The national office of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has once again called its Western Cape region to order, this time over a call to boycott all Chinese imports.
Last week, the region called on its members and working-class communities ”to not purchase Chinese-made products”.
”These products are dangerous and pose a health risk to communities,” it said.
However, on Monday the federation’s national spokesperson, Patrick Craven, said Cosatu wanted to ”clarify” the call.
”Cosatu is urging workers to refuse to buy products which are not fully compliant with the rules laid down by the South African Bureau of Standards,” it said. ”This is not aimed exclusively at Chinese imports, but at all potentially dangerous or unhealthy products regardless of their origin.”
China has hit the headlines recently over discoveries that it had exported toothpaste made with anti-freeze, toys coated with lead-based paint, cadmium-laced fertiliser and pet food contaminated with melamine.
During the recent public-service strike, the Western Cape region was also called to order when it decided that the strike was over ahead of the rest of the country.
Cosatu also demanded on Monday that local companies be used to make all products sold to the supporters of the country’s national sports teams — this after a number of Chinese-made jackets promoting the Springbok Rugby World Cup team had to be recalled because the national flag was printed upside down.
Craven said retailers were exploiting fans’ patriotic support for the national team to make a quick profit, while undermining South Africa’s clothing industry. — Sapa