South Africa’s Pioneer Foods has taken disciplinary action against 41 employees involved in the price-fixing scandals that have recently engulfed the company.An external, independent presiding officer looked into the matter and 38 employees admitted guilt and received written warnings. One was found not guilty and two cases are still being processed.

Besides the written warnings, executive management did not receive any incentive bonuses, while the company’s executive directors did not receive increases for 2011. The majority of executive managers, meanwhile, were not allocated new share appreciation rights for next year.

In strengthening its governance and compliance protocols, Pioneer said it had appointed a compliance and risk officer, revised its code of ethics and implemented online compliance training for about 1,900 personnel.

Last month, Pioneer agreed to pay a ZAR500m fine to settle anti-trust investigations into alleged price fixing within its flour, corn-processing and bread divisions.

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