Union acts to halt factory closures

Johannesburg - The Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers' Union (Sactwu) has launched an urgent labour court application to stop the closure of clothing factories in Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal, following a wage dispute, it said on Monday.

The decision by the Newcastle Chinese Chamber of Commerce to close its member factories in the town amounted to an illegal lockout, Sactwu said.

"We have instructed our legal representatives to launch an urgent labour court legal application to rectify this unacceptable situation."

Following recent action taken against these clothing manufacturers by the National Bargaining Council, the companies decided on Thursday to close their operations indefinitely in protest.

The National Bargaining Council contended these companies are paying their employees excessively low wages, some earning as little as R90 per week. According to the business chamber, the lowest ranking workers are paid R200 per week.

The bargaining council contested workers should be paid a minimum of R324 a week.

Alex Liu, chairperson of the Newcastle Chinese Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement on Friday: "This is a no-win situation, but we have been forced to take this drastic, risky decision in the hope that a favourable solution can be found.  

"We have created nearly 8 000 jobs that sustain about 40 000 people in our surrounding communities. Many of our staff have been with us for a long time. Why would we purposely exploit our workers?"

Liu said officials from Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique were courting the Newcastle-based clothing companies to relocate operations. He said that this was a feasible option, as labour is far cheaper in those countries than in South Africa.

"Our hope is that by halting operations now, we can bring the bargaining council to the table with us, and we are doing this to demonstrate our loyalty to South Africa and to the well-being of our community," said Liu.

Sactwu general secretary André Kriel said on Monday the union was concerned about "this state of affairs and its impact on the creation and protection of jobs in the KZN province".

Sactwu would be open to talks on the issue, said Kriel.

"We will do anything within in our power to save and create jobs in the clothing, textile, leather and footwear sector." The union said it was open to finding a solution for the situation, along with the bargaining council.

 - Fin24.com