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Cape Town - Trade unions on Friday said they would not countenance a lower minimum wage for the clothing industry, after Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel granted errant factory owners a reprieve that saved about 22 000 jobs for now.
"We are certainly not going to budge," South African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu) spokesperson Wayne van der Rheede said of the minimum industry wage of R444 a week for qualified machinists in rural areas.
"We are calling upon non-compliant employers to come to the party. Failing that, they will have to deal with the full weight of the law."
Like Van der Rheede, Congress of SA Trade Unions spokesperson Patrick Craven welcomed Patel's effective stay of execution on thousands of jobs in the beleaguered industry but said unions would not compromise on salaries.
"We welcome the fact that jobs will be saved without compromising the principle that minimum wages must be paid. This is a temporary reprieve," Craven said.
"We remain firmly committed to the principle of ensuring decent work and minimum wages."
Van der Rheede said the union saw Patel's intervention and his invitation for talks on a new deal for the industry as an opportunity for non-compliant manufacturers "to come to the party".
"The issue is how do we ensure that they become compliant with the collective agreement in the clothing industry."
Patel's move warded off the threat of legal action against 385 factories paying less than the minimum pay but the reprieve is valid only until the end of December, leaving just three months to negotiate a new deal.
Van der Rheede said he welcomed the opportunity for inclusive talks but thought the deadline was too short and the situation too fraught to reach a workable new accord by January.
"The issues are so complex that I don't think we will be able to reach a deal before the end of the year."
He reminded non-compliant manufacturers that they were at a disadvantage for forfeiting access to the funding government has set aside to assist struggling industries.
"There is a lot of support from government's side ... They don't qualify for that at all and I believe that between now and December there is time to offset the advantage that compliant companies have."
Clothing manufacturers say they are fighting a losing battle against cheap imports from India and China and are therefore forced to keep labour costs low.
But the national bargaining council counters that by breaking the rules, they are undermining the competitiveness of those manufacturers that do comply and putting the industry at further risk.
A report tabled at Sactwu's annual conference in Cape Town last week showed that, over a three-year period from July 2007 to June 30 this year, 18 291 clothing sector jobs were lost.
Fifty-two percent of job losses occurred in the areas of northern KwaZulu-Natal, Ladysmith, QwaQwa, Newcastle, Botshabelo and Port Shepstone, where the wage rates were the lowest in the clothing industry.
"We are certainly not going to budge," South African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu) spokesperson Wayne van der Rheede said of the minimum industry wage of R444 a week for qualified machinists in rural areas.
"We are calling upon non-compliant employers to come to the party. Failing that, they will have to deal with the full weight of the law."
Like Van der Rheede, Congress of SA Trade Unions spokesperson Patrick Craven welcomed Patel's effective stay of execution on thousands of jobs in the beleaguered industry but said unions would not compromise on salaries.
"We welcome the fact that jobs will be saved without compromising the principle that minimum wages must be paid. This is a temporary reprieve," Craven said.
"We remain firmly committed to the principle of ensuring decent work and minimum wages."
Van der Rheede said the union saw Patel's intervention and his invitation for talks on a new deal for the industry as an opportunity for non-compliant manufacturers "to come to the party".
"The issue is how do we ensure that they become compliant with the collective agreement in the clothing industry."
Patel's move warded off the threat of legal action against 385 factories paying less than the minimum pay but the reprieve is valid only until the end of December, leaving just three months to negotiate a new deal.
Van der Rheede said he welcomed the opportunity for inclusive talks but thought the deadline was too short and the situation too fraught to reach a workable new accord by January.
"The issues are so complex that I don't think we will be able to reach a deal before the end of the year."
He reminded non-compliant manufacturers that they were at a disadvantage for forfeiting access to the funding government has set aside to assist struggling industries.
"There is a lot of support from government's side ... They don't qualify for that at all and I believe that between now and December there is time to offset the advantage that compliant companies have."
Clothing manufacturers say they are fighting a losing battle against cheap imports from India and China and are therefore forced to keep labour costs low.
But the national bargaining council counters that by breaking the rules, they are undermining the competitiveness of those manufacturers that do comply and putting the industry at further risk.
A report tabled at Sactwu's annual conference in Cape Town last week showed that, over a three-year period from July 2007 to June 30 this year, 18 291 clothing sector jobs were lost.
Fifty-two percent of job losses occurred in the areas of northern KwaZulu-Natal, Ladysmith, QwaQwa, Newcastle, Botshabelo and Port Shepstone, where the wage rates were the lowest in the clothing industry.
