Date: 18 November 2019
Media Alert: Immediate
SACTWU to Protest at Pretoria High Court
The COSATU affiliated Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (SACTWU) will be protesting tomorrow outside the High Court in Pretoria from 9am. At the High Court, the South African Revenue Services (SARS) is defending a case brought against it by a freight forwarding company called Dragon Freight which is attempting to import clothing into South Africa at seemingly impossibly low prices (a fraction of the cost of the materials from which these products are made). Should these products enter the country, they will be distributed to various stores in so-called China malls and similar outlets. For its part SARS is refusing to release these goods as it is busy conducting an investigation into the declared import prices, the contents and nature of the imported consignments, and the legitimacy of these transactions. Dragon Freight wishes the Court to instruct SARS to release these goods urgently. SACTWU believes our national customs authority must do everything possible within the law to prevent the scourge of illegal imports from destroying local factories and manufacturing jobs. For this reason clothing workers and union shop stewards will be gathering to voice our support for SARS tomorrow at the Court. Action to protect domestic employment and factories should be celebrated, not vilified, and SARS should be given the space to do its work properly. We have also applied to become a Friend of the Court in this particular case.
The protest details are as follows:
Date: 19 November 2019
Time: 09h00
Address: High Court in Pretoria
Issued by
Andre Kriel
General Secretary
SACTWU
