DURBAN- The Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (Sactwu) announced on Tuesday that it had concluded its wage negotiations in the home textile sub-sector and settled for a 5.9% increase for members.
Sactwu said in a statement on Tuesday that wage negotiations were finalised in late July, which were held virtually to avoid the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
“This new collective agreement was concluded under the auspices of the National Textile Bargaining Council (NTBC) with employers represented by the South African Home Textiles Manufacturers Employers’ Organisation.
“Sactwu members in this textile sub-sector will receive a wage increase of 5.9%, with effect from July 1, 2021, the day after the expiry of the last wage agreement,” Sactwu’s general secretary Andre Kriel said.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) affiliated union said that the agreement will be valid for a 12-month period, ending on June 30, 2022.
In addition to the increase, Kriel said the agreement contains a new industry provision that guarantees full payment by the employer for the first two hours in the event of unforeseen circumstances, such as load shedding.
Kriel said that fresh negotiations for the sub-sector will start early next year.
Last week the union announced a settlement for wage negotiations in the non-woven textile sector, with members receiving a 5.5% wage increase from July 2021.
“The agreement also includes an improvement in a long service award, which increases from R1.00 per week for each year of continuous service to R1.50 per week for each completed year of continuous service,” Kriel said in a statement last week.
South Africa’s annual consumer inflation hit 4.9% for June, according to a report by Statistics South Africa. This came on the back of a 30-month high of 5.2% in May.
“The monthly increase in the consumer price index (CPI) was 0.2%, up from 0.1% in May but lower than the 0.5% rise recorded between May and June 2020,” Stats SA said last month.
The organisation also recorded a steady rise in the prices of oil, meat and sugar products.
“In June 2020, the average price of a 750ml bottle of sunflower oil was R20.99, rising to R29.45 in June 2021. Lamb prices increased by 10.9%, stewing beef by 16.7% and pork by 10.5%.”
ANA