Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – Froggie Western Cape agent Desmond Swartz is leaving the footwear industry at the end of this month to go full time into the ministry. He is doing it with Froggie’s blessing. 

East London, E. Cape, SA – Glen Puttergill, formerly of Glen’s Shoes, died on 01 March 2024, aged 79. An obituary will follow in the May issue of S&V Footwear & Leather Goods.

Pinetown, KZN, SA – Leo Vandenheede, formerly of last maker Fanci-Form, died last Wednesday, 15 May, aged 55, of multiple organ failure, after a long illness. An obituary will follow.

Pretoria, Gauteng, SA – The International Labour Organization (ILO) has partnered with the Department of Trade, Industry & Competition (DTIC) and the Companies & Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) to research illicit and illegal trade in counterfeit footwear and leather goods with a view to reducing them and bring relief to the sector in South Africa, Nii Moi Thompson, chief technical advisor of the ILO’s Productivity Ecosystems Project South Africa said in Durban last week during the ARSUTORIA Leather & Footwear workshop, which the ILO sponsored.

“The aim of the study is to help strengthen the local leather, footwear and leather goods value chain,” he said. “We got involved following a request from the DTIC as part of our collaboration in the project.

“The findings from the study will inform further interventions by the government, in collaboration with the ILO, to create a level playing field for South African manufacturers while plugging tax loopholes from illicit trade.”

He said the study is being spearheaded by Dr Jaywant Irkhede, director, leather & footwear, at the DTIC. 

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – Trade union NULAW accepted the employer's offer of a 7% increase on wages and an increase on the holiday bonus from 6 days’ pay to 7 days’ pay, Gerald Naidoo, general secretary of the National Bargaining Council of the Leather Industry of SA, said on Friday. Rival union SACTWU “will consult with their members and revert by Tuesday, 14 May, to indicate if the offer is accepted or not”, he said. 

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – In response to criticism that the R-CTFL Masterplan has not delivered benefits for footwear manufacturing, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel, who attended the virtual PMO core meeting last week, asked the footwear representatives, representing SAFLIA and SAFLEC, to compile a full list of footwear manufacturers in time for a meeting this week, with a view to setting up meetings with chain retailers.