By Palesa Nguqu
The SA Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (Saccawu) has expressed concern over the introduction of smart trolleys at Shoprite Checkers stores, saying it may lead to cashiers losing their jobs.
The trolleys will allow shoppers to see how much money they are spending and include in-built payment terminals.
“The first of these problems is that all cashiers will be displaced by this technology. This poses a huge risk which will see a number of these cashiers joining the already burgeoning unemployment queue in the country,” union spokesperson Sithembele Tshwete said in a statement on Monday.
“Shoprite Checkers is a major employer in the retail sector which employs more than 120,000 employees whose jobs are mainly part time casual in nature.”
Following initial testing by office employees at a Checkers supermarket in Cape Town from mid-August, 20 of the new trolleys will be made available to customers
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