Union to finalise wage dispute

THE Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu) has received a proposal to settle a clothing industry wage dispute it had declared earlier this month.

Sactwu and clothing industry employers could not reach a wage settlement after three rounds of wage negotiations. Employers had offered a 7% wage increase while, Sactwu demanded an 8% package increase for metro areas and 8.5% for nonmetro areas.

Sactwu general secretary Andre’ Kriel said: “The Cosatu-affiliated Sactwu has received a settlement proposal with regard to the national wage dispute in the clothing industry.

“This follows the wage conciliation meeting that was held on July 25 in Durban. This conciliation was facilitated by Afzul Soobedaar, who has now submitted a recommended settlement to the disputing parties.

“Our union has commenced its own internal mandating processes regarding the recommended settlement. We anticipate to finalise our mandating processes by this coming Sunday.”

Chief negotiator for five employer associations involved in the wage negotiations with Sactwu Johann Baard confirmed employers had tabled a final offer. “The settlement offer covers a range of issues, but for wages it’s 7.5% for metro and the package proposal for non-metro is 8%.”