SACTWU welcomes raw material sourcing legislation
The Southern African Clothing and Textile
Workers’ Union (SACTWU) has welcomed new government legislation forcing public
buyers to source raw materials for the manufacture of leather, footwear,
textiles and clothing domestically.
If the materials cannot be sourced
locally, written permission from the Department of
Trade and Industry must be obtained before materials are sourced from elsewhere.
"The implementation of these
regulations is a boost for local jobs in the domestic clothing, textile,
footwear and leather industry because it now directs millions of state and
state-owned enterprise spending towards local manufacturing," said Andre Kriel,
general secretary at the trade union.
"This means that when the post
office buys uniforms, it will have to buy it from a local clothing
manufacturer, who has sourced its inputs made in a local weaving mill.
"Or if the armed forces buys
boots, the leather uppers to those boots will have to come from a local
footwear manufacturer who has sourced its inputs from a local tannery."
