adminJohannesburg — Most members affiliated to the SA Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (Sactwu) support a proposed strike, it said yesterday.“As expected, we have received a strong ‘yes vote’ in support of a national wage strike in the clothing industry,” Sactwu general secretary Andre Kriel said.
Kriel said around 37 846 of the 40 000 ballots had been counted by early yesterday.
“Of the total number of votes counted, 86 percent (32 505 votes) support wage strike action in pursuit of the union’s demands,” said Kriel.
Eighty-six percent of members in the Western Cape and Gauteng, 85 percent of KwaZulu-Natal workers and 81 percent in the Eastern Cape backed the strike. There were still some adjustments to be made, but these were not expected to change the voting results.
He said clothing employers had until Monday to agree to their demands, failing which more than 50 000 workers would down tools.
Sactwu’s national organising secretary Chris Gina said the matter now lay in the hands of employers.
“We have written a letter to them inviting them to a meeting on 26 August in Durban. The meeting is to give them the last window period to make up their minds.”
Sactwu wanted a 7 percent increase for its members working in metro areas.
“They (the employers) are offering 7 percent, but with conditions (attached) to it. The increase must be a clean one with no string or conditions attached to it,” Gina said.
The union called for employers to narrow the wage gap between workers in metro and non-metro areas.
If an agreement was not met after Monday’s meeting, the trade union would serve the employers with 48-hours’ notice before going on strike.
“The ball is now in the employer’s court,” he said. — Sapa
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