Mauritius is drifting down the dangerous road of social unrest. The ransacking of a textile factory by workers made redundant may just be a beginning (see inset). ?This is what happened with the laying off of 400 workers. Can you imagine what may happen when we have to lay off some 20 000 workers following the Supreme Court?s judgement on the production and sale of garments under the Ralph Lauren trade mark?, asks Beecham Juddoo, president of the Textile Manufacturers? and Retailers? Association.

The Supreme Court judgement, following an injunction from the American company, has debarred some 300 tourist shops and 20 textile factories from producing and retailing garments under the Ralph Lauren trademark. They have not closed down yet and their association is negotiating for a moratorium to phase out production and look for another trademark.

?I do not understand Ralph Lauren. Its lawyers are negotiating on the one hand and, on the other hand, they tried last Friday to raid three tourist shops selling Ralph Lauren products in Belle-Mare. These shops closed before the raid to avoid clashes between police and inhabitants of the locality who staged a violent protest last Wednesday over a misunderstanding on the Poste-Lafayette public beach. Are the authorities shopping for an uprising?? asks Sudheer Mudhoo, secretary of the Textile Manufacturers? and Retailers? Association.

The authorities may have sized the exact scale of the problem only recently. Prime minister, Paul Bérenger, announced last Saturday that the government?s trade representative in the United States will negotiate a moratorium. ?We will not succeed without the help of the government. There is not only this problem of a moratorium, but we will also have to look for a world-known trademark in order to stay in business?, says Beecham Juddoo.

According to Sudheer Muddhoo, Camel, a well-known trademark, has been registered here under the name of a Mauritian. We can buy the franchise from him and produce under that trademark. But we may find ourselves in the same situation in a few years. In fact, Ralph Lauren was registered in Mauritius as the property of Aurdally Bros. We bought the franchise from them, produced and invested heavily for seven years only to end up in a mess. What do we do with our stocks, equipment, buildings and tourist shops around the island?? asks Sudheer Muddhoo.

Workers and shop owners in the Ralph Lauren saga are no angels. They staged two protests in the streets of the capital before the court?s decision. One shop owner assaulted a representative from Fake Busters, an organisation working for Ralph Lauren. The looting of Ere Lingerie has nothing to do with the Ralph Lauren saga. But violent protest and ransacking of a factory have been unheard of since the 1971 social unrest led by the Mouvement Militant Mauricien.

<B>Redundant employees raid factory</B>

Ere Lingerie, a textile factory in Pointe-aux-Sables, was recently the scene of some violent protests. When the 380 employees heard that the factory was closing down and that they would get only half of their wages, anger flared up. The owner, Denis Rivet, had to call the police and the Special Supporting Unit to calm down the situation. While the factory was ransacked and looted, the receiver manager and the owner were stuck for about an hour in the latter?s office.