Share

Factories to challenge bargaining council

Johannesburg - Clothing factories that could be shut down for failing to pay the industry’s prescribed minimum wages plan to take the sector’s bargaining council to court.

On Friday the United Clothing & Textile Association (Ucta), which was established earlier this year by factories under threat, lodged an urgent application in the Pietermaritzburg High Court to prevent factory closures, said association chairperson Ahmed Paruk.

On Friday afternoon the applicant was waiting to hear if the application could be heard as a matter of urgency.

According to Paruk, Ucta is also planning a separate court action against the bargaining council to contest the institution’s authority over these factories.

A leading legal firm was already involved in financially supporting a non-government organisation, he said.

The aim is to contest the validity of the bargaining council’s minimum wage agreement in court, but the matter was “sub judice”, said Paruk, and he could therefore not enlarge on it.

Ucta plans to argue in court that the agreement is invalid as it was negotiated between the bargaining council’s big members without any input from the factories affected, said Paruk.

The council is dominated by employer group Apparel Manufacturers of SA (Amsa) and the Sactwu union.

Last week the bargaining council again began shutting down factories not paying the minimum wage, following a moratorium on factory closures hurriedly negotiated late last year had expired.

In terms of the moratorium, factories had until April this year to pay 70% of the prescribed minimum wages.

After expiry of this deadline a countrywide inspection process had been launched to determine how widely the agreement was being implemented.

Last week the first factories not complying with the agreement had been closed.

Those factories in contravention were closed by the issuing of orders for the attachment of assets to compensate for unpaid wages and money owing to the council.

Last year the council obtained attachment orders against 385 clothing factories but since last month only a quarter have been inspected to determine whether they were keeping to the agreement, said Leon Deetlefs, the bargaining council’s compliance manager.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.97
-0.3%
Rand - Pound
23.99
-0.4%
Rand - Euro
20.51
-0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.36
-0.0%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.4%
Platinum
906.75
+1.1%
Palladium
1,015.63
+1.4%
Gold
2,209.38
+0.7%
Silver
24.63
-0.1%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,240
+0.8%
All Share
74,437
+0.7%
Resource 10
57,023
+2.5%
Industrial 25
103,861
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,492
-0.2%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders