<<Print>>

The textile industry is beginning to record some growth, the General Secretary of the Ghana Federation of Labour, Mr Abraham Koomson, has stated. �We hope the trend continues to restore the sector to its past glory by providing job opportunities for thousands of Ghanaians,� he said He explained that the government was beginning to give attention to the sector and was upbeat that given that level of attention, the sector would begin to post some growth. Task force Briefing the Daily Graphic on developments in the textile industry, Mr Koomson said the formation of the task force by the government in the past to clamp down on pirated textiles brought into the country was a step in the right direction and expressed the hope that the move, if properly implemented, would eventually restore confidence in the local textile industry. He added that pirated products were brought into the country from China at cheaper cost, at the expense of indigenous Ghanaian fabrics, without recourse to the original Ghanaian manufacturer, a situation he described as �worrying�. Mr Koomson remarked that the pirated textiles were affecting the livelihood of workers in the textile and apparel industry and expressed concern that �pirated textiles are a major problem affecting the Ghanaian textile industry�. Employment While deploring the current employment figures in the textile and garment sector, Mr Koomson observed that the sector currently had about 3,000 employees, as against the more than 30,000 it engaged in the past. Demand The Textile, Garment and Leather Employees Union (TGLEU) had earlier called for the reinstatement of the Anti-Piracy Task Force on textiles, which is said to have been suspended. Stakeholders in the textile industry had said suspending the operations of the task force constituted to seize and destroy pirated textiles would undermine the government�s efforts at revamping the sector. Scores of textile and garment workers demonstrated in Accra last year to register their displeasure at the importation of pirated textiles and the government�s inability to prevent same from entering the country. Some members of the TGLEU had told the Daily Graphic that the union was not against textile imports but rather against the imitation of trademarks and logos of local companies, which constituted an infringement on their intellectual properties. Employers in the textile and garment sector had earlier warned of downsising their workforce as a result of declining profits.