00-02-17, CCC letter to levi's concerning eastern Europe.

The following letter has been sent to Levi's by the Clean Clothes Campaign. The article mentioned, in the Sunday Times has been sent on this mailinglist before. If you want a new copy contact us.

Dear Sir,

In the Sunday Times of September 26, 1999 the working conditions in several factories in Eastern Europe producing clothing for internationally well-known retailers and brands were described. The conditions in the Bulgarian factory Darios, producing garments for Levi Strauss, did not meet international minimum standards and violated Levi Strauss' own code of conduct. The article described strip-searching of employees. Reporters interviewed workers who testified to this offensive practice on the part of management, quoting one woman worker who had been fired for refusing to shed her clothes.

When organisations asked Levi Strauss for clarification, Levi told them they had investigated the matter and had found no evidence to confirm the allegations made in the article.

In fact, following the article Levi Strauss has been quite busy behind the scenes. In November 1999 the Clean Clothes Campaign met with a representative of PODKREPA, the Bulgarian Trade Union Federation, who told us an interesting story. PODKREPA not only confirmed the charges made by the Sunday Times, they also related their information to Levi Strauss when the company sent a team to the region following the publication of the article.

According to the union federation, the representatives of Levi Strauss first met with the Darios management, who denied everything. Not satisfied with that, they contacted PODKREPA. PODKREPA also reported other violations of labour rights, including forced overtime, in which working hours sometimes stretched on for 24 hours in a row. Armed with this information Levi's representatives went back to the Darios management, and we understand that now, as a result of the investigation and a visit from Levi Strauss representatives, the situation for workers at Darios has improved.

So far, so good. What's clear is that when abuses are revealed and public pressure comes to bear on Levi Strauss, positive change can be the result. What's also clear is that Levi's does not want this to be communicated to the public. In the past, the Clean Clothes Campaign has presented Levi Strauss with research into working conditions at subcontracting facilities, detailing a variety of violations of workers' rights. In our experience, when communicating their position to the public such research is regularly dismissed by Levi Strauss as incorrect and the need to rectify such workplace problems are dismissed as outdated and unneccessary,. Meanwhile some problems are acknowledged in private and in some cases (as in this one) Levi Strauss does take action to improve the situation.

Publicly recognizing that their code is routinely violated would be tantamount to admitting that a coherent system to deal with workplace grievances is essential. If Levi's can and does take action to enact positive changes, why not do so in a transparent, systematic, and public way that involves those trade unions and NGOs that are involved? In such cases that do make it into print, such public disclosure of the company's own findings and the steps they take to remedy the situation are the true cornerstones of corporate accountability.

Sincerely,