PRESS RELEASE

--Emine Arslan and Nuran Gulenc to Visit Italy, France and Spain--

For Immediate Release

(Amsterdam) Two workers from Turkish factories that supply Prada and other luxury brands begin their tour of Europe today to share their story of exploitation and union repression. The workers are being hosted by the Clean Clothes Campaign, an alliance of organisations in 12 European countries dedicated to improving working conditions and supporting the empowerment of workers in the global garment industry.

Fed up with long hours, low wages and appalling conditions, hundreds of workers at Turkish leather manufacturer DESA decided to join the Turkish leather workers union, Deri Is last year. The factory retaliated by dismissing union leaders and members, and running a campaign of harassment and intimidation against the union.

Emine Arslan and Nuran Gulenc, two women workers who helped organised and defend the right of DESA employees to join a union, will begin their tour in Italy today and then travel to France and Spain. They will be speaking with government officials, trade unions, and NGOs. Their schedule includes a meeting with El Corte Inglés, a brand that is sourcing from the factory, in order to ask for a clear commitment to implement policies that ensure respect for labour rights.

Ms. Arslan worked at the DESA's Sefakoy factory for eight years in the control department. She developed a reputation as diligent and good at her job. Yet shortly after she started talking to other workers about joining the Deri Is union, she received three warnings on the same day and was fired. She persisted by filing a court case against the company and demonstrating outside the factory. The management repeatedly tried to bribe her to drop her case against DESA and end the demonstrations. When she refused, her family was threatened and her 11 year-old daughter narrowly escaped an attempted kidnapping.

Two Turkish court decisions in December and January supported the workers’ claims. The court found that they were illegally dismissed for their union activities and that they should either be reinstated or properly compensated for illegal dismissal. The factory refused to abide by the decision and has appealed the case.

The Clean Clothes Campaign has been campaigning since November in support of the workers. It has called on the factory’s buyers to put at stop to repression and discrimination in their supply chain. Many of the buyers, including Prada, Mulberry, Nicole Fahri (owned by French Connection), Luella, Samsonite, and Aspinalls of London, have failed to take responsibility for the workers who produce their goods. Other brands involved in the case, including the Spanish giant El Corte Ingles and British high street retailers Marks and Spencer and Debenhams, have contacted DESA to raise concerns about the case, but have failed to take the proactive action needed to ensure a just resolution.

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