Organised labour calls for boycott of Temu, Shein

The surging popularity of cheap, offshore e-commerce retailers such as Shein and Temu is posing a threat to jobs in the manufacturing and retail sector, the South African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu) warns.

The threat to jobs has prompted the union to call for a boycott of Temu and Shein.

This resolution was submitted to the union’s federation, Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), and was adopted at its recent 15th National Congress.

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Sactwu said the manufacturing sector remains labour-intensive, but that decades of deindustrialisation driven by import competition have shrunk the sector’s ability to create employment.

The entry and expansion of Shein and Temu have already exacerbated the issue, which is why something needs to be done to prevent the levels of harm from increasing substantially and to protect the manufacturing sector from a “catastrophic threat”, the resolution reads.

The only way to shield the livelihoods of workers in the manufacturing and retail sectors is for Cosatu and its affiliates to develop a defence campaign and call for Shein, Temu and other offshore e-commerce apps to be banned in South Africa.

In the meantime, the union has asked that the federation urgently meet with the economic cluster to discuss possible guardrails for the rapidly expanding platforms.

Sactwu also called for a restriction and cap on advertising by Shein, Temu and other similar offshore e-commerce platforms until a ban is implemented.

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This is not the first time a union has warned against the soaring popularity of Chinese imports whose accessible price point draws scores of consumers.

While unions representing workers who work in the automotive industry have not called for a ban on Chinese vehicles, they have called for higher import duties and asked South Africans to think twice before buying a vehicle made in China.

This is because South Africa may not have a vehicle brand, but it does manufacture many models for several brands, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Toyota.

However, the call to consumers, as evidenced by recent vehicle sales numbers, has fallen on deaf ears as the cost-of-living crisis forces many to prioritise affordability above all else.