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INDEPENDENT MONITORING
Introduction
CHAPTER1:
1.1. Strategies for Improvement
1.2. Companies Responses
1.3. Criteria for Codes of Conduct
1.3.1. Issues
1.3.2. Measurableness
1.3.3. Scope (which part of the production chain is covered)
1.3.4. Implementation and Monitoring
1.4. New Initiatives
CHAPTER 2: IMPLEMENTATION
AND MONITORING
2.1. Implementation of a Code of Conduct; Company's Approach
2.1.1. Spreading the Message
2.1.2. Instructing the Company Staff
2.2. Criteria for Implementation
2.2.1. Record Keeping
2.2.2. Communication
2.2.3. Streamlining the Suppliers
2.2.4. Contractual Obligations
2.3. Monitoring a Code of Conduct; the Company's Approach
2.3.1. Hire Special Staff or Establish a New Subsidiary
2.3.2. Hire an External Company
2.3.3. Involve a NGO
2.4. Criteria for Monitoring
2.4.1. Transparency
2.4.2. Quality
2.4.3. Feasibility
2.5. Independent Monitoring
2.6. Quality Monitoring
2.6.1. Checking the Implementation of the Code
2.6.2. Ongoing Checks on Compliance with the Code
2.6.3. Procedures in Case of Violations of the Code
2.7. Feasible Monitoring
2.7.1. Stakeholders
2.7.2. Feasibility Criteria
2.7.2.1. Time
2.7.2.2. Money
2.7.2.3. Access to Information/Confidentiality of Information
2.7.2.4. Putting the Responsibility where it Belongs
CHAPTER 3: A SYSTEM
OF INDEPENDENT MONITORING
3.1. The Actors 3.1.1. Monitoring Body
3.1.2. Companies to be Monitored
3.1.3. Intermediaries and Suppliers
3.1.4. Monitors
3.1.5. Local Organisations
3.2. Starting Procedures
3.3. Interaction Monitoring Body - Companies to be Monitored
3.4. Interaction Monitoring Body - Monitors
3.5. Interaction Monitoring Body - Local Organisations
3.6. Interaction Companies - Intermediaries/Suppliers
3.7. Interaction Monitors - Local Organisations
3.8. Other Interaction
3.8.1. Interaction Companies to be Monitored and Monitors
3.8.2. Interaction Intermediaries/Suppliers and Monitors
3.8.3. Interaction Companies and Local Organisations
3.8.4. Interaction Intermediaries/Suppliers - Local Organisations
3.8.5. Interaction Monitoring Body and Intermediaries/Suppliers
3.9. Procedures in Case of Violations of the Code
3.10. Conclusions
TOOLKIT
LIST OF LITERATURE
INTRODUCTION
In 1990 the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) in the Netherlands started
her work of trying to improve working conditions in the garment industry,
worldwide. Since 1995 the CCC has expanded to Belgium, France, Germany
and the UK. Campaigns are starting in Switzerland, Sweden, Spain and
Italy. Also in the United States, Canada and Australia similar campaigns
exist. The campaigns consist of broad coalitions of trade unions, consumer
organisations, womens' groups, solidarity organisations, developmental
organisations, world shops and other NGO's. The campaigns originated
in direct solidarity work with garment workers in producer countries.
The wish of expressing this solidarity in a more structural way led
to several methods to promote the aim of the campaigns.
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1. Garment workers organizing themselves in unions and NGO's
need support and solidarity. Good worldwide cooperation is crucial
for the realisation of the campaign. Most of CCC's partners are
in Asia and recently we started to work on expansion to Africa
and Eastern Europe. We are in touch with US and Canadian groups
that work in a similar way and focus on Central America. This
worldwide network has been growing in 1995 and 1996 when more
countries started a CCC. The organisations involved in the different
CCCs are trade unions and ngo's who have their own partners in
producer countries. The english newsletter serves as a means of
communication for all these groups. In case of a strike or other
action immediately protest-letters are sent from different countries.
We also have a small strikefund where workers can apply to in
case of a strike or lock-out. The campaigns also aim to improve
the position of homeworkers and people working in sweatshops in
Western Europe, often through lobbying governments on improving
legislation.
2. Everybody buys clothes. The CCC aims to reach individual consumers
through the organisations that they are a member of, identify
with or listen to. In all countries the CCC consists of large
coalitions of a wide variety of organisations. Through the active
trade unions, consumer organisations, womens' groups, solidarity
organisations, world shops and other NGO's consumers can be targeted
and reached. There are many different ways. Publishing articles
in newspapers and magazines, going to manifestations and rally's,
participating in panel discussions and fora are just some examples.
Postcards can be distributed which consumers can send to companies.
3. Pressuring garment retailers and production companies to accept
responsibility for the working conditions in the garment industry
in the entire subcontracting chain. Garment retailers and production
companies are urged to sign a good code of conduct and accept
a system of independent monitoring. In the Netherlands a proposal
was developed by the CCC, the Dutch trade union federation FNV
and the developmental organisation NOVIB, called the Fair Trade
Charter for Garments (FTC). If companies accept this proposal,
they will guarantee that all the clothes that they sell are produced
according to the ILO-based conditions in the FTC, or will be after
an agreed upon period. The demands in the FTC concern: the right
to organize, the right to collective bargaining, living wages,
hours of work, no discrimination, health and safety, no child
labour, no forced labour and security of employment. A company
that signs the FTC gets the right to use a trademark for all its
shops, to profile itself to the consumer as selling 'clean clothes'.
The company allows independent monitoring of the code. If any
violations of the code are found, the company will be advised
on what steps to take. If they do not comply with this advice,
the case will be made public and in the last instance the trademark
for their shops can be taken away.
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After years of pressuring companies, educating the public
and solidarity work with workers' organisations in producer countries,
the campaigns now get to the stage where the first companies start to
reply positively. The first agreement between a garment retailer and
an action group has been signed in the US in December 1995. In Europe
we see similar developments. In several countries, the local CCC is
negotiating with retailers. In the meantime, companies start to develop
their own codes and their own systems of monitoring, making claims on
independence and quality. This increases the need for trade unions and
ngo's to unite internationally and come with clear proposals, as to
keep the initiative and not let companies get away with what usually
bears only a vague resemblance to what was originally demanded. At the
moment the issue of independent monitoring is crucial, and the main
focus of this report. After all, "if codes of conduct used by Reebok,
Mattel or other companies were monitored through independent mechanisms
they would be more effective in ensuring proper working conditions,
and become more than tools to improve corporate reputations".
Independent monitoring is the subject of a lot worldwide
debate. This report is mainly based on this discussion between workers'
organisations, ngo's and companies. In October and November 1995 CCC-Netherlands
went to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand and the Philippines. In these
countries we visited all together about 30 garment factories that produce
for the European market. We interviewed the management of these factories
and were shown around so we could take a look at the working situation.
In a number of cases we managed to conduct interviews with workers of
these same factories outside the factory (either at the office of a
trade union or ngo, or at the house of the worker). These interviews
were organized by local organisations that are active in supporting
workers in their struggle. With them we also extensively discussed strategies.
These discussions continued when representatives of these
organisations visited Europe in April and May 1996, for a European Action
Tour. This tour was organized by the CCCs in the different countries
and included actions, press conferences, meetings with trade unions
and ngo's and discussions with companies. Independent monitoring turned
out to be a major issue for all. Within Europe different organisations
involved in a CCC followed this up with research, discussions and public
meetings. The Asian counterparts did the same within their countries,
and of course more international exchange was organised.
A coalition of the Clean Clothes Campaigns in Europe,
International Trade Union Secretariats (ICFTU, WCL, ITGLWF, ETUC/TCL,
FIET, Euro-FIET, WCL- Clothing & Textiles) and other ngo's (Fair Trade
Foundation, IRENE) has started a process of developing a single code
of conduct for the garments and sportswear (including shoes) industry
and drafts for a system of independent monitoring for such a code are
circulating. This report has extensively made use of these drafts.
In February and March of 1997 CCC-Netherlands went to
Hong Kong, where we conducted interviews mainly with buying offices
of European retailers, agents, traders, in short all the business that
one can find between shops and factories. We also spoke with a quality
control company that is getting involved in monitoring working conditions.
We visited some factories in China and Macau and we continued the discussions
with several (regional) ngo's in Hong Kong about the monitoring proposals
that had been developed so far. We have used a lot of the knowledge
and ideas on codes and monitoring developed by the international toy
campaign, in wich are number of CCC partners are active. Other sources
include newsletters from a lot of different groups, some publications
used for this study can be found in the list of literature at the end.
We will first in Chapter I give some background on corporate
codes of conduct concerning working conditions, that companies in the
garments and sportswear industry started developing as a reaction to
workers' and consumer' pressure. We will look into the aim of corporate
codes of conduct and their effect on working conditions. As we will
see, they leave many loopholes for companies to escape a real change
of their working environment. Corporate codes are therefore heavily
criticised. Derived from this criticism, we will describe principles
that must be met by an effective code of conduct, that is a code which
results in improving the working situation for each worker.
Chapter II will then continue with an analysis of implementation
and monitoring of codes of conduct. We will first look into the current
behaviour of companies with a corporate code of conduct. What steps
do companies take to ensure their corporate code of conduct is implemented?
What steps do they take to monitor their code? We will give examples
of different companies in different stages. What is the criticism on
these company's approaches? From there we can derive criteria for implementation
and criteria for monitoring.
Chapter III looks at the different 'actors' that are involved
in an independent monitoring system, their roles and their interaction.
As we said earlier independent monitoring is the subject of a lot of
discussion.
Chapter III brings together ideas, proposals and methodology
developed untill now and describes an independent monitoring system
that reflects this. A List of Literature and a Toolkit are added. The
toolkit contains questionnaires and checklists for the implementation
and maintenance of the monitoring system. These were drawn up using
existing models both from companies and campaigns. English is not our
first language, so there are bound to be a lot of mistakes and strange
phrases. We did not want to do an expensive and time-consuming edit.
We've tried to be as clear as possible, but if it is not clear enough
please contact us.
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