One of the Kara Nichha's branches in Durban.
Image: Chumani Mazwi
THE Labour and Civic Organisation (LACO) announced plans to escalate protests against Kara Nichha’s restaurants in KwaZulu-Natal, amid allegations of labour violations and unsafe working conditions.
According to LACO, workers have raised concerns including unpaid leave benefits, unpaid overtime despite long working hours, inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE), failure to compensate workers injured on duty, and poor working conditions.
It has been reported that the Pietermaritzburg High Court granted an urgent interdict in favour of KN Brand Properties CC, authorising police to act against members of LACO, the MK Party and others accused of disrupting and intimidating the company’s businesses.
However, on Monday, LACO insisted no official court order had been served on the organisation or its protest leaders.
The protests, which began outside Kara Nichha’s operations in Pietermaritzburg, are now expected to spread to Durban branches as workers and activists continue raising concerns over alleged labour violations and unsafe working conditions.
LACO KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Moeketsi Mahasela said they would continue peaceful demonstrations until workers’ grievances were addressed.
“The protests will continue at Kara Nichha’s warehouse and all its restaurants in KwaZulu-Natal. We confirm the continuation of the protest action at Kara Nichhas following the company's failure to address serious grievances raised by workers and the community,” said Mahasela.
“The action will escalate to Durban restaurants since the workers face the same problems as Pietermaritzburg employees.”
Mahasela also criticised reports published about the interdict.
“LACO further notes with concern the misleading claims alleging a court interdict against the protest action. As things stand, no court interdict has been formally served to LACO or protest leaders. In law, an alleged interdict that has not been properly served cannot simply be used as a tool to intimidate workers and suppress legitimate protest action,” he said.
The organisation claimed the demonstrations stemmed from long-standing allegations of unfair labour practices at Kara Nichha’s.
Mahasela said workers refuse to remain silent while businesses allegedly profit from exploitation.
“We maintain that workers cannot continue to suffer in silence while businesses continue generating profits through exploitation and abuse. We remain committed to ensuring that affected workers receive justice, lawful treatment, and improved working conditions,” he said.
The organisation also called on Kara Nichha’s management to engage directly with workers and protest leaders instead of relying on what it described as “media misinformation and intimidation tactics”.
“The protest action will continue peacefully until there is tangible commitment towards resolving the grievances raised by employees,” Mahasela added.
LACO has also urged labour authorities and government departments to investigate the conditions under which workers are employed at the company.
Meanwhile, videos and photographs circulating on social media appear to show workers speaking out about alleged workplace injuries and labour-related concerns, further fuelling public debate around the dispute.
At the time of publication, Kara Nichha’s management had not responded to the latest allegations made by LACO.