The footwear manufacturing sector could face strike action following a breakdown in wage negotiations this week, according to the Southern African Clothing and Textiles Workers’ Union (Sactwu).
Sactwu National Collective Bargaining officer, Vilina Membinkosi, told FTW Online that the union had called for a 9.5% wage increase for this year but employers were offering a “measly” 6.25%.
“The 9.5% isn’t a lot when you take into account the cost of living, considering the continuous increase in the price of fuel and the VAT increase this year,” he said. “It’s not even the original amount that we were looking for; we decreased it to this number during the bargaining process in order to come to a compromise with employers.”
Membinkosi said that the union had begun negotiations in May this year and had met with employers on four separate occasions but no agreement had been reached which left the union with little choice but to consider mass action.
“After much discussion, it was difficult to persuade employers to accede to our demands. We recently held a dispute meeting where we tried to come up with a settlement but unfortunately this did not materialise,” he said.
According to Membinkosi, Sactwu is currently in the process of a ballot process where union members will vote on whether to move ahead with a strike or not. This is expected to be completed by Thursday this week.
“Once this balloting is over we will announce what the process will be going forward, based on the outcome of the mandate received from members of the union,” he added. “If we move forward with the strike, we will then give employers 48 hours’ notice before doing so.”
He said that most of the workers within the footwear manufacturing sector came from very poor backgrounds and while the union understood the challenges in the sector presented by current economic conditions as well as the state of the industry, it was unfair to pass the buck onto the poor.
Additionally, Membinkosi noted that employers refused to budge even on the smallest of issues raised by the union.
“For example, we asked employers if they could give notice to employees if for any reason there would be short time, meaning there would be no work for employees on certain days, so that they could prepare in advance for this,” he said. “They refused.”
