BMW workers continue to protest over dismissals!

NATIONAL Union of Mine Workers (Numsa) General Secretary, Irvin Jim, has written a letter to the leadership of BMW.

This following a protest by workers at the car maker's Rosslyn plant in Tshwane.

Workers are protesting against suspensions and dismissals related to allegations concerning medical aid fraud.

According to workers, 20 people have already been fired while some are suspended.

On Monday, 16 September, workers demonstrated outside the premises, saying they were against the retrenchment of close to 700 of their colleagues.

They said the employer was wrong to punish them for incidents that allegedly occurred in 2016. Angry workers said if some of the workers were indeed involved in the alleged criminal conduct, it could have only happened with the participation of various stakeholders, including corrupt service providers appointed by medical aid schemes.

Jim said a number of workers are alleged to have been involved in fraudulent activities. He emphasised that Numsa doesn't condone any criminal activity and stressed a need for a holistic approach to the issue, dealing with all involved parties equally.

"If workers were indeed involved in the alleged criminal conduct, this could have only occurred with the participation of various other stakeholders, including corrupt service providers appointed by the medical aid scheme," said Jim.

"Workers cannot take the brunt without these criminals, who benefitted the most, also exposed and acted against. In addition, BMW and the medical aid scheme that acted as administrators, should take full responsibility for their failure in having appointed corrupt service providers and failure to detect irregularities timeously."

Jim said if they weren't only complicit, they were at least grossly negligent.

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"Of immense concern to Numsa is that it also appears that BMW has been aware of these irregularities since 2019 and not only elected to take no action then, which renders its current action legally incompetent and unfair, but apparently now utilises this issue to effect the mass dismissal of workers, in order to avoid a formal retrenchment process with concomitant payment of severance pay," he said.

Jim further said the union will insist on full ventilation and exposure of all facets of the saga and all rights are reserved.

"There's a lot at stake as BMW is on the eve of launching a new car model and this is why we don't understand the obsession by management to unilaterally embark on a provocative mass job loss bloodbath, and the dismissal of close to 700 workers. In my capacity as the general secretary, and on behalf of the union, I have written to senior leadership at BMW raising these pertinent issues," he explained.

He said Numsa has called on senior leadership of both the union and BMW to be prepared to meet and dialogue on these matters, including reaching a permanent solution in the best interests of both parties and broader society as a whole.

Meanwhile, BMW Group South Africa has since released a statement confirming protest action on Monday, 16 September, outside the Rosslyn Plant in response to an ongoing fraud investigation on the BMW Employees Medical Aid Scheme (BEMAS).

"We're co-operating with law enforcement in their investigation to ensure rule of law is upheld. BMW Group South Africa won't tolerate any acts of bribery, fraud, or corruption by its employees. All internal policies and procedures are followed, and necessary disciplinary action will be taken for any employee found in transgression of our Disciplinary Code," read the statement.

The statement further read that rumours of workforce reduction to cut a shift are untrue and should there be any termination of an associate's contract due to the fraud investigation, the company would recruit and upskill new associates, ensuring business continuity.

"The integrity of BEMAS is critical to our value proposition as an employer. Its core function is to guarantee that our employees and their families have access to the best possible healthcare."