BUTTERWORTH, Eastern Cape — More than 90 employees at the Elite Bakery remain without income or clarity as operations at the facility have ceased following allegations of unpaid wages, labour violations, and the reported disappearance of the company’s new owners.
Workers state they have not received salaries for over three months. What began as delayed payments has escalated into a full shutdown, with production halted and delivery vehicles parked indefinitely. The situation intensified yesterday when workers staged protest action, demanding answers and intervention.
According to employee accounts, conditions at the bakery shifted significantly after new ownership assumed control late last year. Truck drivers further allege they laboured for years under unsafe conditions without adequate protective equipment or access to injury-on-duty benefits. The prolonged uncertainty has placed severe financial strain on workers and their families.
Community organizations have intervened, accusing the bakery’s leadership of abandoning staff. “They did not even have the decency to come and have a meeting with the workers. No decency to communicate with us,” stated a representative of the supporting community groups. “We don’t want this firm to be closed… We are saying to the government: these workers have been here for years. They can make bread.”
The community representatives proposed that, should current management deem the operation unviable, workers be given the opportunity and financial support to run the bakery themselves. “We can do it. We can lead this. We can manage this,” they asserted.
In response, a spokesperson for Evoyant Technologies, the bakery’s current operators, clarified that employees were compensated for work completed between January and April of this year. The spokesperson emphasized that any outstanding salary obligations predating the ownership transition remain the responsibility of the previous owners. “The company is committed to resolving this matter through appropriate legal and labour processes,” the spokesperson added.
With negotiations stalled and workers awaiting resolution, the situation at Elite Bakery underscores broader challenges in labour relations and business continuity. Local authorities and labour departments have yet to publicly intervene as the standoff continues.