DELMAS– Daybreak Foods, once hailed as a flagship for transformation and rural job creation in South Africa’s poultry sector, is now at the centre of a deepening crisis. About 2,200 jobs are at risk, wages remain unpaid and pension funds of workers are in arrears.
The Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU), South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU), the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK) Party and Daybreak’s own worker committee have condemned management and Business Rescue Practitioner (BRP) Tebogo Maoto, accusing them of failing workers while mismanaging state funds injected by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC).
In a media statement released on 31 August, FAWU said: “Workers must not pay for the failures of management, boardroom neglect, or policy inertia. The looming retrenchment of more than 2,000 Daybreak Foods workers is not simply an economic decision but a moral and social failure.”
FAWU said unpaid salaries, overtime and provident fund contributions in arrears since April 2025 have left many workers unable to pay rent, keep up with school fees, or even put food on the table.
Sunduza Abednigo, worker leader and committee member at Daybreak Foods, said: “From January to April, money was deducted from workers but never paid to third parties like provident funds. Even if you resign, you won’t get your provident fund because they are in arrears. That is corruption and surprisingly no one has been arrested. We are looking for a pro bono lawyer to assist us in court for all the wrongdoing.”
The union is demanding an urgent moratorium on retrenchments, immediate activation of the Temporary Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) to safeguard wages for up to 12 months and a high-level emergency meeting bringing together government, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), the South African Poultry Association (SAPA), and major labour federations Congress of South African Trade Union (COSATU) and SAFTU.
In a statement released on 01 September, the MK Party said: “We are appalled by reports that employees, many of whom have not received their lawfully earned salaries, are being told to resign when their concerns are raised with management. This arrogant dismissal of their legitimate grievances reveals a toxic culture of intimidation and a total absence of leadership.”
The MK Party also attacked the stipend scheme, under which workers received just R1,500 in August, even after the PIC had pumped R74 million in April and R150 million in July was injected to pay expenses such as salaries and support the business rescue plan. “Instead of addressing the crisis with integrity, Daybreak’s management continues to threaten job security and ignore the very same people keeping operations afloat,” the party said.
Workers stipend worsens plight of workers
For Daybreak’s workers, the stipend has only worsened tensions. Many allege it was implemented without agreement from the workers’ committee, in breach of Section 152 of the Companies Act.
FAWU’s communication officer Dominique Martin told Highveld Chronicle that FAWU was never consulted despite being the recognised union at Daybreak Foods. “Workers have gone unpaid for months, while management and the BRP continue to disregard Section 189 of the Labour Relations Act. This is not only unlawful, but it strips workers and their families of their right to participate in decisions that determine their livelihoods. We cannot allow such blatant violations of labour rights to go unchallenged.”
Worker leader and committee member Abednigo said: “We have an issue with the BRP paying us a R1,500 stipend without agreeing with the workers or workers’ committee, which is a breach of Section 152 of the Companies Act. As workers we are vulnerable. We were previously getting 50% of our salaries, and that was a contractual agreement between employees and the employer. This sudden change is unlawful.”
Many workers say the R1,500 stipend is swallowed by debit orders before they can use it, leaving families stressed. Some have already abandoned their jobs after being unable to pay rent.
On 02 September 2025, Daybreak issued its own media statement defending the stipend and clarifying its rescue plan. The BRP said the company’s salary bill of R33 million per month was unsustainable given that only the hatchery and breeder divisions are operating.
“The Company is financially distressed and simply not in a position to make full salary payments to employees who are not rendering services,” it said. “The stipend provision is in line with the conditions attached to the R150 million funding received.”
Daybreak insisted consultations had taken place, but acknowledged consensus could not be reached. On pensions, the BRP confirmed that arrears would be settled by 05 September, allowing employees to access their funds.
On retrenchments, the BRP emphasised: “The Company is prohibited from instituting retrenchment proceedings unless the business rescue plan has been adopted by the requisite majority of creditors. There has been no formal retrenchment process initiated.”
SAFTU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said: ”Workers did not create this crisis; they will not carry its costs,Vavi declared, announcing SAFTU’s call to action in solidarity with affected workers and its demand for a worker-centered rescue plan.”
