18 Dec 2003, From December 4th till 14th, the Clean Clothes Campaign organised a speaker tour with guests from Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Indrani Wijebandara (North Sails Lanka), Deepika Sriyakanthi (Jaqalanka), Sugandhi Jayakody (Star Garments) and Anton Marcus (Free Trade Zone Workers Union) from Sri Lanka, together with Mulyani (PT Busana Prima Global) and Emelia Yanti (ABGteks) from Indonesia visited four countries in Europe to raise awareness, meet with the companies involved in their respective cases and to try and push for an improvement of their situation using international pressure. With visible result, we are happy to say. Please find below the reported highlights of this tour – for more information you can contact the national CCCs.

The Netherlands
In the Netherlands, on December 4th the office of MeesPierson – the investment bank that operates as the country’s representative for sports brand Head – was targeted by a team of 30 activists. A banner was put on their building, stating Head should stop exploiting workers at PT Busana Prima Global in Indonesia. After a long time, finally Emelia Yanti of ABGTeks got to talk to MeesPierson’s representative for Head. She promised that she would pressure Head to get in touch with the CCC. This happened the next day, but Head refused to talk to the representative of the workers, Mulyani. The action appeared on national radio and in various newspapers, but since then there hasn’t been any contact with Head. Therefore, the Dutch CCC is preparing follow up actions.

On December 5th, the workers and union leaders went on a tour through the country, visiting shops that sell brands that are involved in the different urgent appeal cases, such as North Sails, Head, Le Coq Sportif and Lotto. They spoke to a lot of buyers and sales people, raising awareness and getting them to take action and contacting their head offices. Also, they met with a marketing manager of the Dutch department of the International Olympic Committee, to speak about the upcoming Olympic campaign. The responsibility of the IOC for the working conditions in the factories where sportswear with the Olympic label is produced was discussed, as well as how the “Olympic spirit” of fair play and international solidarity should guide the way go about giving out the sponsorship contracts they award. The presence of the workers certainly contributed to the positive attitudes at this first meeting.

In between the various meetings and actions, the visitors were interviewed by a variety of journalists.

A public day for Dutch protest letter writers was set up on the 7th of December, giving the participants the opportunity to meet some of the people they have taken action for. The gripping stories of the six, together with the organised fashion show, the testimonies of students who visited Sri Lankan factories and the opening of the exhibition The Clothes She Wears, deeply inspired the approximately 50 attendants. (Also see: www.schonekleren.nl)

Austria
The Sri Lankan workers subsequently went to Austria, where they immediately participated in a very successful public meeting with trade unionists, connected to “Buy Nothing Day”. This was held in some parts of Austria on the 8th, because it is a public holiday and shops used to be closed. But since a few years the stores stay open on that day to cash in on the Christmas shopping frenzy.

Next day, the Austrian CCC held a press conference on the situation at North Sails Lanka
(see http://www.cleanclothes.org/companies/northsails.php).

Boards & More, the owner of sourcing brand North Sails, is based in Austria. Therefore the urgent appeal the CCC distributed on this case is of special interest there. The international pressure indeed paid off: where management of both the factory and the brands before never agreed to speak to the workers, they now flew them in from Sri Lanka. Negotiations started between Boards & More and the Sri Lankan factory North Sails Lanka and the FTZWU (Free Trade Zone Workers Union), a representative of the dismissed North Sails workers (Indrani Wijebandara), CCC Austria and the Austrian trade union ÖGB. The FTZWU and the representatives of Boards & More and North Sails Lanka reached an understanding, and the proceedings attracted a lot of national media attention in Austria. Please see http://www.cleanclothes.org/companies/northsails-03-12.htm for the details on this promising development, and note that the campaign on this case has been suspended in the course of these negotiations.
(Also see: www.cleanclothes.at)

France
Mulyani and Emelia Yanti (Indonesia) went from the Netherlands to France. On December 9th they met with Le Coq Sportif in France (LCS). This company, via GPS (see under “United Kingdom”) sourced at PT Busana Prima Global in Indonesia. LCS reported that they received 1,500 letters urging them to take action on this matter. They contacted GPS one month ago and agreed to contact GPS again to request that they put more pressure on PT Busana Prima Global management. Please see http://www.cleanclothes.org/urgent/03-10-23.php for details on this
urgent appeal.

United Kingdom
Subsequently Mulyani and Emelia Yanti travelled to the United Kingdom. There they met with management of GPS, the company where Le Coq Sportif, Lotto and Head place their orders, and which then subcontracts these to Pt Busana Prima Global. This was a breakthrough in itself, as GPS had up to this point always refused to get in direct contact with the union. During this meeting between the GPS holding company Vertical Sports Group, ABGteks and representatives of the international solidarity campaign, GPS agreed to inform PT Busana Prima Global management that they support freedom of association and will facilitate a meeting between the union and factory management. During the meeting GPS said that they would audit the factory in February.

Also, a public night was organised at the University of London, in cooperation with No Sweat and War on Want, where the visitors spoke out about their experiences.
(Also see: www.nosweat.org.uk)

The Clean Clothes Campaign will continue to keep the list updated about developments regarding these cases, and thanks you for your support. Without growing and international pressure and solidarity the outcomes of this tour would have been a lot different, and no real change becomes possible. Please stay involved to help empowering workers and improving labour conditions in the worldwide garment industry.

Kindest regards, in solidarity Marieke (Eyskoot)
Clean Clothes Campaign