Clothing union tears Seardel`s BEE seam
June 15, 2004
By Margie Inggs
Durban - The Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers` Union (Sactwu) has slammed clothing giant Seardel, in which it owns 20 percent of N shares via an empowerment consortium, for operating in a way that was not compatible with black economic empowerment (BEE) principles.
SA Clothing Industries, a Seardel subsidiary, has retrenched 400 of its 800 workers and is relocating half its operation to Ladysmith in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
The agreed minimum wage in rural areas is R262 a week, compared with R495 a week in metro areas, and employers do not have to contribute to a sick fund or provident fund.
The clothing manufacturer aims to employ about 500 workers at the new plant.
The union became a stakeholder in Seardel about two years ago when Hosken Consolidated Investments (HCI), Sactwu and Cyril Ramaphosa formed a consortium to buy a 20 percent stake.
Andre Kriel, the deputy general secretary, said Sactwu`s interest in the company was a long-term strategic one.
`We seek to build a shareholding constituency that supports that Seardel remains a South African company that provides decent employment opportunities.`
He stressed that the union`s talks had not been compromised by its ownership stake, as investments were dealt with by HCI`s chief executive, Johnny Copelyn, while collective bargaining remained the province of the union.
Kriel said the union was opposed to Seardel companies moving to low-wage areas.
`Such a move is untenable commercially in the long run, as the company will not be able to sustain good-quality production and reliability of delivery if it moves every time workers obtain rights. Where will it run to next, Lesotho and, thereafter, China?`
Kriel said the move was also morally indefensible since clothing wages were the lowest in the industry.
`Sactwu believes that to overcome the legacy of the past, workers must be trained and paid a decent wage. Companies must invest in their people, which is something South African employers have not been renowned for over the past four decades.`
He said the advent of democracy required that companies break `with that unhappy past`.
But a worker, who asked not to be named, summed up their doubts when she asked how they could be shareholders and go on strike at the same time.
Kriel said: `Sactwu also owns 100 percent of Zenzeleni Clothing, a company which it set up and runs profitably from its Durban premises, despite paying workers the agreed metro rate.`
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