Johannesburg - The jobs of 2 130 workers employed by a number of footwear manufacturing companies have been secured, for now, following the South African Clothing and Textile Worker’s Union’s (Sactwu) victory at the Competition Tribunal. The tribunal has excluded pro-workers conditions set out in a merger involving footwear manufacturing companies, Beier Safety Footwear, Bagshaw Safety Footwear and SKN Corporation. The companies also went on to purchase the footwear division of KAP Manufacturing, comprising of Jordan & Co, United Fram, Wayne Plastics and Mossop Western Leathers.
Prior to the merger finalisation, Sactwu had secured an agreement that protected jobs for up to 3 years in some of the companies. But the conditions were altered after the merger details were finalised by the Competition Commission.
“Amongst other things, the merger parties committed that there would be no retrenchments at United Fram for a period of 1 year, and for a period of 3 years in all the other companies in the new merged entity.
“Yet when the Competition Commission approved the merger on 30 September 2014, it ignored the agreement reached between the merger parties and SACTWU by creating conditions for the merger which were watered-down versions of the bilateral party-to-party commitments,” said Sactwu general secretary, Andre Kriel in a statement.
The organisation described the decisions taken in the merger as problematic and welcomed the tribunal’s decision which will secure their members’ jobs, albeit not indefinitely. Kriel said in the statement that they had witnessed jobless as a result of mergers and had taken the steps which were almost sidelined.
“It (The Competition tribunal) has ruled to replace the original conditions made by the Commission with the bilateral jobs-friendly commitments reached between SACTWU and the merger parties. It is a victory for mature industrial relations and for decent jobs and employment policies in our country,” Kriel said.
Labour Bureau