BDS takes boycott to Woolies boardroom
Activists plan to attend a Woolworths AGM to push for a vote to cut trade relations with Israel.
JOHANNESBURG - Activists calling for a boycott of Woolworths will be taking the fight to the boardroom today, with plans to attend the company's annual general meeting and push for a vote to cut trade relations with Israel.
The Boycotts, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) group has become an active shareholder of the retailer and has teamed up with existing shareholders, to intensify the campaign to end the R12 million agreement.
The group has bought individual shares for activists and says it will attempt to persuade the entire board to make the drastic move.
The campaign's Muhammed Desai said, "We're going to make sure that we lobby the entire house to take this position. If it has to go to a vote, it will, where we're sure it will win."
On Tuesday, the High Court in Johannesburg granted an order that Woolworths' management has its first face-to-face meeting with the activists before 10 December.
The order also reads that nobody will be allowed to protest in anyway at any Woolworths store.
