IRENE/Clean Clothes Campaign Seminar

Report on seminar 'Workers' Education and Information on Codes of Conduct'

13-15 December 1999
Mulheim an der Ruhr, Germany

After months of intensive prepartion the IRENE seminar on worker education and information on codes of conduct took place on December 13-15 1999. The organizers and participants felt it was a pressing issue, since very little workers' education on codes of conduct is being carried out and yet, without the participation of workers, codes cannot be successful in improving workplace terms and conditions. The issue is relevant to advancing all the related debates on code content, monitoring, independent verification and labour rights.

Participants brought with them experiences in specific programmes, some more on education or awareness raising, some more on campaigning and monitoring . As the written introduction to the seminar said, "It is crucial at this stage in the codes and monitoring debates that the relatively small circle of well-informed, active organisations is expanded to include organisations that are knowledgeable on educational issues and practices. In the context of codes and monitoring discussions, 'training' and 'education' are emerging with such frequency and, in some cases lack of content, that they take on the appearance of buzzwords."

The conference was organized by IRENE (International Restructuring Education Network Europe) and the Clean Clothes Campaign.Thanks to the Evangelische Akadamie we could stay in elegant and comfortable surroundings, and there was even snow to play in.

The key aims were at the end of the seminar to have a better understanding and ideas on:

• Methods of education
• The context in which educational programmes on codes should be conveyed
• Who should be the participants in such programmes
• Who should be giving them
• Where they should be given
• The content of such educational programmes.

Some 45 people took part in the seminar. Most are active in the Clean Clothes Campaign Network. About one third came from trade unions, women workers' groups and networks, and worker education bodies. These included participants from Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, Netherlands, Nicaragua and the UK, as well as five international federations/networks. European participants came from solidarity-, development and womens' organisations from Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, and Sweden. There were also representatives of the anti-sweatshop and students' movements in the USA, several researchers and the interpreters, whitout whom the work would have been impossible! The vast majority of participants were women. A full participant list as well as a the programme can be found at the end of this report and at the CCC website, http://www.cleanclothes.org/codes/edu.htm

The conference organizers were very happy to bring together such a wide range of organisations and individuals with a wealth of experience in the field of campaigning on corporate responsibility. They were disappointed, though, that no organisations from Eastern Europe or Africa were present, despite efforts.

The aims and agenda of the seminar, and suggestions for participants and outputs, had been drawn up by an international steering committee who had put in a lot of effort over a number of months by means of email and fax. The organisers were especially grateful to three - Lynda Yanz, Kelly Dent, and Angela Hale - who gave a lot of advice and ideas and yet were not able to attend. Please find at the end of the report a full list of the steering committee members.

A separate resource guide listing materials that participants brought along or that were suggested while preparing the seminar can also be found at the end of the report. It is also available from the CCC website, and many of the materials mentioned in the list can be downloaded.

Day One

Welcome and Introduction

Ineke Zeldenrust welcomed all the participants on behalf of the Clean Clothes Campaign and IRENE. The CCC, she said, realises that more energy must go into informing workers and workers' organisations about company codes of conduct and the rights that they contain. Workers need to be in a position where they know enough about codes that they can decide whether they want to use them as a tool to improve their rights, or whether in their own situation this would be a retreat. They need to be able to decide for themselves if they want to be involved in code monitoring exercises and consumer campaigns.

Workers hear about codes of conduct more often from companies than from trade unions, women's organisations, and other NGOs. Why? Is it a lack of capacity in our organisations? How can we change this? What is needed to bring more educational opportunities to workers affected, and how can this best be done? These would be the themes of the seminar.

Session 1: The Women Working Worldwide Codes Education Project

The seminar opened with a concrete example of workers' education on company codes of conduct. As yet, not many organisations provide this type of educational opportunity for workers. Women Working Worldwide, a small network based in Manchester, the UK, is one that has.

Celia Mather, who wrote the basic educational materials for the WWW project, spoke about how it was conceived and is being implemented. She was followed by presentations from groups in Asia and Central America where the materials have been used among workers.

Celia Mather drew a distinction between 'education' and 'training'. For her, education is a process whereby people learn about something in order to draw their own conclusions. Training, by contrast, provides information and skills for a particular purpose. If we are engaged in education, then workers can choose for themselves whether they wish or not to be involved in a code of conduct. This is different from training programmes which aim to involve workers in an agenda that has been developed elsewhere.

WWW is interested in promoting properly monitored codes of conduct. In the UK, WWW is involved in the Ethical Trading Initiative, which is a round-table discussion involving companies, trade unions, and NGOs on the ethical responsibilities of companies. WWW is also, through Labour Behind the Label in the UK, part of the Clean Clothes Campaign network.

However, codes are mostly being developed in a top-down process, tending to involve workers in a passive way. WWW believes that unless workers are fully involved, codes are not worth pursuing. The work on codes must be aimed at strengthening workers' own organisation. Education programmes on codes should be designed to this end.

WWW felt so strongly that worker education on this issue was needed that it started an education project, initially with very little funding. WWW first consulted twelve partner organisations in Asia, and based on their replies drafted the Education Pack: 'Company Codes of Conduct: What Are They? Can We Use Them?' (July 1998), with funding from the British Government Department for International Development (DFID). The materials, which include facilitators' notes, are aimed at worker activists rather than unorganised workers. They deal mostly with the garments, sportshoes, and toy industries.

The materials were then translated and used in pilot projects by groups in six Asian countries: Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, and Sri Lanka, followed by an evaluation seminar in Sri Lanka in December 1998. Meanwhile, the Central America Women's Network (CAWN) coordinated a similar education and consultation project in six countries in Central America: Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Nicaragua, with an evaluation seminar in Nicaragua in May 1999. Reports of the evaluations, along with the Education Pack, were circulated at the seminar, and are available from WWW.

The project encourages workers to think about their place in the global production chain and to find out more, for example by looking at the labels of the goods they produce. The Pack describes the different types of codes of conduct that exist, and suggests ways for workers to find out if there is a code that applies to their company. It encourages workers to draw up their own list of demands and compare this with what codes say. It looks at ways of building local and international solidarity to win support for workers' rights.

The pilots faced the usual problem that workers have little time for education, and many workers fear that they will lose their jobs if they get involved. WWW was very impressed with the hard work done by the groups in translating, printing, and piloting the materials despite, for example, the worst ever floods in Bangladesh and the political turmoil in Indonesia.

In all six countries in Asia, most workers found it an exercise worth doing. Most had had no opportunity before to think about their role in the global production chain. Workers were often shocked to find out that a code applied to their workplace. They were also often surprised to learn that they are not the only workers in a difficult situation. They were interested to learn about the strategies of other workers and the consumer movement. In Indonesia, the sessions involved activists from six factories that were not unionised. Afterwards, WWW learnt that unions were formed in two of the factories, with the workers who had been at the education sessions elected as union leaders.

The evaluation in Asia concluded that education on codes is important, not because workers see codes as important but because of the increasing adoption of codes by companies. Discussion on codes can lead into wider issues of workers' rights and sub-contracting chains. However, if the education programme focusses too heavily on codes there is a danger that workers can be misled into thinking that codes are the key strategy rather than just one possible tool that they can use to defend their rights.

Work on codes needs to be set in a wider context of the various strategies to win recognition for workers' rights. Therefore, WWW has just produced two draft booklets: a brief 'Pocket Guide to Workers' Rights' which is for workers for whom rights is a relatively new issue, plus a longer 'Handbook on Workers' Rights in the World Economy' for workers who wish to know or discuss more. These are being piloted and evaluated in early 2000. Codes of conduct are mentioned in these booklets as one tool among several.

Education programmes have to be simple, because workers have very little time. There is also a tendency for workers to concentrate on their local situation and not incorporate the global perspectives unless the facilitator encourages them to do so. Therefore the training of facilitators is very important.

Through this initial education programme, WWW has seen capacity being built, even after just one year. Both the Ethical Trading Initiative and the monitoring company Verite are proposing activities in Sri Lanka and WWW has confidence that workers there will now be able to better assess for themselves if and how they wish to be involved.

The Working Women's Organisation (WWO) in Lahore, Pakistan, is one of the six groups in Asia which has been involved in the WWW project. Simy Gulzar from WWO reported that it is very difficult for workers who work 12-17 hours a day for very little money to think about organising themselves. Many in Lahore are in small units rather than big factories. Most read and write but some do not, and so facilitators need to do a lot of verbal explanation.

In Lahore, they first began with a discussion on how to protect workers rights when unions are being weakened and there is a fear that company codes of conduct will be put in their place. So the WWO set their discussion of codes into a wider one on trade unions, labour laws, and transnational corporations. They did not want to emphasise codes of conduct because it was unclear to whom you would turn if you found that a company was violating a code. Many workers were at first not excited by the issue of codes. However, after the training in collecting labels they came to understand more about the global production chain and that codes were able to be a tool to attain workers' rights.

When the WWO tried to organise a follow-up workshop, however, it was difficult to attract those who had attended before because many of them were now out of work again. Many workers have only temporary jobs. Also, there is hostility from some religious groups, who allege such workshops are the work of foreign groups out to disturb Pakistan's prosperity. In early 2000, the WWO is planning to continue discussions with the trade unions (through the All Pakistan Trade Union Federation), the Labour Department, and some company managers.

The Maria Elena Cuadra Women's Movement for Employed and Unemployed Women (MEC) in Nicaragua was one of the Central American organisations which took part in the WWW programme. However, as MEC representative Josefa Rivera described, in Nicaragua the women workers' movement had already developed their own campaign for workers rights, including a Code of Ethics developed by women workers themselves that has now been adopted by the Ministry of Labour and has legal status.

Since 1990, the workers in Nicaragua's export processing zones (EPZs) had experienced a lot of abuse and cultural conflict with the owners of the factories who are from countries such as Taiwan. There were a number of strikes, but also difficulties within the trade union movement which led to the formation of a separate women workers' movement. Josefa said that they received very useful support from campaigns in the North who asked how they could help. "We don't want boycott campaigns. We want the companies to stay open", the Nicaraguan workers told them.

MEC ran a campaign called 'Jobs with Dignity', which gathered 30,000 signatures from workers and the community. The campaign had a strong educational component and women workers were brought together to develop a Code of Ethics. In the next stage of the campaign, they successfully got the Labour Minister to adopt the Code of Ethics as a Ministerial Resolution. Also, over 20 employers signed it. So it is now enforceable law, and their efforts are leading to legal reform of the laws governing EPZs. These legal achievements give workers more confidence to be active in claiming their rights.

However, there are still violations, including the firing of pregnant women and union organisers. So, campaigning and organising continues. Relationships with the trade unions have improved. Out of nearly 18,500 workers in the EPZs, 5,000 are involved in worker education projects, and 200 women have been especially trained in the Code and labour rights, handing out leaflets to workers to inform them of their rights. Further research among 2,500 women workers showed a need for more information on health and safety. About 150 workers have been trained, and they distribute manuals and leaflets that include free condoms.

The Central America Women's Network (CAWN), based in the UK, is a member of the CCC network and facilitated the workshop in Nicaragua in May 1999 which brought together workers' organisations from six Central American countries to discuss codes of conduct. Jane Turner of CAWN reported that many workers in Central America had never heard of company codes of conduct, did not know if a code applied to their factory or not, and had little knowledge even of labour laws. In the few cases where factory workers knew there was a code, it had been just stuck to the factory wall, untranslated. Many workers were worried that organising activities would cause the factories to leave their country.

Participants at the Central American workshop thought that there should be workers' committees to monitor codes, but also that governments should play a more active role since existing labour protection laws are not being implemented. They felt that public and international support are vital to achieve better working conditions, but direct contact with the workers is even more crucial. If there are professional monitors, they must have the trust of the workers, and the process must be carried out with absolute transparency. The workers definitely do not want monitors who do not have their trust. They recommended more training and exchange of experiences of monitoring, and the development of a regional strategy on monitoring.

As Celia Mather noted, in concluding the session, the cases of Pakistan and Nicaragua show how different the situations and experiences can be in different countries. In Pakistan, it could be said that the WWW education project brought something new, whereas in Nicaragua there was a high level of mobilisation of workers who had already produced their own Code of Ethics that had become legally recognised. This, she said, shows how the work of Northern organisations does not exist in a vacuum, and we must be careful to collaborate in a way that is sensitive to the real conditions and needs of workers in each place.

Session 2: Small Groups: Worker Education and Codes of Conduct: Content and Context

The participants went into six small groups to get to know each other better and focus on the themes of the seminar, by sharing information on their work. They discussed:

• What opportunities their organisations have explored for worker education on labour rights and codes of conduct.
• What their successes have been.
• What have been the obstacles and how they are overcoming them.

They considered especially:

• Who are their key target groups for education programmes and why
• How they have developed their relationship with them, and what responses they received from them
• What issues they focus on
• What issues areraised by their key target groups and how their education programmes respond to them
• Resource/funding issues.

In plenary, the groups reported that the following ideas had been raised:

• Target groups should be specific for the education to be effective (for example, workers in the same company or industry).
• Participants should ideally come from and be treated as members of an organisation rather than individuals; and organisational support sought for the education programme.
• It is important to find ways of involving homeworkers.
• Other target groups include women, migrant workers, and activists seeking support.
• There is a need to bring together workers in the whole chain, that is, in both production and retail.
• The topics raised should be linked to the workers' local situation.
• The education should be practical so that workers take away something concrete.
• The education should recognise that workers in the North and South have common problems and gains, overcoming the North-South division.
• It should address the various identities of workers; for example, workers are also consumers.
• Workers' formulating their own demands is not new; codes of conduct are.
• Codes are a tool, not an end in themselves. Codes should not let governments off the hook of implementing labour law.
• Methods used include: peer training, study circles, introducing the topic into other courses, e.g into language classes for migrant workers.
• Do not assume that all participants will become confident enough to educate others.
• Language differences are a major obstacle.
• Companies are becoming more involved in programmes to educate workers on their codes of conduct.

Day Two

Session 3: Case Studies of Educational Programmes and Support for Capacity-Building

Suprihatin is a woman garment worker from a new trade union in Indonesia called SESBUGAR, or 'Solidarity with Garment Workers'. It was formed in 1997 and is affiliated to the ABG-TEX Association of Garment and Textile Workers' Unions, which is a section of the new GSBI Federation of Independent Trade Unions. They have been supported in their efforts to set up independent worker-led trade unions by SISBIKUM, an NGO.

Indonesian workers face difficulties from company managements, the Government of Indonesia, and the security forces such as the police and military. The poor working terms and conditions in garment factories are very serious. In her factory, they have been struggling to have their trade union recognised by the management. Even though their union is legally registered, management only wants to deal with the 'official' trade union, SPSI, which many workers feel does not represent their aspirations and is still, despite reforms, inclined to defend companies rather than workers.

Indonesia has many labour laws and has recently ratified ILO Convention No.87 on the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise. However, the Government does not respect them, Suprihatin explained. The new Minister of Manpower is Bonar Pasaribu, former head of the official trade union and well-known for his corrupt practices. For example, he allowed the workers' social insurance fund to be wrongly used to help bring in a repressive Manpower Bill. Workers feel that as SPSI head he held back workers' rights and fear that if he stays as Minister conditions may get worse.

In Suprihatin's factory, 500 workers were recently sacked for joining the trade union she belongs to and going on strike because the factory refused to negotiate over prayer time, menstruation leave, a transport bonus, housing assistance, and problems with the social security funds. The workers receive Rp.230,000 per month (about US$40) which is not a living wage. Suprihatin and another union leader have not been allowed back to work and have received no pay for five months, even though they are not sacked. A chronology of the dispute is available.

Some of their production is contracted to the European retail chain C&A, which has a code of conduct, and two German firms. During her visit to Europe, Suprihatin met with these companies to discuss the non-implementation of C&A's code of conduct and the responsibilities of the German companies in the ongoing labour dispute.

As part of its activities, Suprihatin's union runs an education programme. This is difficult, she explained, because workers have low education levels. They have to start from the beginning to learn about their rights. Companies try to interfere with the education sessions. They use spies and tell the police, who then break up the meetings. So the union has to take precautionary action. The union also has few funds as it depends on the small dues which the workers can afford to pay.

Codes of conduct can be useful in the Indonesian situation, according to Suprihatin. They are a way of putting pressure on the companies and government. However, Indonesian workers have yet to establish their right even to bring management and government's attention to the codes. The military still intervenes in the factories, either directly or through hired thugs.

Girlie Guzman of BATU, the Asian regional organisation of the World Congress of Labour (WCL), made a presentation on their 'BATU Norm' capacity-building programme. This is aimed at "building a culture of human rights among trade unions and the social environment", particularly among the 2-2.5 million workers in Asia who are in BATU affiliated trade unions. They have a fundamental assumption that if labour rights are to be extended, there needs to be education, a change in society at large, and the unions must become proactive.

In phase 1 of the programme which started in 1995, they concentrated on the ILO Core Conventions, and the issues of a living wage, and just and humane conditions of work. They brought together 'link persons' from each country for a regional seminar, followed by a national seminar programme in each country to discuss ILO standards and their relationship to national labour laws, and how to address violations.

In phase 2 , during 1998, the emphasis was more practical and focussed on several concrete issues: child labour (BATU was one of the co-organisers of the Asian section of the Global March on Child Labour), the ILO Declaration on Rights at Work, migrant labour, and 'cyber-advocacy' (using electronic communications).

In phase 3 , the emphasis will be on advocating better laws and the development of legal assistance, for example by training workers to handle cases in court. They want to see more worker representation on the boards of export processing zones. For public support they have planned petitions, pamphlets, and stickers, which request common action. At an international level, they intend to bring more complaints to the ILO.

BATU became involved in the Clean Clothes Campaign through its relationship with groups in Belgium (where the WCL has its headquarters). BATU encourages networking between unions in the garment sector and with other groups. It also tries to mobilise public support for garment workers. For example, in the Philippines, the FFW trade union has developed a radio programme and educational materials such as comic books and posters. The FFW is working with the Clean Clothes Campaign and has organised core groups of union activists to undertake monitoring. These volunteers will gather information on factories and sub-contractors, and monitor the situation of workers. Girlie said that the issue of piece-rate workers is very important. Many companies violate standards.

Also at the seminar was a Filipino NGO called Convergence which is working on an education/information programme with the CCC. There are now plans for Convergence and the FFW to work together on codes monitoring and workers' education.

Session 4: Workers' Education and the Right to Organise

In any educational exercise on codes, the right to organise needs to be dealt with thoroughly. If this right is not upheld, codes will not lead to a substantial improvement for workers, but may be misused and manipulated to prevent the formation and functioning of trade unions. Astrid Kaag of the Dutch union federation FNV chaired this session. Building on the previous sessions, she asked a number of questions of the speakers:

• In the case of Nicaragua, what is the relationship between the legal Code of Ethics and trade unions and collective bargaining?
• What can be done in countries such as China where there is no legal right to organise independent trade unions?
• In a country like Indonesia where trade union rights are weak, do codes actually help in organising workers?

Josefa Rivera said that the significance of the Code in Nicaragua is that it came from the workers themselves. It reflects their needs. The existence of the Code, plus the campaigning, the education/training programme, and the international solidarity, have all given the workers a sense of mutual solidarity. Workers are no longer afraid to speak out. On 31 January 1999, 1,300 workers met with the Labour Minister and several employers. Since a difficult strike in 1993 when many workers were injured, workers in the EPZs have now become much more confident. Also the relationship with the trade unions is now good. The MEC has been meeting with the unions to see how the code and union collective bargaining fit together.

In Indonesia, according to Suprihatin, codes are a tool to put pressure on companies and government. Over the past year, they have met four times with government to assert their right to organise. "Mostly we get promises about 'tomorrow' but tomorrow never comes. They do nothing to implement what they agree with us", she said. So, the union hopes that codes and international support can help to bring extra pressure. "We need international solidarity because our situation is so difficult."

Alice Kwan of the Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee (HKCIC) spoke about the situation in China. She regretted the fact that there was no Chinese worker present to tell their own story. China is a socialist country which should support workers' rights but does not. Workers can only join the official trade union, and representatives are picked by management. Workers are not allowed to organise for themselves. Most workers have no knowledge of what a trade union should do, or about Chinese labour laws or company codes of conduct.

Where workers in China know about a code, it is because the company has taught them about it. This leads many workers to think that it is a set of rules that they must abide by, a punishment mechanism, Alice explained, rather than something that should protect them.

For example, HKCIC has evidence that managements use the social accountability standard SA8000 to pressure workers to work harder. Under SA8000 workers should have maximum workweek of 48 hours, and no forced overtime, and this is what managers tell SA8000 they are implementing. But in reality the workers are pressured into doing in 8 hours the quota that they used to do in 12, and if they cannot then their wages are cut. This despite the fact that they are entitled to a living wage under the SA8000 standard. Or workers believe SA 8000 is about hygiene, as they are ordered to clean the floors to meet the standard. The SA8000 certification is seen as a 'prize' to be won for the company if the workers help the management, Alice reported. If they do not win, they are told it will bring great shame. Management hangs banners around the factory compound saying 'We Should Get the SA8000 Certificate!'

A number of transnational corporations have approached HKCIC for help in implementing their codes. However, "There will never be an effective code of conduct unless the workers can monitor and implement the code themselves. Before that can happen they need education in workers' rights", said Alice. HKCIC is a member of Labour Rights in China (LARIC) with three other organisations. LARIC's top priority is to enhance workers' organization. Worker education is a tool to empower them to be organized. Their strategy for education work in China is to start with health and safety issues, as this is somewhat tolerated by the Chinese authorities.

Steve Grinter of the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF) stated that codes are no substitute for trade unions. But even 100% organisation is of no use if it is not democratic, as China shows. There must be representivity, democratic accountability, and self-reliance.

Codes can be a useful tool in the process of strengthening unions. However, many codes are nothing more than window-dressing for the TNCs, produced hurriedly under pressure, and often just a publicity stunt for marketing purposes. The key for defending workers rights is collective bargaining and codes of conduct are largely incidental in this process. In factories in Indonesia, the Nike code of conduct is handed out to workers. Yet Nike keeps on trying to bring down the price of labour.

Organising in the clothing sector is notoriously difficult, said Steve. There is no need for heavy investment in production sites and many plants are not owned by the TNCs, and so it is easy for companies to shift from one place to another. Therefore, many workers associate calling for their rights with losing their jobs. A new, international approach to organising is called for. In Central America, for example, the ITGLWF has been helping to build clandestine worker organisations, a method that was used by established unions in their early years. One of the key aims of the new organizing efforts is to make sure that employers have no safe havens, such as Export Processing Zones, where they can avoid national labour legislation. The help of NGOs and consumer campaigns, such as United Students Against Sweatshops, has been very useful, Steve added.

The ITGLWF has a new project to explore the possibility of reaching collective agreements with selected TNCs at the global level, Steve explained. They are currently researching the 50 top TNCs in their sectors to identify possible candidates. They also have a campaign to include certain clauses in collective bargaining agreements CBAs, especially against the use of under-age workers. CBAs are more effective than codes of conduct because they are signed by both parties, and are therefore easier to police.

Dwight Justice of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) said we have to be careful what we mean by 'codes of conduct'. They are many things to many people. Different kinds of codes require different responses.

What is new in the 1990s is that some TNCs have brought in codes which apply to all workers, not only their own employees. Codes came about because of the failure of governments to promote legislation, Dwight explained. However, there are only two ways in which workers' rights are protected: good legislation properly enforced, and good worker organisation. All codes have to be evaluated against this, whether they promote government legislation and/or intergovernmental labour standards. Many codes avoid the issue of freedom of association, though more are now including ILO standards, after pressure from NGOs and unions.

It is better if a company code is limited to minimum standards, not elaborate prescriptions. The details should be dealt with by collective bargaining, which is a fundamental right. Codes can become a substitute for unions where they are part of a 'human management' strategy which sees unions as 'old-fashioned' or representing 'conflict'. Companies shop around for NGOs as partners so as to avoid unions. This creates an illusion of dealing with someone other than the TNC itself. The issue is, who speaks for the workers? The ICFTU position is that only representative and democratically-controlled trade unions can do this, because they are the organisations owned by workers.

Codes can help workers to organise where unions are weak or non-existent. However, to be successful, codes need the workers to be involved, and this presupposes some existing level of organisation. Dwight saw this as somewhat circular. However, he concluded, the main way in which codes can be useful is to give some leverage to create space for workers' self-organisation. Whether this happens or not, unions have an obligation for their members and for unorganised workers to be in on the debates. NGOs should ask in all forums, "What about the unions? Why aren't they here?" However, later some participants added that trade unions do not always want to be involved.

Alana Dave asked whether there are examples where codes have been used positively to assist workers to organise. Dwight Justice said there are very few examples as yet. The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines used a retailer's code to counteract the anti-union campaign of a sub-contractor. But such cases are relatively few. A number of international trade union bodies (ITSs) are reaching global agreements with individual companies. For example, the international union for workers in the food, hotel and catering industries, the IUF, has a global agreement with the French hotel chain Accor, which gives all workers in Accor hotels the right to organise. In some ways, these framework agreements resemble codes of conduct, he said.

Celia Mather agreed that there might be a contradiction: it is said that codes should be a tool to help workers to organise, and yet adequate monitoring of a code demands a fairly high existing level of worker organisation.

Johanna Piven of the Clean Clothes Campaign in Sweden asked how we can deal practically with employers who have signed a code and yet are unwilling to implement it. What are the mechanisms to make them comply?

Session 5: Tools for Education

This session looked at some methods for carrying out workers' education. It focussed on 'study circles', including a way of using the Internet to stimulate exchange and collaboration between study circles in different countries.

Steve Grinter explained that the study circle method is one commonly used by trade unions. The ITGLWF encourages its affiliates to use it. In their case, the study circles are usually formed among workers at the factory level, typically in ten sessions over ten weeks, and on the employer's premises if that can be negotiated. It helps the workers get together to discuss issues and decide on action in a structured manner. The programme itself is very low cost, and self-reliance is an important element to study circles, Steve said.

In the Philippines, this method has brought together their various ITGLWF affiliates to form a committee where they now work together rather than compete. In Africa, affiliates take up the concept of study circles very rapidly, whereas in Latin America it is slower. It can take a while for study circles to become embedded, but when they do it is a powerful weapon.

Alana Dave coordinates the International Study Circle Project for the International Federation of Workers Educational Associations (IFWEA). IFWEA has 52 affiliates worldwide, made up of trade unions, international union bodies, and NGOs involved in workers' and informal adult education.

The IFWEA recognised that there had been very little discussion and education on globalisation, she explained. What there was was rather abstract and did not match the reality of workers' daily lives. The new challenge was to make both the methodology and content of the education programme international. It is very expensive to organise international seminars, and so they looked at using new communications technology to bring together study circles in various countries, focussing on particular topics.

The International Study Circles programme is structured and focussed to make sure that it is coherent. The study circle in each country decides its own participants, because IFWEA is conscious of the link between education and building organisations. Each has its own facilitator. The facilitators are brought together first to draw up the content or curriculum so that it is suitable for everyone's needs. Then the study circles are held involving 10-15 people in each country. All the study circles discuss the same issues within roughly the same two week period. The report of their discussions is then e-mailed to a coordinating centre to put onto a special web-site on the Internet. Before each session, each facilitator downloads from the web-site the reports of the other study circles for their group to discuss. In this way, the participants in the study circles learn about and discuss each other's viewpoints.

Alana stressed that this is an education project, not a technology project. Only one computer and access to the Internet are required for each group, and this is used by the facilitator rather than the participants.

However, the process has stimulated an interest in computers, and the participants want access to the web-site so that they can use it as a permanent educational resource. The method also requires a technology centre to manage the web-site. The web-site does not use pictures but text only, because of the limited technology available in some countries. It is secured by a password so only those participating can put materials on the web-site. However, anyone can read it. The web-site is www.tsl.fi/ifwea/isc.

Two international study circles (ISC) have been held on TNCs, involving about twelve countries (including Sweden, Estonia, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Kenya, South Africa, and the Caribbean, amongst others.) Another one about to start focusses on women and the global food industry. Others planned are on trade unions and the Asia-Pacific economic crisis, and migrant workers. From Eastern Europe there is a request for one on McDonalds. Alana suggested that this method might be suitable for workers in a TNC or a production chain to discuss a code of conduct and workers' rights.

ISC participants say that finding out what is happening in other parts of the world is very stimulating. However, there are problems to be solved. One is language. At present, IFWEA runs the web-site in English, and then each country's facilitator translates. This is a lot of work and much gets lost in the translation. Also, though the aim is to build cooperation, the study circles have so far only resulted in information sharing rather than long-lasting cooperation. However, this may change if they bring together people with very concrete links between them.

A number of people expressed interest in the international study circle method, including Steve Grinter of the ITGLWF and Astrid Kaag of the FNV, as well as the Clean Clothes Campaign. While recognising there are difficulties in countries, such as China, where governments do not allow freedom to access the Internet, Alana confirmed that this is definitely not a 'game of the North' and can be adapted to meet specific situations.

Session 6: Education in the Context of Monitoring Pilot Projects

This session looked at several code monitoring projects and whether or how they are integrating workers' education. Reports came from the United States, China, the UK, France and Central America.

Nikki Bas came from the USA to talk about Sweatshop Watch. This is a coalition of 24 organisations including trade unions, women's groups, immigrant rights groups, and community groups. It is based in California where there are 160,000 garment workers.

Sweatshop Watch has also been involved in supporting the rights of workers on the island of Saipan, part of the US Commonwealth of the Mariana Islands. Saipan is located near Japan but is US territory. On Saipan there are about 45,000 'guest workers', mostly from China, the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Taiwan. They come on two-year work permits, and cannot apply for US citizenship and so have no political rights. The garment industry, which was set up there in the early 1980s and is mostly Asian owned, employs about 20,000 of these workers and benefits from being exempt from US regulations such as the federal minimum wage law.

Sweatshop Watch's strategy with regard to Saipan is to improve working conditions, and to get the laws changed. They have filed a series of lawsuits for unfair business practices. In one, they have taken on eighteen retailers that sell garments from Saipan but have advertised themselves as 'sweatshop free'. The trial is forthcoming, but twelve companies have already decided to settle. A second class-action lawsuit is being brought by 200 workers on behalf of 50,000 current and past garment workers, for violations of the US racketeering law.

In the settlement with the 12 retailers, Sweatshop Watch believes they have achieved some important successes. The agreement includes a code and a five-year monitoring programme. The social auditing company Verite will be the monitoring body. "Our idea was to create a monitoring body, but the companies wanted an auditing company. Verite was the compromise", said Nikki. The reports from Verite will be translated; there will be summaries and pamphlets. Complaints can be received from any source. Workers can talk freely to Verite, and workplace meetings will be held every six months with paid time-off. There is also an 'exit plan' when monitors interview workers as they go home. How the companies are complying with the code will be independently assessed. Where violations are found, there are three stages of action. Stage 1: Verite suggests a solution to the company and gives a timetable. Stage 2: a probationary period. Stage 3: the ending of the contract.

Nikki explained that the Saipan workers will receive education, even on recruitment, which will include training on the monitoring standards and on US and Saipan labour laws. Verite is coordinating the education/training programme, but it will be done by the hotel workers' union on Saipan and overseen by a consortium involving the US Department of Labour, the Occupational Safety and Health administration, and the union.

Other issues agreed in the settlement include back-pay for overtime, a ban on recruitment fees (or, where they are found, reimbursement by the sub-contractors to the workers concerned), plus a ban on shadow work contracts which are signed in the worker's home country barring them from organising and even dating or marrying.

In answer to a question, Nikki explained that they are not proposing that a garment workers' trade union is set up in Saipan, for several reasons. One is that the workers speak many different languages. Secondly, most workers fear it, having been told that if they join a union the factory will close down and they will lose their jobs.

Carrie Brunk was also present from the United States to report on the activities of the United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS). Students on many US campuses have been putting pressure on their college administrations to have and implement codes relating to the companies which have a licence with them. These are often the well-known sportswear companies who sponsor college sports teams. It is a lucrative market worth about US$3-5 billion a year. About 175 campuses have been involved in the campaign.

Under this pressure, many universities have signed up to the Fair Labor Association (FLA). However, this was formed by the companies and has corporate-backed monitors and no public disclosure or living wage provision. To combat this, the student campaign has developed an independent monitoring body, the Workers' Rights Consortium (WRC). So far four universities have joined this. The scheme will be financed by the universities paying between US$1, 000 to 50,000 a year, which is one per cent of the money that they receive from the sportswear companies in licensing fees.

To develop their verification model, student delegations paid visits to Nicaragua, Indonesia and the US-Mexico border to consult with workers' groups, trade unions and NGOs. For technical expertise they will work with organisations like Verite. There is also an advisory board which includes trade unionists, organisations from the garment producing areas and academics. The US trade union in the sector, UNITE, is a member of the advisory board.

During the discussion, a note of caution was sounded. There is some experience of Verite being hired in competition with independent monitoring. According to Ingeborg Wick, Adidas hired Verite to do an audit at a supplier in El Salvador instead of using the local organisations united in GMIES (Grupo de Monitoring Indepediente de El Salvador).

Next the seminar returned to a discussion of monitoring projects in China and the problems and possibilities of workers' education there. Johanna Piven of the Fair Trade Center in Stockholm said that, before embarking on monitoring pilot projects, the Clean Clothes Campaign in Sweden commissioned a number of pre-studies. In China, the pre-study was carried out by HKCIC, who held interviews with workers to find out, for example, who the workers would turn to if they were facing workplace difficulties. (Other pilot studies are under way in India and Bangladesh, including audits at two factories, and these will be evaluated in March 2000.)

The next step for the Swedish independent verification project will be to work more in-depth on worker education. They plan to form mobile education teams, made up of five people - educators and experts - which will bring education to the workers and the official trade union, carry out interviews, and develop written materials such as guides. They are also planning to have workshops with Swedish employers to "inspire them, not just to enforce".

Alice Kwan spoke more about the collaborative project in China between the HKCIC and CCC Sweden. They have just completed the pre-study on the communication patterns of workers and what workers know about the CCC Code of Conduct. Workers who are working on contracts for Swedish retailers do not know about the Code. So, the Swedish retailers have been asked to translate it and send it to the Chinese companies. However, most Chinese workers will not know what the Code means unless there is education. Workers in China seek help from their relatives, the lack of trade unions and NGO's means they cannot seek help with them. The Swedish companies say they support workers' education but that it is "the work of the trade unions", Alice reported. They seem resistant to worker education on the Code that they have themselves signed. It is very difficult because without the support of the companies, there cannot be successful education inside the Chinese factories, and if this does not happen then the CCC Code will be meaningless.

Labour Rights in China (LARIC) was involved in the pilot project on garments in China with the Ethical Trading Initiative (UK). LARIC felt it was essential to include worker training programmes into the design of the pilot. The British company Littlewoods, which is the company in the ETI to work on this part of the China pilot, has said that it welcomes workers' education, but when the Chinese suppliers to Littlewoods were invited to discuss it, they resisted. It is not clear if it is possible to change the design of the pilot, or to add a fifth pilot that would include worker training was not possible at the time. So, for now LARIC is not able to go further with the ETI project, Alice added.

Sumi Dhanarajan from Oxfam in the UK spoke more about the Ethical Trading Initiative ETI. It is a British Government funded network of NGOs (of which Oxfam is one), companies and trade unions. Companies can join the ETI by signing up to the ETI's Base Code, which has similar provisions to the CCC code and the SA8000 standard. The ETI is not an endorsement or monitoring body. Its role is to start building a consensus around workers' rights, and try to develop best practice in monitoring through 'learning by doing'.

Three ETI pilot projects started up in 1999, in South Africa (wine production) and Zimbabwe (horticultural products), as well as China (garments). Within the garment pilot project, four very different monitoring approaches were meant to be tested: an internal company one, one using an auditing firm, one working with NGOs and unions, and one using academics which they could not carry out. There are other pilots in the pipeline in Costa Rica (bananas) and possibly Sri Lanka (garments). So far, there has been awareness-raising among workers, said Sumi, but no workers' education programme as such.

Dwight Justice, who attends the ETI on behalf of the ICFTU, added that the ETI might evolve in various ways. The ICFTU is in favour of the ILO becoming involved in monitoring issues, and how the ILO responds will have a big influence on initiatives such as the ETI. An important issue is that there must be no 'ethical labels' without sanctions, and this means more regulation. It is possible that all these discussions on codes are leading to enough consensus on company accountability that regulation is now more of an option.

Celia Mather asked whether those involved in pilot projects on codes assume that a code is a good idea in all situations and are only concerned with methods of implementing it. Or do they ask the fundamental question, 'Would a code be a retreat in this particular situation?'

Stephanie Francois reported from the Collectif de l'Ethique sur l'Etiquette, a network of 50 NGOs, trade unions and others which is the Clean Clothes Campaign branch in France. They have been mainly working with a big French retailer Auchan, and the French Federation of Retailers FCD. Auchan signed a code in 1997 and they have lately been running a training project for purchasers.
The current plan is that the SA 8000 standard and guidance will be used as a tool to monitor several suppliers of Auchan in Madagascar. The Collectif's main concern is how to develop reliable audits. For this, it is essential to involve organisations in the South, Stephanie said. Following a visit to Madagascar in March 1999 with an Auchan representative, they are collaborating with the FMM trade union and IREDEC, an NGO working on labour rights' awareness, on a possible monitoring programme.

The final presentation in this session was from Ronald Kopke from the Information Center El Salvador in Germany, which is a partner in the Clean Clothes Campaign in that country. He was standing in for a representative from CODEMUH in Honduras who was unable to make the seminar.

CODEMUH is a women's NGO that has been working in the north of Honduras where, since the late 1980s, a large maquila assembly industry has grown up, producing garments entirely for the US market. About 100,000 workers (90% of them women) work in about 230 factories in 11 zones. There is evidence of homeworking, particularly assembling baseball equipment. In the mid-1990s there were many strikes, involving 28,000 garment workers.

CODEMUH is also (along with MEC from Nicaragua) involved in RED, the Central American Women's Network in Soldarity with Maquila Workers. RED has contact with various North American and European campaigns, including the CCC, but it has a critical attitude towards Northern organisations following some poor experiences. It also has a critical attitude towards male-dominated trade unions. RED has a Code of Ethics (Codigo de Etica, the same as used by MEC in Nicaragua), and is establishing Independent Monitoring Groups which could become partners in monitoring systems that come in through, for example, SA8000 or the Fair Labour Association (USA). Already one pilot has been done for the company Liz Claiborne involved in the FLA.

As CODEMUH is involved in both the workplace and the community, Ronald explained, this shapes both the location and the content of their workers' education programme. High priority is given to education on national labour law and how to use it. Education on women's rights (domestic and other violence, self-confidence, etc.) is also important. CODEMUH is just beginning an information campaign on the Code of Ethics.

Evening:
In the evening, some participants gathered to exchange more detail about experiences and views on codes monitoring projects.

Others watched videos brought by participants:

• Pamela Curr introduced '20 Pieces' a video of produced by the Fair Wear campaign in Australia. It shows the situation of Australia's thousands of homeworkers, and the campaign for their rights including the vibrant street demonstrations that have brought pressure on Australia's high street stores to improve working conditions for those who produce their garments.
• Alice Kwan of the Hong Kong Christian Industrial Council showed a video on the plight of some workers in China injured during a factory fire in 1993. It is an example of how we cannot necessarily trust companies to fulfill voluntary agreements. The Zhili factory, where the fire killed 87 workers and injured 47, was producing toys for an Italian company, Artsana S.p.A/Chicco. Since 1997 Artsana/Chicco has offered 300 million liras (15.000 Euro) in compensation to the victims and their families. However, to date none of the victims has received any of it. In late 1999, HKCIC and others in Hong Kong were outraged to learn that the money has been used for unrelated purposes on the excuse that the company does not have a complete list of the victims. Many of the Zhili victims have appalling injuries and still suffer great pain. They do not have a free trade union to fight for their rights. It will be extremely difficult to bring the company to court in Italy or China for going back on its promise to compensate the victims. Campaigners in Hong Kong see public campaigning and consumer pressure in Europe regarding this case as once again necessary. Information is available from: www.hknet.com/~hkcic

Day Three

Session 7: Homeworkers and the Relevance of Codes

This session looked at the relevance of company codes of conduct for homeworkers, the most invisible and often one of the most oppressed sections of the workforce, and what kind of campaigns and education programmes might be appropriate to help them achieve their rights. Sharing information on international level is very important especially because increasing levels of homeworking is having an impact on factory-based work everywhere.

The session was chaired by Yvonne Fijneman from the India Committee of the Netherlands, one of the organisations active in the Dutch CCC. In the week before the seminar she had toured the Netherlands with a representative from the Self-Employed Women's Assocation (SEWA) who unfortunately had to return to India unexpectedly and so could not take part in the seminar.

First, the participants were treated to a 'fashion parade', with the panel wearing items used in the Australian Fair Wear campaign: a Nike 'Slavery' T-shirt, and a sack-like top saying 'Rather Wear a Bag than Nike'. Nike has been targetted because it is refusing to sign the Textile Clothing and Footwear Workers Union of Australia homeworkers' code on the grounds that it has its own code.

Baljit Basatia works with AEKTA, the Clothing Industry Action Research Project, based in Birmingham, the UK. Aekta means'unity' in Urdu. The garment industry in Birmingham is only two decades old and is characterised by small units and many homeworkers. In the UK, it is estimated that there are one million homeworkers, with a predominance among women in ethnic minority communities. "We believe that for every factory worker there are two homeworkers", said Baljit.

Homeworkers suffer long hours, low pay often calculated on a piece-rate basis, and irregularity of work. Orders can be picked up at any time, meaning a homeworker has to be available at all times. Aekta reaches homeworkers through door-to-door leafleting, with leaflets in six languages, and social visits by homeworkers to other homeworkers. Aekta also uses the Asian press, radio and TV where possible. It tries to set up discussion groups, but this is difficult because of the demands placed on homeworkers.

Homeworkers in the UK were classed as 'self-employed', meaning they were exempt from employment laws, but they have successfully won the right to be included under the new national minimum wage legislation. This may mean a wage rise of up to six times for some. However, to get it they have to reach a Fair Estimate Agreement with their employers on the number of hours worked. Yet homeworkers cannot negotiate with their employers. Working terms are imposed on them, Baljit explained. Many homeworkers also fear the minimum wage because if they demand it they risk losing their jobs.

The national minimum wage is not being paid to many factory workers. How much more difficult will it be for homeworkers to get it? To whom would they take a complaint? They have no pay slips, and so they are invisible to the authorities. There is a registration system but only one homeworker in Birmingham is registered!

Most UK factory-based and homeworkers are not aware of codes of conduct, and homeworkers are not mentioned in most codes. So, in Baljit's view, company codes of conduct are not of direct use to them. However, homeworkers and their needs should be covered in whatever codes exist, above all rights to a regular supply of work, to be treated as regular workers, and to earn decent pay. Homeworkers are not unionised because employers take contracts away when they suspect unionisation. Trade unions also seem reluctant, though the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has just trained some new organisers and this may bring change.

Workers in factories can help to identify the retailers who are buying goods made by homeworkers in the production chain.

Baljit warned campaigners not to rely too heavily on labelling to understand supply chains. She knows homeworkers whose only job is to sew in labels.

Other participants gave examples. Labelling is now done in closed sections under great secrecy on garments that have arrived in bulk from elsewhere. SEWA in India reports that women workers are being checked to see if they are carrying labels out of factories. There is a need to campaign, as has been done in Latin America, to make the label a kind of 'passport' through which the garment's production can be traced.

Pamela Curr is Organiser for the Fair Wear campaign of the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia (TCFUA). She said that 90% of workers in the garment industry in Australia are homeworkers, a dramatic growth in recent years. The union has calculated that there are now 15 'outworkers' (homeworkers) for each 'indoor' (factory-based) worker. Many are earning under A$2 an hour, less than they were 4-5 years ago. "They are alone in their homes and bullied", she said.

TCFUA has taken up the challenge. It has developed a national Homeworkers Code of Practice that is industry-wide. The union believes that most company codes are 'public relations' efforts, and only a single code for all companies in the industry will work. They were helped by the fact that in most Australian states, outworkers have the same legal rights as other workers. However, the code is a result of the failure of governments to police the existing laws.

The Fair Wear campaign has been putting pressure on the retailers to sign the Code by holding 'Shops Of Shame' demonstrations outside the stores, attended by bishops and nuns amongst others. The year 2000 is very important because the pressure will be on the companies to sign the Code. Once they do, it is a legally-binding on them. The companies will have to start being transparent about the production chain involved.

The TCFUA Code will be monitored by the union and homeworkers, giving both top-down and bottom-up control. At the top, the responsibility is the retailers. So as to make the chain transparent and traceable, documentation has to be kept by the manufacturers, and the union has rights to inspect it. Every homeworker has to be registered.

As part of the campaign, they have developed a manual on sewing times. If production standards are set, both manufacturers and workers have the same information, and every piece of work will have a known price. Secondly, they want a clear labelling system which shows, by means of an employers' registration system, which employers have been involved in a garment.

Curr reported that Focus groups of homeworkers showed that they want the retailers locked into a price structure, a simple pricing structure, and clear labelling to trace the production chain.

To reach the homeworkers and bring them into the union, TCFUA has set up English-language classes, with information on sewing skills and health and safety skills, etc. The classes help the homeworkers to read the records, pay-slips, etc. which they will have to do for monitoring the homeworkers' Code. The union uses the study circle method and leadership training. They have also produced the video '20 Pieces'. Some of the homeworkers in the film have since become delegates in the union. Contact with homeworkers is done by using the media, especially radio, and word-of-mouth.

Curr noted that Australian companies are also increasingly operating abroad, and so TCFUA is very interested in international networking on these issues.

Lucy Brill is from Homenet, the international solidarity network of organisations concerned with the rights of homeworkers. Homenet, set up in 1994, supports the formation of new homeworkers' organisations, and networking including exchange visits by grassroots homeworkers' groups. The network is also involved in advocacy and campaigning.

A recent study in Europe confirmed that there is homeworking in many different industries, not just garments but also footwear, car components and electronics, Brill reported. As well as the Australian and British cases, there is evidence from Indonesia that, as factory workers are becoming more organised, production is being shifted to homeworkers.

For workers' education, Homenet produces and shares materials including a newsletter. It translates them into as many languages as possible. There is a need for much more education within the labour movement worldwide about the need to include homeworkers and their issues. In Canada, the union brings together factory-based workers and homeworkers, from different communities, for joint education sessions.

Most codes do not mention homeworkers, Lucy said. The way that some codes have been implemented has even harmed some homeworkers' livelihoods. Codes could help, by contrast, if homeworkers are involved in drawing them up so that they contain relevant issues. However, this implies a level of organisation among homeworkers which does not usually exist. It is especially important to recognise how vulnerable homeworkers are to losing work, and to minimise this risk. In the UK, when homeworkers organised in one location, the work was moved to another place. So, activity on codes must be done in a developmental step-by-step way, but with clear standards and deadlines.

The ILO Homeworking Convention, ratified by Finland and Ireland, is making homeworkers more visible. However, after winning the Convention, the trade unions behaved as if the work was done. Support for Homenet withered and funders retreated. Lucy stressed the need to keep the issue of homeworkers in the limelight.

Many participants came up with other examples of factory management trying to escape their responsibilities to workers. Girlie Guzman had earlier reported that in the Philippines there is growing use of homeworkers. One factory called Novelty used to have 15,000 workers producing baby clothes for US department stores such as JC Penney. Now there are only 2,000, and the work is put out to homeworkers and small contractors, where it is very difficult to organise trade unions. There are many homeworkers just outside EPZs. The Department of Labour is supposed to monitor sub-contracting firms, and so it should be possible to bring legal cases where there are violations of laws. The ILO Homeworking Convention is meanwhile not yet known by many workers in the Philippines, she said.

Josefa Rivera mentioned that some companies are closing down in the EPZs in Nicaragua and setting up outside because they do not want to cooperate with the new Code of Ethics. She confirmed that homeworkers outside the Zones would not be covered by the Code but by national legislation, though they never seem to win in the courts. What is needed is a universal code to cover all workers, plus campaigns to get homeworkers/sweatshop workers aware and active, she said.

According to Ingeborg Wick, homeworking is growing around EPZs, as factories put work out for even lower wages. In Bangladesh, by contrast, employers are using a 'trainee' period in which they do not pay the workers at all, and even the 'trainee' has to pay to get the position. These unpaid 'trainees' out-compete even low-paid homeworkers in the jobs market.

Many participants felt that new methods of organising are needed within the trade unions, including at the community level. The Australian and Canadian unions have been at the forefront in bringing homeworkers and factory-based workers together. Steve Grinter said that the ITGLWF has affiliated the Self-Employed Women's Assocation (SEWA) in India and hopes to bring their organising experiences not only to other unions of the South but also of the North. Astrid Kaag felt that many unions do not feel confident about this issue. However, the FNV Bondgenoten in the Netherlands has set up a service section for homeworkers. The FNV is committed to including so-called 'informal sector' workers and homeworkers in all its international work, and many unions are responding favourably.

Even those homeworkers who appear to be self-employed craftworkers are increasingly locked into chains dominated by big retailers. One idea in India is to set up a 'buying house' for small producers so that they are not so vulnerable to big retailers. In the Philippines, BATU is helping craftworkers to form cooperatives. However, most homeworkers are not self-employed entrepreneurs but dependent workers, said Pam Curr.

Session 8: The Changing Agenda

The final session took place in six small groups, when participants were invited to consider the direction of their own organisation's work in the field of workers' education/training on company codes of conduct. There are numerous developments that will have an impact, many of which have been discussed at this seminar. Participants were asked to remember that participants in educational initiatives cannot be categorised under the monolithic heading of 'workers'. There are cultural and gender factors to consider, as well as issues of migrant and captive workers.

They were asked to think in particular about:

• Key target groups (including women, homeworkers, migrant workers, etc.)
• Partnerships
• How they intended to respond to company-sponsored education programmes
• Content issues to focus on
• Educational methodology
• Resource/funding issues

In plenary, the following points were among those raised:

Participants stressed the need for more education outreach to workers and felt that it must be built into codes and monitoring projects. As the Women Working Worldwide project has shown, such initiatives do not need to cost much. Oxfam, for example, is committed to ensuring worker education prior to the proposed ETI pilot project in Sri Lanka. Oxfam is also interested in worker education on tea plantations there, looking at workers' rights as human rights.

Target groups for workers' education mentioned by the seminar participants include:

• Factory-based workers.
• Homeworkers. Josefa Riveira, for example, wants to analyse the connection between women workers in the maquila assembly factories of the Nicaraguan EPZs and homeworkers outside.
• Workers in the retail sector, especially those who work for companies with codes.
• Workers in their wide range of identities: as mothers, women, those who work in the home, consumers, etc.
• Trade unions and works councils.
• Education facilitators and trade union trainers, including in Europe.

Other target groups mentioned by participants included:

• Communities: for example, Clean Clothes Campaign hopes to start educational work with communities in the Netherlands, including building community-to-community links with Eastern Europe and the South. An example might be clothing supplied to hospitals.
• Schoolchildren, who are the workers and consumers of the future.
• Consumer activists in developing countries.
• Representatives of companies.

Content issues raised by participants included:

• The starting point of workers' education must be the grievances/needs of workers
• Education on codes must not be in isolation, but integrated into education on workers' rights and labour laws. Codes cannot replace collective bargaining, and so education must be linked to workers organising. The WWW project is good because it focusses not just on rights but on access to justice.
• Education should lead towards finding solutions.
• It is not easy to integrate Northern campaigns with worker education in the South, and so education programmes should encourage worker solidarity North/South/East/West, and the links between workers and consumers.

Issues on educational methodology included:

• It is important to know the local social and political context before starting any campaigning or education work.
• Education must be carried out according to the level of education of the workers.
• Translation of materials is crucial. Suprihatin, for example, asked who will fund the translation of materials into Bahasa Indonesia?
• Study circles were seen as a very useful educational method.
• The Internet-based international study circles could be used to network among all those (including homeworkers) working in a particular supply chain or a particular TNC.
• A Web-site and directory of educational resources would be useful.
• Awareness raising through radio and TV soaps is a possibility, while word-of-mouth and door-to-door work will always be essential.

Participants noted that funding and resources remains a problem. Most workers can afford to contribute very little. International funding for worker education programmes is insecure. Aid agencies usually refuse, saying it is the business of the trade unions. We need to argue our case.

Many participants felt strongly that worker education programmes must not be controlled by companies. NGOs should be wary of taking money for company-sponsored worker education programmes and be careful of the content of such programmes. One suggested that company financial contributions might only be acceptable through third parties. Another stressed the importance of not letting ourselves be pressured by companies, but taking our own time and following our own agenda.

The participants concluded that this seminar was an important opportunity to build on existing partnerships and establish new ones. The participants gained a much deeper understanding of the work of each other's organisations, including between trade unions and NGOs.

There was a suggestion for a follow-up seminar, to come up with more concrete proposals about workers' education. IRENE announced a linked seminar on company codes and the law in March 2000, to which they are inviting lawyers with experience in international law.

The Clean Clothes Campaign will be holding its next strategy meeting in Spain in early 2001. It plans to invite a broad array of groups from within and outside the CCC network. Many of the issues raised at this IRENE seminar may well be pursued again then.

This report was written by Celia Mather, who is a freelance writer and editor on workers' rights in the global economy, with special thanks also to Nina Ascoly, Vivian Schipper, and Anneke van Luijken,.