CAPE TOWN - A strike is looming in the footwear manufacturing industry after a dispute arose between the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (SACTWU) and the Southern African Footwear and Leather Industries Association (SAFLIA).
The dispute comes after the employer association and the unions (SACTWU and NULAW) could not reach a settlement after two rounds of negotiations and a conciliation meeting held on 28 June 2018.
Cosatu-affiliated SACTWU has rejected SAFLIA’s offer of a 6.25% wage increase for this year, and we are demanding a 9.5%.
Negotiations have now finally deadlocked.
We have now written to SAFLIA and all other footwear employers to inform them that we will commence with a strike ballot of our members, during the course of this week.
The purpose of the strike ballot is to seek a mandate from our members to strike in pursuit of our demand for a living wage in the footwear manufacturing sector.