COSATU support Swaziland textile strikers 13-03-08

 

COSATU supports Swazi textile strikers

The Congress of South African Trade Unions extends its solidarity and support to the textile workers in Swaziland - most of them women - who have been striking and marching to demand better wages since 3 March 2008.

The federation condemns the Swaziland police for firing teargas and beating marchers in a violent, unprovoked response to the workers' peaceful demonstrations. We welcome the Industrial Court President's order to the police to permit peaceful picketing outside company premises, after Alex Fakudze, President of the Swaziland Manufacturing and Allied Workers Union (SMAWU), told the court that factory owners had instructed the police to assault strikers.

The textile industry is dominated by factories owned by Taiwanese immigrants who came to Swaziland - which still has diplomatic ties with Taiwan and does not recognise the People's Republic of China - in 2000/02, to take advantage of preferential trade conditions with the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The government has offered tax holidays to incoming firms, and constructed factory shells that are sometimes leased free of charge.

This has created a lot of employment but they are extremely low-quality, low paid jobs. "Textile workers are forced to live on mediocre salaries," said Alex Fakudze. "How can breadwinners be expected to provide for their families on just R600 a month?" "My take-home pay is R300 a fortnight," said Cynthia Ndwandwe, a mother of five employed by an Asian-owned garment factory, quoted by the UN news agency, IRIN. "I can no longer afford to buy bread."

Strike action was approved by the 16,000 SMAWU members, in support of a 12% wage rise.

COSATU fully supports this claim, and also the union's objection to the employers' management methods, which they say show a lack of respect for the workers. "The Asians treat us like children," said Cynthia Ndwandwe. "They yell; they speak down to us. This is not the Swazi manner of conduct. We think of them as guests in this country, and we refuse to be mistreated by people we have shown hospitality." There are complaints that textile factory owners bring in relatives for management positions rather than train and promote Swazis.

COSATU condemns this new form of colonialism, which is exploiting the sweated labour of African workers to make big profits, in a country where the Swazi monarchy restricts workers' basic democratic rights to organise freely, uses the state to suppress their legitimate protests against this exploitation and bans political parties.

COSATU will be continuing and intensifying its campaign of solidarity with the workers of Swaziland, in their fight for democratic rights and better wages, and we fully support the rejection - by the democratic forces in the recently launched united front - of the government's proposed 'elections' while political parties and free political activities are banned.