Family bonds have
been so strong at MAYO DAIRY, in Benoni that the only industrial strike ever
to take place at the company was way back in 1974! ANANDA OLWAGEN , the human
resource officer, tells Thembi Masser that the friendly former milk factory has
been taken over by Danone but the culture of comradeship will not just fade
away because of that.
Mayo, as it is called by the locals, employs 95 people from all races, at present and Olwagen says everybody knows everybody by name on the premises. “Even the general manger have time to ask every one about the weather,” Olwagen remarks. “He (the general manager, Marcus Blotanittz) espouses that spirit that makes this company a friendly place to be at and the company that all should want to work for, the employer of choice.”
That friendly atmosphere is what Olwagen says makes it possible for their staff turnover to be low throughout the years and their work rate to be top notch and their quality of products to be always excellent. “I mean since the Strauss family established this business there has never been union activity here until August this year,” she points out. Workers joined the union out of fear of not knowing what the new employers are going to be like. Danone now has, since July, a 100% ownership of Mayo Dairy.
She says there are over thirty job categories at Mayo. Al
most all of these do not require martic as an entry requirement. Mayo, she says
, has an intensive in-service training system that has seen countless employees
arrive with no more than a knowledge of a job but have gone on to step up the
ladder in the company and have also moved on horizontally in pursuance of
excellence. People like Thabo Mohlala and Mandla Ngwenya started as packers but
are now processing managers. Both received training here on the premises and
they have done every other job here and have now joined management, “Olwagen
says. “We want to see where we will end up now that a corporate structure is
place.”
Mayo also prides itself in its offer of generous fringe
benefits. Employees, all 95 of them, are given a litter of amasi every day to
enjoy. And Mayo has just introduced a medical scheme only for its employees and
a provident fund is in place. And there is, of course, an educational
allowance.
The company also creates employment out of itself by using a
subcontractor provides labour for it. Most of the women personnel are
outsourced and they do menial labour like packing products. Males are involved
in more mechanical work on the factory floor like in machine operators, fork
lift operators and there some of them who cook yoghurt and amasi. Cooks do not
have to be established chefs, they are taught the business on the floor. The
same goes for machine operators.
Products are shipped to mostly outlying places in the rural
areas and the spaza shops. But that only up to now. Olwagen says they are
planning in supplying wholesalers and the broader marketplace.
English is the preferred language for communication. However, there are roving interpreters who help out in times of communication barriers. “Now that Danone has come to the fore now have supervisors and have structures in place. Hopefully these will enhance the work we do and the camaraderie that goes with it.” She jokingly remarks that those that have personal disagreements and think that the only way to solve them is through a fist fight are not stopped. “They are encouraged to sort it out outside company premises.
Mayo has, for the first time she says, sent an employee out
on an apprenticeship. Mpho Mokoena is at
Millwright doing an electrical and mechanical maintenance.
“There is a family vibe here. New employees are introduced to everyone on their first day and we play and work together. “
There is no night shift except for say four cooks at a time.
Mayo was started by the Strauss family as a milk farm. “A family member from
Ireland then cooked tons and tons of yoghurt which was sold until no drop was
left behind. So the business took off since then.”
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