Textile industry must be a ‘cut above’

THE South African textile industry should prove itself in terms of the quality of its products compared to lowprice products from overseas.

That was the message from Minister of Economic Development Ebrahim Patel to 430 workers at Sheraton Textiles in Southfield yesterday.

While managing director Nick Steen took the minister on a tour to give him an overview of the factory, Patel spoke to employees.

Among them was Tasneem Allie. The 19-year-old has been working as an examiner for Sheraton for six months.

“There is always something new to learn,” she said.

Avril Johnson, 47, also discussed her work with Patel: “We check if the buttons are on, if the end of the cover is perfect and if the product is labelled.

“There have been ups and downs with the company, but I like working here.”

Sheraton Textiles experienced financial troubles in 2007 due to the fluctuation of the rand. Steen assisted the company as a consultant in order to rescue the linen factory and jobs.

The Industrial ment Corporation Develop(IDC), a government agency, bought an 80 percent share in the company worth about R40 million.

Since IDC became a stakeholder of the company, 75 manufacturing jobs have been created at Sheraton Textiles in Southfield and its second factory in Pietermaritzburg.

Patel emphasised the importance of the textile, clothing and footwear industries for the economy. The former general secretary of the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu) intends to improve machinery and training.

“We must win the hearts of South Africans by producing good quality things,” the minister said.

Patel said that the government has invested R62 billion in the clothing and electronic sectors in the past five years.

Andre Kriel, general secretary of Sactwu, said: “It is a very important industry for the Western Cape economy. In this province alone, it formally employs approximately 30 000 workers, with a dependency ratio of 1:5.

“This means that 150 000 Western Cape residents, mainly from the poorest parts of the province, depend on our industry for their livelihood.”