7 of 2016

SACTWU finalises its 2016 workplace wage mandates The COSATU-affiliated Southern African Clothing & Textile Workers’ Union (SACTWU) has now concluded its 2016 workplace wage mandating processes. Since mid-January this year to date,  SACTWU has completed the collection of wage mandates at all workplaces where we are unionised. The process covered 1500 workplaces nationally,  6000 general meetings (an average of 4 per workplace), and approximately 85 000 SACTWU members participated. These demands were collected directly from workers, in our industry, by SACTWU staff and our 2000 shop stewards, in all parts of South Africa. We have collected approximately 15 000 separate substantive collective bargaining demands (an average of 10 per workplace), mainly covering wages as well as a range of other collective bargaining related demands, such as retirement benefits improvements, shift allowances, health care provisions, maternity rights, holiday pay and general worker rights issues. This year, 2016, is a collective bargaining year for all SACTWU’s industrial major sectors. This follows on the expiry of our long term wage agreements (most of which was for 2 years),  at the end of June this year. The collected workplace wage demands are now being consolidated into Regional sectoral demands, for SACTWU’s five constitutional Regions (KZN, W Cape, E Cape, Gauteng and our Head Office Project – which covers the Free state and surrounding areas-). Our Regional sectoral wage demands will now be consolidated into national sectoral demands, at SACTWU’s 2016 National Bargaining Conference, which takes place 0n 17-21 March 2016.03. Our National Bargaining Conference will be attended by 400 shop stewards from all parts of the country, and drawn from all industrial- and other sector workplaces where we are organised (mainly clothing, textiles and leather). Our actual wage negotiations with employers are due to begin in mid-April this year. At its conclusion later this year,  our collective bargaining agreements are, combined, expected to cover just over 100 000 workers in our industry, nationally. Issued by __________________ Andre Kriel SACTWU General Secretary If further comments are required, kindly contact SACTWU’s Deputy General Secretary, Chris Gina on office number 031 3011351 or cell number 082 90 9456

ITL Continue To Expand Internationally and Increase Their Product Range

2016 promises to be a stand-out year for ITL, the South African owned Global Apparel Label supplier who has already enjoyed spectacular growth amid a backdrop of continued product and regional expansion.

The company, owned by the SA Bias Group and headquartered in Cape Town, is already well known to many South African apparel retailers and manufacturers and enjoys strong market share with a wide range of blue-chip clients including Woolworths, Truworths, TFG, Edcon, Ackermans and Cape Union Mart.

Whilst it’s the company’s South African origins that have laid the foundations for ITL’s long term success, it has been their ability to spot emerging trends and customer needs that has seen them grow into one of the largest and most powerful global businesses in their sector.

In an era where domestic manufacturing costs  soared and recognising that South African apparel retailers had to look further afield to source their products, ITL was quick to set up operations in a number of strategic global locations to ensure continuity of service for their customers. This plan appears to have been an outstanding success for the company who now operate in 16 worldwide locations including, China, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Mexico.

As Bev Webster, ITL’s SA Marketing Director explains “In order for the company to continue growing, we recognised that we needed to evolve. South African customers have always valued the service and support that we offer with our products and that has allowed us to hold a dominant position in our market. Our customers however, have come under increasing cost pressures and have had to reassess their strategies, leading to a significant increase in off-shore sourcing. “

Setting up this global network of factories, has enabled ITL to partner with its established customers and created significant relationships in new markets in the process. As well as a strong global manufacturing footprint, ITL has dedicated marketing offices in North America and Europe and has become an established supplier to some of the best known apparel brands and retailers in the world including Victoria’s Secret, Marks and Spencer, Zara and H&M.

ITL has made significant investments in RFID, a technology that allows for much faster reading of in-store product information than conventional barcodes and something they consider could dominate the industry within the next 5 years. “As retailers embrace internet consumption and the advent of faster fashion cycles, the need to operate leaner supply chain models has increased significantly. RFID allows our customers to control the accuracy of their inventory and empowers them to replenish without over-committing to stock levels.”

By being able to offer a full portfolio of inlays, an end-to-end software solutions and a range of professional services to support business case studies, aligned to a global network of wholly owned factories, it seems feasible that RFID could well be the initiative that propels ITL’s growth to the next level.

ITL Apparel Label Solutions is a global manufacturer and supplier of a wide range of apparel label solutions. Their product offerings include woven labels, heat transfers, graphic tags, variable data and printed fabric label solutions to a wide range of apparel retailers, brands and manufacturers all over the world, with a reputation for service, quality and innovation.