CCMA to help find accord

The Commission of Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) will intervene in an attempt to help disputing parties in the footwear industry find a settlement.

Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu) general secretary Andre Kriel said a meeting was planned for Monday, in Durban, under the auspices of the CCMA, in a bid to end the two-week long strike.

Sactwu and National Union of Leather and Allied Workers (Nulaw) members downed tools on July 9 after the unions rejected the employers’ final increase offer of 6.25%, instead demanding 9.5%.

In a joint statement, the two unions said employers represented by the South African Footwear and Leather Industries Association (Saflia) had increased their settlement offer from 6.25% to 7%, plus that current family responsibility leave be applicable to spouses, albeit only for hospitalisation.

“The unions have met and have jointly rejected the employers’ latest revised offer.

“In the interests of facilitating a settlement, we have, however, amended our settlement offer, and are now in the process of seeking final mandates from our members for our revised position,” the unions said.

The unions said a strike was not their first choice. “We are not oblivious to the challenges and pressures which the domestic footwear industry is experiencing,” they said. – ANA