Abstract
The clothing industry in South Africa is seen as a
conventional industry with characteristics such as: labour
intensive with low levels of qualification; low salaries; low
potential for investment in research and development and
innovation; flexible labour legislation and powerful labour
unions. However, it continues to be an important sector in terms
of the South African labour market with regards to job creation.
The strong impact of globalisation and delocalization in the
organization of work is pressurizing the industry in terms of its
competitiveness. Global competitiveness in terms of quality,
price and supply chain management are reducing the viability of
the industry. Few organisations are able to keep their positions
in the marketplace without changes in the organisation of work
and workers. Organisations that respond to the challenges have
positioned themselves for economic stability. Organisations have
found different methodologies in dealing with the reality of the
situation. Two distinctive paths can be identified: outsourcing
production with dismissal of workers and relocation of facilities;
and skilling the workforce through continual improvement. The
aim of the paper is to highlight the predicament faced by the
clothing industry and what could be done to change the levels of
productivity in the industry. This paper presents results through
qualitative research analysis from the case study conducted in
Kwa-Zulu Natal on several clothing organisations in comparison
to international experiences.