A pair of apps most South Africans carry on their phones is now the target of the country's biggest labour federation. Shein and Temu sell cheap clothing straight from overseas warehouses to a doorstep in Johannesburg or Cape Town, and unions say that model is costing local jobs.
This week, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) backed a call to ban both platforms. Techpoint Africa, Condia and EWN all reported the story between October 19 and 20. It is a campaign, not a decision: no ban has been announced and neither company has been ordered to leave.
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COSATU wants Shein and Temu banned in South Africa, but the government has announced no ban. The unions cite about 34,000 retail and manufacturing jobs at risk by 2030 in a worst case.
What the unions are asking for
According to Condia, COSATU adopted the position at its 15th National Congress, following a proposal from the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers' Union (SACTWU). EWN reported that SACTWU is urging government to act, warning that the growth of online shopping could put about 34,000 jobs at risk by 2030.
Shein entered South Africa in 2020 and Temu followed in 2024, both selling mostly through apps and shipping from abroad.
The numbers behind the push
The figures come from a study commissioned by the Localisation Support Fund, as reported by Condia and Techpoint Africa. We could not locate the study itself, so treat the numbers as reported:
- Shein and Temu recorded about R7.3 billion ($444 million) in combined sales in 2024.
- That is about 3.6% of South Africa's retail market for clothing, textiles, footwear and leather, and about 37% of online sales in that category.
- Between 2020 and 2024, about R960 million in local manufacturing sales was linked to offshore online retailers, along with 2,818 manufacturing jobs and 5,282 retail jobs that might otherwise have existed.
- The 34,000 figure is a worst-case projection to 2030, not jobs already lost.
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The case against a ban
Not everyone in the industry agrees. Michael Lawrence, executive director of the National Clothing Retail Federation, told CapeTalk that a ban is not an ideal solution and called for more nuance from government. He argued a ban could reduce competition, while accepting that the job concerns are reasonable.
His preferred fix is enforcement. In August 2024, the South African Revenue Service began charging VAT on imported goods worth less than R500. Lawrence said he is not satisfied the gap is closed, and that some invoices he has seen do not suggest the correct VAT and duties are being paid. He also raised consumer protection, noting that shoppers have a harder time enforcing their rights against offshore sellers than local online retailers.
Techpoint Africa adds that analysts warn a ban could push buyers toward informal or unregulated channels, and that local clothing makers also struggle with energy costs, transport and red tape.
What this means
For shoppers, nothing changes today. Both apps work normally, and a ban would need government action that has not been proposed in any formal way. The more likely near-term moves are tighter checks on low-value imports and customs rules, which could raise prices on cheap parcels.
For African tech, the story is a test of how governments treat cross-border e-commerce. Online shopping is still small in South Africa. The study put e-commerce at 9.9% of retail in 2024, against a global average of 35.6%, so the market has room to grow. Whether that growth is captured by local sellers or foreign platforms is the real question behind the ban campaign. A September report from World Wide Worx, cited by Techpoint Africa, says the tighter import rules are already pushing both platforms toward local fulfilment and supply chains.
Watch for any response from the government or from Shein and Temu, neither of which had been reported at the time of writing.
This is a union campaign, not a ban. The decisions that matter are on tax enforcement and local fulfilment, and both will shape how Africans shop online.
