Seardel worried about absenteeism

Cape Town - Seardel, the R4bn-a-year clothing and textile conglomerate, has raised a red flag over high levels of absenteeism in the Western Cape.

On Thursday Seardel, currently in the throes of a strenuous turnaround exercise and major litigation against former directors, reported a R50m loss from continuing operations for the half-year to end-September.

Since falling under control of empowerment giant HCI last year, Seardel has adopted a leaner and meaner corporate culture.

There was some evidence of HCI's efforts in Seardel's operating profits of R266m, earned on a fatter trading margin of more than 20% (previously 19%).

Commenting on the results, Seardel directors said the interim figures did not reflect the full benefits of the turnaround.

They remained confident of reporting improved results for the second half of the financial year.

But CEO Stuart Queen said high levels of absenteeism - particularly in the Western Cape - was a major stumbling block in the attainment of world-class efficiencies on a consistent basis.

He stressed that in order for the local clothing and textile sector to survive, efficiency levels needed to be world class. Queen pointed out that the 8% increase granted by employers during this year's wage negotiations was tagged to certain conditions aimed at reducing absenteeism.

He said the union rejected the offer on the grounds that it represented a downward variation in employment conditions.

"The strike was eventually settled on terms that effectively gave workers in the metro areas an increase of 7% without any significant changes to the terms of employment."

Queen noted, though, that the union acknowledged the problem of absenteeism and had committed to working with the industry to find a solution to the problem. "We hope that the commitment expressed by the parties translates into a positive action."

Ironically, one of the major shareholders in Seardel and its controlling shareholder, HCI, is the investment arm of the SA Clothing & Textile Workers Union (Sactwu).

A divisional breakdown saw Seardel's textile division, which recently saw the closure of a major portion of the Frame operations, turn in a small R10m profit from continuing operations. Textile turnover topped R525m.

The clothing division reported a R26m loss off turnover of R680.5m.

- Fin24.com