View full report - Fibre2fashion

In Latin America, Mayra Jiménez of FUTRAZONA-CTU (Federacion Unitaria de Trabajadores
de las Zonas Francas) in the Dominican Republic points out: “We have lost 20 000 jobs in
the sector since the start of 2005. Most of those affected are young women and/or single
mothers, who are now trying to survive on income from the informal economy.” The ILO
estimates that in the long term, 40% of jobs in this sector in the Dominican Republic could
disappear due to the lifting of quotas (International Trade Union Report, 2005: 9).
The December 2005 Report of the International Trade Union states that Africa has been the
worst hit by job losses since the termination of the ATC. From Morocco to South Africa,
virtually all the textile and garment-manufacturing countries are having great difficulty
withstanding the competition from Asian goods. The ILO analyses the situation as follows:
Sub-Saharan African countries have seen their textile and clothing
industries grow sharply in the last five years owing, in particular, to a
preferential trade agreement, the African Growth and Opportunity Act
(AGOA), signed with the United States. US apparel imports from sub-
Saharan Africa rose in 2003 and 2004 to more than US$1.5 billion a year,
benefiting from duty-free access under the AGOA. This advantage is now
under threat. During the first three months of 2005, textiles and apparel
exports to the United States under the terms of the AGOA fell to US$270
million, compared with $361 million for the same period in 2004. This 25 per
cent drop coincides with a 19 per cent increase in China’s textile and
clothing exports for the same period. At the same time, many Asian
companies, which had invested in Africa in order to take advantage of
the AGOA, seem to be pulling out.
(International Trade Union Report, 2005: 5)
One of the most striking examples of this adverse effect is Lesotho, a tiny enclave in
southern Africa, where the manufacturing base rests almost entirely on textiles and
clothing, accounting for 90% of the country’s exports.
At the end of 2004, six of Lesotho’s 50 clothing factories closed their gates,
leaving 6600 garment workers out of work and without compensation.
Daniel Maraisane, General Secretary of the Lesotho Clothing and Allied
Workers’ Union (LECAWU), is pessimistic about the future: “Most, if not all of
our foreign investors, come from Asia, mainly Taiwan and China. They say
that it’s now easier and cheaper to manufacture in China and India. So
13