Textile factory closure leaves thousands without work

The imminent closure of one of the largest foreign-owned textile companies in Namibia is expected to deal a serious blow to the country's fledgling textile industry. The Namibia Food and Allied Workers' Union (NAFAU) announced on Monday that it had received confirmation of the permanent closure on 30 April of the Rhino Garments factory, a subsidiary of the Malaysian company, Ramatex Textiles. "The closure will affect 1,635 Namibian workers, and we now must negotiate the conditions on which the retrenchment packages will take place," NAFAU's acting secretary general Kiros Sakarias said. In February the human resources manager at Ramatex, David Yong, reassured workers there would be no retrenchments at either Ramatex or its subsidiaries, following news reports alleging violations of worker rights. Ramatex Textiles has been in hot water with the authorities since the labour ministry raised concerns over the factory's non-compliance with Namibian labour laws last year. Over 400 Bangladeshi workers were expelled in October last year when it was discovered they were working without permits. Ramatex employs about 6,000 people, while its two subsidiaries, Rhino Garments and Tai Wah Textiles, jointly provide another 2,000 jobs. In February negotiations between the Namibian authorities, trade unions and Ramatex management took place in a bid to regulate working conditions in the factories. Ramatex accused the trade union movement of sabotaging business by lobbying American companies to cease buying from its products. The Brussels-based International Textile Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF), to which the Namibian labour movement Nafau is affiliated, wrote to leading US companies to complain about the Malaysian firm's treatment of its employees. NAFAU has dismissed claims that the unions were responsible for the demise of the textile firm. "We refute silly allegations that Rhino Garments is closing due to the action of our union and that of ITGLWF," Sakarias told IRIN. "NAFAU should not be made a scapegoat by dishonest investors who know the hour has come for them to call it a day." Ramatex invested US $150 million in Namibia's textile sector and started operations in 2002, in the hope that it could take advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act, which granted various developing countries preferential access to US markets. However, this advantage ended on 1 January 2005, when the US was compelled by World Trade Organisation rules to scrap quotas for selected countries, which had penalised major producers such as China and India.