Activists won’t let bread makers off
The groups that took three major bread makers to court have vowed to fight on despite losing their application. |||
Activist organisations that launched a class action application against the three biggest bread producers in the Western Cape High Court have vowed to fight on despite losing their application on Friday.
Acting Judge Francois van Zyl, in a ruling on Friday morning, did not grant the four organisations – the Children’s Resources Centre, Black Sash, Cosatu (Western Cape) and the National Consumer Forum – a provisional class certification order in its lawsuit against Pioneer Foods, Tiger Brands and Premier Foods.
Van Zyl did not provide reasons for his ruling, but reported a written judgment would be provided.
Spokespeople for the group, Marcella Naidoo and Nkosikhulule Nyembezi of the Black Sash, Marcus Solomon of the Children’s Resources Centre, Mike Louw from Cosatu and Thami Bolani of the National Consumer Forum, said the organisations were disappointed about the ruling.
However, they said they were “determined to take the class action forward”.
“We have instructed our attorneys to issue a class action summons against the three bread companies who had already been found guilty of collusive and unlawful behaviour by the Competition Tribunal. We will submit another application for class certification as part of the trial itself.”
The five acknowledged that there was “still a very long and difficult legal road ahead of us” but they said they remained committed and determined “to pursue and secure compensation on behalf of the millions of consumers who have suffered as a result of these corrupt business practices”.
They said it had to be remembered that “these illegal activities were a deliberate and conscious attempt to profit from a staple food in an environment of high unemployment and chronic poverty”.
The acting judge only took a few minutes to rule that the application was dismissed. The organisations had sought a pre-trial application seeking class action status. The activist organisations will seek a ruling forcing the bakery companies to compensate consumers after they were found guilty of price fixing.
Bloomberg reported that the lawyers for the three companies argued that the pre-trial application was unnecessary and that the organisations failed to obtain a certificate from regulators to file for civil damages for the breach of competition laws as required by South African law.
Pioneer was fined R500 million by the Competition Commission for price fixing relating to its flour and milling unit and its bakeries, eggs and poultry businesses.
Tiger Brands and Premier Foods were granted conditional immunity for co-operating with the probe, but Tiger Brands was fined nearly R100m in 2007 for bread price fixing. Pioneer was initially given a fine of R195m in February for colluding over bread prices. – Business Report
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