The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has dropped an appeal to rugby fans to boycott shirts supporting the Springboks after the manufacturers agreed that most will in future be made locally, not imported.
The move comes during the Rugby World Cup tournament in France. The Springboks, one of the favourites to lift the trophy, take on Cup holders England on Friday.
The one-million-strong Cosatu had urged South Africans to stop buying shirts, rain jackets and other gear supporting the national team after learning that some of it was made in China.
Cosatu blames a wave of cheap Chinese and Indian imports for the decimation of the South African textile sector and resulting job losses among its membership. It wants tariffs on textile imports.
”While they were importing this stuff, we could not be associated with the Springboks,” Tony Ehrenreich, Cosatu spokesperson, told reporters in Cape Town after announcing a deal with South Africa’s Brimstone Investment.
Brimstone, a part owner of sportswear manufacturer Canterbury SA, has now agreed to manufacture the majority of its replica Springbok jerseys and other gear in South Africa as well as improve its local procurement of goods and services.
”We all as South Africans need to band together to remove joblessness, and we must take each and every opportunity to do so,” Fred Robertson, Brimstone’s deputy chairperson, said at the same press conference.
Last year, South Africa imposed import quotas on certain Chinese-made products in a bid to boost its manufacturing sector and appease powerful unions. The quotas came into effect in January this year. — Reuters