SOUTH AFRICA: Clothing factories raided for labour violations

SOUTH AFRICA: Clothing factories raided for labour violations
Source: Just-style
Author: Petah Marian | 4 October 2011


A number of clothing factories in Newcastle, South Africa, have been raided after allegations surfaced of serious violations of workers' human and labour rights, the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers' Union (SACTWU) has revealed.

The raids on 12 Newcastle based clothing manufacturers was conducted by the Department of Labour, the Department of Home Affairs, the SA Police Service, the industry bargaining council and the SACTWU following widespread complaints from workers about the conditions they had to work under.

The Department of Labour said operations in one factory were stopped immediately for not having safety guards in place which posed a threat to the lives of workers. There were also claims of safety exits not being demarcated, no electrical certificates available for electrical installations, and no soap or toilet paper in toilets.

"In one instance it was found that only one toilet was shared by almost 60 male and female employees," said Abey Rasepae, provincial control inspector of the department in Kwazulu Natal.

SACTWU said yesterday (3 October) that at almost all of the companies it surveyed, workers were not supplied with toilet paper. Instead they were expected to use pieces of fabric supplied by the company.

"Instead of flushing these fabric off-cuts down the toilet, workers are expected to place these off-cuts in bags or boxes next to the toilet. These bags or boxes are often only removed once a week, resulting in filthy, smelly and unhygienic conditions. Where toilet paper is supplied, workers are often expected to pay for the use thereof, even though they receive very low wages," it said.

It was also reported to the union that in certain factories workers do not even have the use of toilets but are expected to use buckets. In some factories, workers have to pay penalties if they stay in the toilet for more than a couple of minutes. These penalties are deducted from their weekly wages.

The Department of Labour also found other serious violations like no fire fighting equipment or first aiders, first aid boxes with inadequate medical supplies, no health and safety reps or committees. It also found that employers were "on the wrong side of the law" when it came to paying contributions to the Unemployment Insurance Fund or Compensation Fund, said Rasepae.

The inspection also discovered that illegal foreign workers had been hired from countries like Lesotho, Swaziland and China, with immigration officers arresting and detaining some 46 foreigners.

"Recently, some commentators have rallied around certain Newcastle clothing employers and lauded their resistance to paying the legally-prescribed wages as holding the key to the future of South Africa's unemployment problem through a more flexible labour market with lower wages," said SACTWU general secretary Andre Kriel.

"As has been shown during these raids, this so-called key involves abusing workers' most basic labour and human rights and a return to the exploitation of workers seen during apartheid."

Speaking to just-style, SACTWU national organising secretary Chris Gina said the union is looking to speak to the brands who buy from the factories in an attempt to improve the situation for the affected workers.

He said this would be better than naming the brands publicly and having them pull their business, leading to redundancies for the workers. "As they work through agencies, the brands might not be aware of what's going on," he said.