East Asian imports provoke worker backlash in South Africa
At the core of the union’s grievances is the continuing large scale substitution of domestically produced items in the shops by cheap imports from East Asia. The union is also angry at what it sees as the overly-aggressive pricing policies of many retailers towards their suppliers and the downward pressure this has had on wages.
In the South African clothing, textile and leather sector alone, over 34,000 jobs have been lost in the past two years while wage levels have remained largely static. Stung by what it sees as being the retail sector’s indifference to the situation, the union last week voted unanimously in favour of protest action.
Commencing August 29, the action will be the first of its kind ever to be taken in South Africa and involve mass rallies outside retail stores, placard demonstrations at warehouses, solidarity campaigns directed at shareholders and protests at retailer-sponsored events. Consumers will also be urged to boycott stores through a high profile national publicity campaign.
Aside from organising the protest campaign, the Union has put together a strategy aimed at tackling the situation in the long term. This includes the drawing up of stocking and sales quotas for South African-produced goods with retailers, bringing an end to retailer-imposed price freezes and the drawing up of a Code of Practice that will govern retailer dealings with their suppliers.
