Sactwu partially suspends last of wage strike

Last week, Sactwu announced that it had suspended its national wage strike by about 55,000 clothing workers in all areas except for Botshabelo and QwaQwa following the adoption of a recommended settlement agreement facilitated by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, it said.

"We had met with QwaQwa clothing employers on Tuesday evening and late that evening concluded satisfactory commitments on a wage increase which has placed us in a position to suspend the strike in QwaQwa, other than for five companies in the Twilight Group," it said.

The union said it reported this outcome to its members late on Wednesday afternoon and, based on their mandate, had authorised that about 2,500 QwaQwa clothing workers could return to work as from Thursday.

"Regrettably, as at yesterday evening, we could not extract satisfactory commitments from the Twilight Group of companies in QwaQwa and have accordingly instructed that just over 1,000 members employed by this group should remain on strike until a satisfactory solution regarding our wage demands is found."

This further suspension of the industrial action in parts of QwaQwa now means that the national clothing industry wage strike had now been suspended in all areas of the country other than for the Twilight Group in QwaQwa and small parts of Isithebe, where the union was urging its members to remain on strike until we had won satisfactory commitments from employers in those areas.

"We are in continued discussions with the Twilight Group management," said Sactwu.

On Tuesday this week, the union announced that it had, on Monday, met with the Botshabelo & Thaba 'Nchu Manufacturing Association.

"Arising from that meeting, the BTMA had provided SACTWU with firm written commitments which now placed us in a position to announce that, after 14 working days strike action in the Botshabelo/Thaba 'Nchu area, almost 2,000 clothing workers were authorised by the union to return to work as from Tuesday."

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