The militant statements by Labour Minister Mdladlana that he is “ready for battle “and “the war is not over” and the support for his calling to “criminalise people who do not comply with [bargaining council regulations] the law is a sign that the union will achieve their goal of shutting down all non-compliant companies by the end of year. This “victory” will further disintegrate our apparel industry and turf thousands of people onto the streets resulting in economic suffering for these individuals, their families, their immediate communities and for the country as a whole.
It comes as a surprise that the “employer spokesperson” supports the stance to criminalise “wage thieves” considering the number of non-compliant companies operating throughout the country. The economic situation and the make-up of the industry are different from before 1995 and we need to address the realities we are facing now to find solutions.
Furthermore, there seems to be a coordinated or orchestrated media disinformation campaign by the union and the Bargaining Council against a small number of clothing companies in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal. One cannot but surmise that the targeting of these companies has been carefully planned due to the unprecedented media attention they have garnered. The association that it is these companies that are paying below R100 a week is incorrect when the Bargaining Council informed the chairperson representing only 45 Newcastle clothing companies that it was not “a Chinese owned factory paying R90.00 a week.”
If the union and the Bargaining Council find it appropriate to continually associate these clothing companies in Newcastle as culprits of labour exploitation then they should afford the same coverage to all the 385 companies identified by the Bargaining Council as being non-compliant.
The “employer spokesperson” stated, “we have been debating the problems for years …while the solutions are clear.” One would assume that the employer association for the clothing sector has provided not only an outline but also a comprehensive policy document on these solutions to the union and the Bargaining Council. What is the proposed solution?
However, the fact that the Minster of Labour says the companies in Newcastle (again an attack on a minority of factories) were making a “political statement” and the point made by the union that there is no option but to “ forcefully enforce” the council’s decision is evident that the “clear solutions” suggested by the employer association has not been noted.
The only winners in this scenario will be a short-lived victory by the union and the Bargaining Council and a sad realisation that retailers will simply procure even more apparel products offshore.
No one and especially the group of clothing companies in Newcastle is advocating for sweatshop exploitation of South Africa’s labour. What is being called for is a willingness to put aside political posturing and agendas to find an equable solution with all the stakeholders to sustain, develop and grow our apparel sector.
Read the ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF LABOUR, MEMBATHISI MDLADLANA AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE NATIONAL BARGAINING COUNCIL FOR THE CLOTHING MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY. 12 October 2010. Click here
Read the ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF LABOUR, MEMBATHISI MDLADLANA AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE NATIONAL BARGAINING COUNCIL FOR THE CLOTHING MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY. 12 October 2010. Click here
13 October 2010
Written by Renato Palmi
The ReDress Consultancy
Cell: 083 943 0235
Email: redresssa@webstorm.co.za
9 comments:
This is indicative of shortsighted spineless individuals who are signing the death warrent of the industry they are perceived to be wanting to "save"
Thats would be great, if the company can't afford minimum wages then their can't afford labour....this is not china or india. I totaly agree bcos those managers that say their cant afford minimum wages guess how much they pocket at the end of the month? S.A. is the most gap in rich and poor time to bridge that gap!
This will be good especially for the retail industry workers. The conditions of employment in this sector are so brutal that one wonders whether is this industry immune from the dictates of labour relations Act. Thanx Mr Mdladlana, your long service in this ministry is starting to bear fruits for the working class!
Rather close those companies down. I'm sure a few more jobless people will make no difference. Besides, we can always import the textiles from China!
No money to pay the workers
but employers seem to have plenty of money to play at the casino tables...
The employers can pay the minimum wage and are simply exploiting the workers. In which case, the threat of legal action should do the trick.
Or:
The employers cannot afford the minimum wage and if they have to pay it, they will close .
We can buy all the fabric we need from China, India and Bangladesh for cheaper than we can produce it here. Of course this is because they abuse their labor and pay them a handful of rice a day but no matter we want fabric and not happy Chinese workers. .
Weren't this goon's inspectors chased away by THE WORKERS when they tried to take their jobs away, I mean close the factories?
Unfortunately all the anonymous comments have sorley missed the point and are pretty misguided in their approach, They must realise that the current wage model cannot be sustained it is damaging the industry as a whole.
Has any of those anonymous commentators asked themselves why we are now buying most of our fabric and related trimmings abroad - I think not.
Have they or do they run their own business - any business, so that they can understand what it costs to produce a product or give a service.
If they do own a business, for example a corner cafe or other type that services the very people they wish to see unemployed, have they thought about where there new customers will come from once their bread and butter customers can't afford to buy goods and services from them any more - who will they blame next?
How about the civil servants striking for more pay - that to those misinformed - civil servants are govt employees - teachers at govt schools - rail workers - eskom - telkom - home affairs and other govt institutions and wholly owned companies - we pay there wages by means of our tax rands - why do we not rise up and say they are earning too little and just give them what they want - surely we can afford to pay more tax - hell no - we will squeal like little children if our tax rates go up, how many of us try to pay less tax - it is legal to find loop holes every tax year that save us a few rand - why do we not just pay what we supposedly owe according to the calculations provided.
All the anonymous commentators please do research before making infantile comments - there is enough political stupidity going around for every to digest and vomit up.
What the Newcastle manufacturers have done is highlight the seriousness of the industries problems at no stage did they say they have the answer - the proposal(s) submitted are just that proposals - documents open for discussion - not be all and end all documents that say accept it or else.
We have to start from somewhere otherwise we have no direction forward.
Irrespective of which group you support in this mele, one needs to be a dispassionate as possible to thrash out ideas and come to some sustainable model to move forward on - it will be a bitter pill for some but as they say " what does not kill us makes us stronger"
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