stop us from protesting against racism,” he added.
“Racism must be treated as such. It must be resisted. It must be rejected everywhere.
“That is why we are here today and we will be here to make sure this store does not open. If it means we [must] come back tomorrow, we’ll come back tomorrow – the whole of the week until they accede to the demands that we’ve been given,” Shivambu added.
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