Cape Town - The Cosatu-affiliated Southern Africa Clothing & Textile Workers’ Union (SACTWU) has settled its 2016 wage negotiations for the Woven Cotton Textile Sector, it announced on Friday.
The agreement was reached under the auspices of the National Textile Bargaining Council (NTBC), with employers represented by the South African Cotton & Textile Processing Employers’ Association (SACTPEA).
It is a 2-year agreement, backdated to July 1 2016. The agreement covers improvements in the prescribed minimum wages, retirement fund contributions, and bargaining council levies.
Approximately 4 630 workers employed in 70 woven cotton textile factories nationally will benefit from this agreement. The agreement will now be submitted to the Minister of Labour, with a request for her to gazette and extend it to also cover all non-party employers in this sector.
The 8.25% package settlement increase will be retrospectively effective from July 1 this year. This above inflation settlement is a major step forward in SACTWU’s 2016 Living Wage Campaign, the union said.