The South African Council of Churches (SACC) has urged South Africa's big clothing retailers not to escalate the battle over cheap imported textiles by challenging quotas on Chinese textile imports in court. Instead, the Council's General Secretary, Mr. Eddie Makue, encouraged retailers to make use of existing dispute resolution mechanisms to discuss their differences with government and trade union officials.

"All South Africans must do more to combat poverty and unemployment by safeguarding existing jobs and creating sustainable quality jobs," Mr. Makue warned. "We must also promote fair labour standards, not only in South Africa but around the world."

"As churches, we have long opposed putting profits ahead of people," he said. "The SACC has been an active participant in global campaigns by the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance and the World Council of Churches to back fair trade."

Makue pointed out that the Council had been calling on retailers, consumers and government to take action to protect the struggling domestic textile industry for more than a year. "The Council's National Executive Committee was shocked to learn of the thousands of jobs lost in the textile sector in recent years because they knew that each job lost changes an entire family's life for the worse," said Makue.

In February 2005, the Executive asked consumers to choose goods that were fairly produced and traded. They also urged retailers to work with labour and government to develop and implement an industry code that would stimulate the local industry by introducing local procurement targets.

"Unfortunately, retailers ignored this advice. Instead, they continued to buy more and more cheap imports, allowing domestic industries to atrophy further. Now, they want to use the industry's predictably diminished capacity as a rationale for fighting government efforts to protect the industry and save jobs," Makue observed.

"We are pleased that government has communicated openly with Chinese leaders and come to an agreement with them about import levels," Makue continued. "We would hope that retailers would follow this example and make use of established negotiating forums, such as NEDLAC, before rushing off to the courts."

Makue acknowledged the need for affordable consumer goods, especially where poverty remains widespread. However, he concurred with the view expressed by Mr. Ebrahim Patel, leader of the South African Textile Workers' Union, that South African products could also be marketed affordably. "South African workers are not overpaid," Makue said. "The prices paid by consumers also have to cover the salaries of senior management."

Bishop Jo Seoka, the Anglican Bishop of Pretoria and Chair of the Benchmarks Foundation for Ethical Investment in SA (BeFSA), echoed the General Secretary's concerns. "It is important that we examine the ethics of our trade and investment decisions," he said. "In our quest for less expensive goods, we must not ignore costs that are typically omitted from the price tag - the human costs of labour exploitation and sweatshop conditions and the environmental costs of our 'disposable' society."

"As we approach the festive season, we plead with retailers not to dampen the spirit of the season by protecting their own interests at the expense of South African workers," the Bishop said.

For more information, contact: Mr. Eddie Makue, 082 853 8781