Retail Workers in the Context of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) and Lockdown Regulations: An Analysis of Shoprite Workers in South Africa

• Date: 01 July 2021
• Author: Jerry Mmanoko Mathekga
• DOI: 10.25159/2664-3731/9945
• Pages: 1-16
• Published date: 01 July 2021

Article

African Journal of Employee Relations

https://doi.org/10.25159/2664-3731/9945

https://upjournals.co.za/index.php/AJER

ISSN 2664-3731 (Online), ISSN 2709-0426 (Print)

Volume 45 | 2021 | #9945 | 16 pages

© Unisa Press 2022

Retail Workers in the Context of the Coronavirus

(COVID-19) and Lockdown Regulations: An Analysis

of Shoprite Workers in South Africa

Jerry Mmanoko Mathekga

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7326-933X

Human Sciences Research Council, South Africa

jmathekga@hsrc.ac.za

jmathekga@gmail.com

Abstract

Many sectors of the South African economy have felt the effect of the

coronavirus, except for a few companies such as the Shoprite Group. The

Shoprite Group kept its stores open during the COVID-19 lockdown levels and

regulations in South Africa, except for its liquor stores owing to lockdown

regulations that prohibited the sale of alcohol. The Shoprite Group did not

retrench its workforce, but created thousands of jobs since COVID-19 hit the

country. Retail workers such as Shoprite workers are deemed essential workers

and are allowed to go to work during the Covid-19 lockdown periods. The retail

giant is required to provide protective equipment such as face masks and hand

sanitisers to its workforce. The workforce at Shoprite consist of full-time

permanent workers and sub-standard workers (i.e. temporary, labour brokers

and casual workers). This article highlights that COVID-19 provides an opportune

time for both government and Shoprite to revisit the employment status of some

workers, particularly sub-standard workers. They should recognise them as

essential workers and give them essential, decent full-time permanent jobs with

decent salaries, protection and benefits.

Keywords: Shoprite, COVID-19, sub-standard, employment, South Africa

Introduction

The coronavirus, COVID-19, is the defining health crisis and the greatest challenge the

world has faced since World War II. Since its emergence in Asia towards the end of

2019, the virus has spread to every continent except Antarctica. However, COVID-19 is

much more than a health crisis; it is also an unprecedented socio-economic crisis. The

pandemic has the potential to create devastating economic, social and political effects

Mathekga

2

that will leave significant and long-lasting impacts. Many sectors such as the

manufacturing, tourism and hospitality sectors have already felt the effect of COVID-19.

Consequently, many workers have lost their jobs and are more likely to not meet their

basic needs. The official unemployment rate increased to 30.1 per cent in the first

quarter of 2020 and is forecast to reach around 37.9 per cent in the second quarter of

2020 (Stats SA, 2020) as many businesses have had to shut their doors permanently or

to downscale their workforce (De Witt, 2020).

However, the Shoprite Group is one of the few companies that have not felt the

devastating effect of COVID-19. All the Shoprite stores have been operating throughout

the COVID-19 lockdown periods, except for the liquor stores because of lockdown

regulations that prohibited the sale of alcohol. The sale of alcohol is prohibited on the

grounds that it has the potential to spread the virus as people might not adhere to COVID-

19 regulations such as the wearing of masks and social distancing. The other reason is

that alcohol is associated with serious injuries as people misbehave when they are

intoxicated. In this regard, health facilities are not equipped to deal with both COVID-19

patients and alcohol-related injuries.

However, a few Shoprite stores were closed temporarily owing to cases of COVID-19

infections. The Shoprite Group kept most of its jobs and created 4 305 jobs in the six

months ending in December 2020. The Shoprite Group employed 140 000 people in

South Africa and the rest of Africa (Wilson, 2021a). The retail giant found itself in a

stronger position with regard to its balance sheet; its trading profit rose to R4.7 billion

and its dividend per share has increased from 22.4 per cent to 191c (Wilson, 2021a).

This article highlights that the sub-standard workforce of Shoprite consists of essential

workers who always provide essential services to millions of people, and especially

during the COVID-19 period. It argues that these workers should therefore be provided

with decent full-time employment.

This article is structured as follows: in the next section I introduce a brief background

of Shoprite and highlight other business services the retail company offers, its expansion

to African countries and the number of Shoprite stores in countries in which it operates.

I then discuss the history of sub-standard employment at Shoprite dating as far back as

the 1930s to current years and its implications on workers. I then discuss the impact of

COVID-19 on Shoprite and argue that some Shoprite workers, regarded as essential

workers, are still subjected to sub-standard employment. Based on this, I highlight that

it is time for the government and the retail companies to revisit the form of employment

of many retail workers (i.e. employment of sub-standard or precarious, temporary forms

of work) and to offer them full-time permanent employment owing to their essential

nature of work. This section is then followed by the conclusion.