More verbal and visual support needed for the Battle of the Sewing Machines

South Africa 31 October 2010

Treasury concerned about bargaining council & clothing employers keep quiet.

There are indications that some departments and officials within government are concerned about the way the union and the bargaining council is addressing the current battle of the sewing machines. Whilst a determined few Chinese-South African clothing employers battle for the sustainability of South Africa’s clothing sector the rest of the clothing and even the textile sector remains silent and complicit.

Alex Liu, Chairperson of the Newcastle Chinese Chamber of Commerce said in a telephonic interview with The ReDress Consultancy today, that he was disappointed that the clothing union (Sactwu) had not fully acknowledge their goodwill act of implementing their new wage structures.

“This action by the concerned clothing companies in Newcastle demonstrates our willingness to find amicable solutions to the current situation the clothing industry finds itself in and not to wait for December when hopefully a solution to the crisis will be found,” said Liu.

The industry cannot maintain itself at the current agreed wage structures, said Liu and we need the union and the bargaining council to “realize this.” What we are suggesting is a wage structure that will provide space for “small business to grow and to provide productivity output incentives.“ Liu said that the clothing companies in Newcastle were able to provide quality products and reliable turn around. It is the wage structure of this sector that undermines its capabilities.

Both the bargaining council and the union argue that non-compliant companies create unfair competition against those companies that are compliant. We need to excavate what this really means and so far, the union, bargaining council or even the complaint companies can provide no statistical evidence to back this stance.

Commentary from industry insiders say that that the bargaining council and the union are very quick to enforce regulations, however, when it comes to clothing employers asking either the union or bargaining council to investigate labour issues on their behalf they are met with numerous gate keeping tactics. The sentiment by employers is that the relationship with the union and the bargaining council is one sided. “This is a two-way street,” said one employer

The current impasse within the industry has filtered down to the offices of Pravin Gordhan. Two paragraphs imbedded in an article, (Pravin’s social contract, M&G, October 29-November 4, 2010), demonstrates that government is conflicted as to how they are to deal with the clothing wage debate. The article states:

“His officials speak privately about the pressures on Chinese clothing factories in KwaZulu-Natal as a crucial example on which to base a rethink of labour regulations. Workers angrily insisted that their employers be allowed to continue paying below sectorial minimimums rather than lose their jobs. Calls for wage restraint and greater flexibility in collective bargaining agreements … remain central to treasury thinking.”

This echoes what The ReDress Consultancy has been saying ever since the wage dispute began. However, the actions of the bargaining council and even the union reflect very little or no flexibility in their strategy to address the situation. We need more demonstrative leadership from government officials who feel the way both the bargaining council and the union is addressing the clothing sector situation is detrimental to industrial and employment growth. Why do treasury officials have to speak “privately” about this?

It is time that the clothing and textile sector begin to have their voice heard as a collective. We have seen to date very little public interaction or support from the industry for the small group of clothing manufacturers in Newcastle who have taken this ongoing battle to unprecedented levels of engagement. It is cowardly of this sector to not support this determined group of employers whose battle of the sewing machines may result in a new era of labour relations for the clothing sector.

See:
"Losing jobs and alienating people," Times Live, 31October 2010
 "Clothing firms seek new consensus on pay," Times Live, 29 October 2010


Written by Renato Palmi
The ReDress Consultancy
31 October, 2010