How are they doing?
Clean Clothes Campaign update on progress
in the sportswear industry on workers' rights
for Turin 2006.
January 30, 2006
Introduction
Two years ago, to coincide with the Athens Olympic games, an international
alliance of trades unions, labour rights groups and NGOs came together
under the banner of the Play Fair Alliance to campaign for the Olympic
ideals of respect, dignity and fair play to be respected in the global
sportswear industry. This industry is intimately linked through sponsorship
and marketing with the Olympic Games.
Following the dialogue that began with many companies and sporting
bodies as a result of this campaign, a concrete set of proposals for
the industry was drawn by the alliance called: "From
Athens to Beijing - a Programme of work for the Sportswear Industry."
Separate proposals were developed for the Olympic family, given their
special role as organizers and licence holders.
The 2006 Turin Olympic Winter Games mark the halfway point between
Athens and Beijing, and so it is time to take stock of the progress
made so far by the companies and organisations targeted.
While there is a mixed bag in terms of progress made, one thing is
clear across the board: much remains to be done in the next two years.
In particular, commitment to the rights to a living wage and to freedom
of association and collective bargaining, both in principle and in practice,
is lacking. There is also much progress to be made in cooperation with
local NGOs and trade unions on the ground.
A full update on the concrete activities taken by each company or
organisation since we evaluated
their responses to the 2004 campaign has not been possible. Instead,
we have set out the outstanding demands for each, to the best of our
knowledge later in this document. You can skip straight to the demands
on a particular company or body using these links:
Asics | Fila
| Kappa | Lotto | Mizuno
| Puma | Umbro | WFSGI
| IOC
From Athens to Beijing: The programme of work for the sportswear industry
In the Campaign research report "Play Fair At The Olympics Respect
workers' rights in the sportswear industry", which was published
at the launch early in March 2004, a section in the recommendations
chapter called upon the key stakeholders in the sector to "work
together to address endemic problems in the sportswear industry".
In particular companies were requested to take the following steps:
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a) Publicly acknowledge the value of a sector-wide approach to
addressing the problems outlined in this report.
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b) Join with trade unions and other concerned organisations in
assessing the impacts of the practices of sportswear industry on
labour standards; identifying those business strategies and operations
which are causing violations of workers' rights, and taking action
to address them, giving particular attention to the need to match
ethical commitments with actual purchasing practices.
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c) Join together with trade unions and other concerned organisations
in the programme of work developed by the Alliance.
This programme of work sets out a series of steps to improve the workers'
rights situation in the period between the 2004 Games in Athens and
the 2008 Games in Beijing. It promotes the right of workers to join
and form trade unions, which overcomes the limits of the current compliance
model, and ensures an ongoing dialogue between the main companies in
the sector via a sectoral framework agreement with the International
Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF). Such an agreement
should be aimed at ending the systematic exploitation of workers found
within the sector and should be effective in rationalising the existing
mechanisms for improving working conditions of sportswear workers.
It has two fundamental sector-wide aims:
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To substantially increase activities which promote freedom of
association and collective bargaining, as well as participate in
international social dialogue.
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To engage in company-based and industry-wide action and cooperation
with relevant stakeholders to ensure large-scale, credible and effective
code implementation
To achieve the first of these aims the industry was called upon to
take positive measures to ensure that people performing work in this
industry have the right to form and join trade unions of their own choosing
and to bargain collectively with their employers. Such measures would
include the provision of clear guidance on the elements of freedom of
association and collective bargaining, support for training of management,
workers and workers representatives, the provision of paid time-off
for worker representatives to participate in exchanges with worker representatives
from other suppliers providing the same brands. There should also be
open communication of this policy to national governments
This process would be facilitated by the negotiation of a sectoral
framework agreement between the ITGLWF and the World Federation of Sporting
Goods Industries (WFSGI) and its member companies and signed by the
ITGLWF and the WFSGI and its member companies. The sectoral framework
agreement would contain a set of standards, which represents best practice
from the industry and which makes direct reference to internationally
recognized labour standards (ILO and UN Declaration of Human Rights)
A key provision in the sectoral framework agreement shall be access
for the ITGLWF to supplier locations of WFSGI member firms for the purposes
of facilitating recognition of trade unions of the workers choosing
consistent with the principles of freedom of association
To achieve the second set of aims, member firms (notwithstanding the
successful negotiation of a sectoral framework agreement) would be called
upon to align their codes and compliance programmes with best practice
in the sector. This includes
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The designation of appropriate managerial expertise to CSR.
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The creation of industrial relations procedures for handling grievances
and disputes.
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The mapping of supply chains.
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The use of credible local organizations to assist in workplace
investigations.
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The provision of training on worker rights.
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The development of greater transparency measures on code implementation.
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The development of standards on purchasing practices .
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The involvement of the ILO in an investigation of purchasing practices
and in a more proactive role on code implementation and verification.
What follows is an account of what we are still waiting to see from
each of the companies targeted.
1) Outstanding demands highlighted brands
We would like to see Kappa:
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take immediate steps to update its code of conduct and develop
a credible labour policy
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Actively promote respect for the rights to organise and bargain
collectively
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Implement the Programme of Work developed by Play Fair Alliance
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Demonstrate that it is willing to take labour rights issues seriously,
including for production managed by Kappa's Joint Venture partners
(Li & Fung)
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Continue communication with the Italian trade unions and NGOs
and begin to cooperate immediately at international level with Play
Fair alliance organisations,
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engage directly with local unions and local NGOs at the point
of production
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disclose details regarding its supplier lists
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Join a credible multi-stakeholder initiative to improve and verify
code implementation
We would like to see Lotto:
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take immediate steps to update its code of conduct and develop
a credible labour policy
-
Actively promote respect for the rights to organise and bargain
collectively
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Implement the Programme of Work developed by Play Fair Alliance
-
Continue communication with the Italian trade unions and NGOs
and continue to cooperate immediately at international level with
Play Fair alliance organisations
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engage directly with unions and local NGOs at the point of production
-
disclose details regarding its supplier lists
-
Join a credible multi-stakeholder initiative to improve and verify
code implementation
We would like to see Asics:
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-continue with its efforts to develop better relations with trade
unions and local NGOs at the point of production
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Actively promote respect for the rights to organise and bargain
collectively
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share more details concerning its supplier list
-
include a living wage requirement in its code
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continue and strengthen efforts to implement the Programme of
Work developed by Play Fair Alliance, and
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formally support the campaigns' calls towards the IOC, given Asics'
status as official supplier to the Turin winter games
We would like to see Mizuno:
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Actively promote respect for the rights to organise and bargain
collectively
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Implement the Programme of Work developed by Play Fair Alliance
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Continue its communication with the Japanese trade unions and
NGOs and continue to cooperate at international level with Play
Fair alliance organisations
-
start developing relations with unions and local NGOs at the point
of production, and make sure local compliance staff have the capacity
to engage meaningfully in these activities
-
include a living wage requirement in its code
-
formally support the campaigns' calls towards the IOC, given Mizuno's
status as official supplier
-
disclose details regarding its supplier list
- Join a credible multi-stakeholder initiative to improve and verify
code implementation
We would like to see Umbro:
-
Actively promote respect for the rights to organise and bargain
collectively
-
continue to develop better relations with trade unions and local
NGOs at the point of production
-
make sure local compliance staff have the capacity to engage meaningfully
in their activities
-
continue and strengthen efforts to implement the Programme of
Work developed by Play Fair Alliance
-
share more details concerning its supplier list
- include a living wage in its code
We would like to see Puma
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Actively promote respect for the rights to organise and bargain
collectively
-
continue to develop better relations with trade unions and local
NGOs at the point of production
-
continue and strengthen efforts to implement the Programme of
Work developed by Play Fair Alliance
- Include a living wage requirement in its code
We would like to see Fila:
-
demonstrate that it is willing to take labour rights issues seriously,
including for its licence partners by satisfactorily dealing with
outstanding labour standards violations - specifically Tae Hwa Indonesia
-
Actively promote respect for the rights to organise and bargain
collectively
-
take immediate steps update its code and develop an credible labour
policy
-
begin to cooperate immediately at international level with Play
Fair alliance organisations
-
engage directly with local unions and NGOs at the point of production,
and make sure local compliance staff have the capacity to engage
meaningfully in these activities
-
disclose details regarding its supplier list
-
Implement the Programme of Work developed by Play Fair Alliance
-
include a living wage requirement in its code
-
disclose details regarding its supplier list
- Join a credible multi-stakeholder initiative to improve and verify
code implementation
2) Outstanding demands towards the WFSGI
WFSGI (the industry federation)
There have been only limited developments since we published a report
on the WFSGI. In June 2005, the WFSGI's CSR committee send us a list
of intended steps, the most concrete of which were the development of
a "remedial toolkit for members which will include modules or guidelines
on OSH and employment rights" and the compilation of a collective
resource list of NGOS, institutions and organisations (mainly in the
Far East). They also informed us that they plan to hold a series of
meetings, including one for suppliers (who might not be members of the
WFSGI) in Vietnam towards the beginning of 2006 with the Chinese Federation
of the Sporting Goods Federation, and the China National Textile and
Apparel Council and the ILO in China. Although it is probably useful
for a CSR committee to develop information material for its members
and to organize meetings, none of this represents a serious answer to
our proposals.
The ILO, by request of the WFSGI CSR committee, hosted another informal
meeting between the Play Fair Alliance and the WFSGI CSR committee members
on July 11. During the meeting, the WFSGI made verbal commitments to
a 6 monthly reporting process, and discussions on joint research and
education activities. Following the meeting, the Play Fair Alliance
wrote to the WFSGI noting that while they had hoped and expected to
have made more progress by this stage, the meeting provided some useful
possibilities for future dialogue and joint activity, and included the
delegations' understanding of the key points on which agreement was
reached during the meeting.
Only in December a response was given, which however failed to give
concrete substance to these activities and suggested yet another meeting.
The Alliance feels that this is only useful if the WFSGI will come up
with some concrete proposals on possible joint initiatives, for which
the existing Olympic Campaign Report and Programme of Work provide sufficient
guidance.
3) Outstanding demands toward the IOC
In October 2005 the ICFTU (for the Play Fair Alliance) met with the
marketing department of the IOC in Geneva. The IOC undertook to engage
in internal discussions within its secretariat on the issues raised.
So far, no outcomes of this process have been received.
The following demands remain towards the IOC and the rest of the Olympic
family:
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a) Require that, as a contractual condition in licensing, sponsorship
and marketing agreements engaged in by the IOC, the NOCs and the
OCOGs, labour practices and working conditions involved in the production
of Olympics-branded products comply with internationally recognized
labour standards.
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b) Commit resources and work with other organisations (including
appropriate NGOs and international trade union organisations) to
give effect to an ethical labour practices policy, including establishing
mechanisms which address instances of abusive and exploitative labour
practices used in the production of licensed and sponsored products
as they arise including all substantiated complaints.
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c) Take concrete steps to ensure that national Olympic committees
and games organising committees adopt and implement equivalent provisions,
including promotion/mediation, with respect to their licensing/supply
relationships
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d) Commit to promoting publicly the necessity to end the exploitation
and abuse involved in the sportswear and athletic footwear industries.
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e) Respect for workers rights should be an integral part of the
Olympic Charter and of the IOC Code of Ethics.
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