Sactwu holds National Bargaining Conference

THESOUTHERNAfrican Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (Sactwu), is holding its 2016 National Bargaining Conference in Cape Town after finishing its workplace wage mandating processes.

The conference started yesterday and will run until Monday at the Cape Sun Hotel.

Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies and Minister of Economic Development Ebrahim Patel were due to address delegates today.

The union’s general secretary, André Kriel, on the union’s website, said wage mandates were collected at 1 500 workplaces nationally and about 85 000 Sactwu members participated.

About 400 shop stewards from across the country are attending the conference.

“We have collected approximately 15 000 separate substantive collective bargaining demands (an average of 10 per workplace), mainly covering wages as well as a range of other collective bargaining related demands, such as retirement benefit improvements, shift allowances, health-care provisions, maternity rights, holiday pay and general worker rights issues,” wrote Kriel.

This year is a collective bargaining year for all the union’s major sectors.

Long-term wage agreements. most of which were for two years, end in June.

Actual wage negotiations with employers are due to begin in the middle of next month, covering just over 100 000 workers. – Staff Reporter