Employees in the country’s clothing and textile sector have been guaranteed full payment during the duration of the lockdown.
This, after an agreement between unions and employer organisations was concluded in the National Bargaining Council for the Clothing Manufacturing Industry of South Africa on 23 March, but only made public on Monday.
The agreement among other things, also allows for consideration of extensions of the collective agreement in the event that the lockdown goes beyond the current period.
However, this will be subject to further collective bargaining.
According to a Bargaining Council statement, the scope of the agreement also goes beyond the clothing industry to cover the fashion industry pipeline from farming to retail distribution in what is referred to as a “solidarity provision.”
The deal, said to be the first globally, also covers the footwear and leather industry, if employers and workers wish to access it.
“The collective agreement is also unique in that it is the first tri-partite collective bargaining agreement. It incorporates agreed provisions not only between business and labour, but also government institutions (through the Unemployment Insurance Fund),” the Bargaining Council said.
