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Johannesburg - The Made in China rugby
jersey saga continued on Wednesday as the Southern African Clothing
and Textile Workers' Union (Sactwu) entered the scrum, saying it
rejected the South African Rugby Union's (Saru's) claim that
the "majority" of Springbok rugby supporters' gear is locally produced.
Saru responded on Tuesday to comments made earlier this week by the Independent Democrats (ID) that its alleged use of a Chinese company to manufacture the jerseys was a slap in the face for the struggling local textile industry.
ID spokespersonn for sport Joe Mcgluwa said he would refuse to wear the Springbok jersey during the Rugby World Cup, despite his support for the team.
"It's disgraceful that the SA Rugby Union has outsourced the manufacturing of the official replica Springbok gear to a Chinese company," he said.
But the rugby union argued that it had gone to great lengths to ensure that fans were provided with a range of supporters' wear that was affordable and accessible to all South Africans.
"Saru has an obligation to provide a wide range of products to our supporters, from the top end of the market to the low end of the consumer spectrum.
"Saru is not a clothing manufacturer and our licensing agent, Signet Licensing, have therefore contracted various suppliers to manufacture and supply the market with supporter wear apparel," it said in a statement.
But Sactwu said the evidence on the retail store shelves clearly proved otherwise.
"We challenge Saru to subject their claim to an independent audit. This will once and for all empirically expose the truth," the union said.
On Tuesday, Cosatu said the importing of Springbok supporter jerseys by Saru was a "scandal".
Saru responded on Tuesday to comments made earlier this week by the Independent Democrats (ID) that its alleged use of a Chinese company to manufacture the jerseys was a slap in the face for the struggling local textile industry.
ID spokespersonn for sport Joe Mcgluwa said he would refuse to wear the Springbok jersey during the Rugby World Cup, despite his support for the team.
"It's disgraceful that the SA Rugby Union has outsourced the manufacturing of the official replica Springbok gear to a Chinese company," he said.
But the rugby union argued that it had gone to great lengths to ensure that fans were provided with a range of supporters' wear that was affordable and accessible to all South Africans.
"Saru has an obligation to provide a wide range of products to our supporters, from the top end of the market to the low end of the consumer spectrum.
"Saru is not a clothing manufacturer and our licensing agent, Signet Licensing, have therefore contracted various suppliers to manufacture and supply the market with supporter wear apparel," it said in a statement.
But Sactwu said the evidence on the retail store shelves clearly proved otherwise.
"We challenge Saru to subject their claim to an independent audit. This will once and for all empirically expose the truth," the union said.
On Tuesday, Cosatu said the importing of Springbok supporter jerseys by Saru was a "scandal".
