Index

NEWSLETTER 17, December 2003 New resources

SOMO (Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations, the Netherlands) and the Workers College (Durban, South Africa) recently conducted research on garment production in Malawi. A report was produced, "The Garment Industry in Malawi' in August 2003. The report gives an insight in the garment sector and the working conditions in Malawi, describing massive violations of the Malawi labor law.

The garment industry in Malawi was initially established to satisfy domestic needs. In the last years the production for the local market has been heavily hit by the importation of second hand clothes. Since the onset of a liberalized policy in Malawi, the industry focused increasingly on supplying South African retailers like Mr. Price and Pep and more recently US buyers like Walmart and JC Penney.

The garment industry is an important component of Malawi's industrial output, taking up approximately half of non-traditional exports. In the last few years Malawi has seen a decline in investments in the garment industry, even though Malawi has secured quota free and duty free access to the US market through the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Although AGOA has allegedly lead to small investments, largely to upgrade existing facilities, it is by no means comparable to the large scale investments in countries like Lesotho and Swaziland.

Whilst the labor laws are there and most of the US buyers have codes of conduct, the reality for the workers is different. In interviews with workers the gloomy reality becomes clear. Employers tend to pay at the minimum wage which has remained unchanged for years. The workers are treated without respect; verbally and physically abused. They make working weeks of 48 hours and most often have to meet their targets in their own time. Most overtime is compulsory and often not paid correctly or not at all. The workers are penalized heavily for making mistakes, fined for reporting to work 5 minutes too late and are dismissed unfairly without much interference from unions, labor inspectors or others. In most factories the workers are afraid to join unions and the factories fail to recognize the unions.

The full report, which also makes a series of recommendations based on observations of the industry, trade environment, workers, the trade unions and companies, can be downloaded at:
http://www.cleanclothes.org/publications/03-09-malawi.htm and
http://www.somo.nl/somo_ned/nieuws/Garment%20production%20in%20malawi.pdf

The Maquila Solidarity Network has prepared a policy paper on behalf of the Ethical Trading Action Group (ETAG), the Canadian coalition for which MSN acts as secretariat. A couple of years back ETAG initiated a public policy campaign calling on the federal government to make changes in regulations under the Textile Labelling Act to require that companies publicly disclose the names and addresses of factories making apparel and other textile products sold in Canada. This submission is in preparation for a national round-table which will bring together industry, civil society and government to discuss the ETAG proposal and other policy options. You can find the report on:
www.maquilasolidarity.org/campaigns/nosweat/disclosure/cbreport.htm

In addition to dealing with the specific proposal for changes regarding the Textile Labelling Act, they also outline a broader set of policy proposals that government should consider in dealing with in order to address systematic problems of workers rights abuses in the global garment industry. If you are interested in the range of submissions on this issue, visit:
www.ppforum.ca/textile_labelling/submissions_e.htm

On June 4th 2003, the Fair Labor Association (FLA) published its first annual public report on FLA participating companies' implementation of their code compliance programs. Also released were reports of factory audits carried out by FLA-accredited "Independent External Monitors." These 46 "tracking charts" detail code violations identified in the audits, as well as corrective action taken by FLA member companies. According to the FLA, a new audit report will be added each time an additional factory is externally monitored.

The annual report and tracking charts are accessible on the FLA website
www.fairlabor.org/all/transparency
and include information from factory audits carried out between August 1st, 2001 and July 31st, 2002 in Asia, Latin America, and the United States for Nike, Reebok, adidas-Salomon, Liz Claiborne, Eddie Bauer, Levi Strauss, and Phillips-Van Heusen. They do not include information on compliance programs of companies that joined the FLA in 2001 or later.

The Workers Rights Program of the LCHR (Lawyers Committee on Human Rights) has recently released a report on an International Labor Organization (ILO) program that aims to improve conditions in the Bangladesh garment industry. The report can be found at:
www.lchr.org/workers_rights/wr_other/Bangladesh_Report.pdf

The Norwegian ethical trading initiative has also produced a report on Bangladesh, describing the different ethical trade programs and the impact of codes of conduct on the garment industry. For more information contact:
Mr. Leif Iversen
Daglig leder / Managing Director Initiativ for etisk handel (IEH)
Postboks 2920,
Solli 0230 Oslo,
tel.: +(47) 22 55 99 50,
e-mail: leif@etiskhandel.no
www.etiskhandel.no

The US based group "Maquiladora Health and Safety Support Network" regularly provides training on health and safety in the garment industry. The materials produced for the training in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2000 and 2002, are now available in Bahasa and have been posted on the website of the Jakarta office of the International Labour Organization (ILO) at:
www.ilo.org/public/english/region/asro/jakarta/publ/actrav.htm.
More information on the work of MHHS (who also regularly publish a resource list of their own) can be found at:
http://mhssn.igc.org/.

The September 2003 Codes Memo of the Maquila Solidarity Network includes updates and analysis of current and potential impacts of the phase out of quotas under the Multi-Fiber Arrangement in 2005 on garment producing countries and garment workers, in addition to the usual update on recent developments on codes, monitoring and verification. Please see
www.maquilasolidarity.org.

The Worker Rights Consortium released a new report on one of the factories in the KBN export processing zone in Marunda and Cakung, Indonesia. The factory, PT Dae Joo Leports, produces for a licensee of adidas-Salomon and a subsidiary of Vanity Fair Corporation (VF). More generally, the report documents the way in which the zone's organization and administration operate to undermine workers' rights. It documents, for example, the presence of preman (hired thugs) in the zone who are employed to intimidate workers during strikes or demonstrations. It also notes that "the state-approved policies and guidelines that operate within the KBN also serve to insulate factories from the full force of certain laws designed to protect workers."

The Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) published its background study on Turkey.
Read it at
www.fairwear.nl/engelsframe1.htm.

Published by Asia Monitor Resource Centre, April 2003: "Asia-Pacific Labour Law Review: Workers' rights for the new century". This book is the only comprehensive review of labor law available concerning the Asia Pacific region. It covers 30 countries looking specifically at how labor law affects workers. The book costs US$ 38.00 and can be ordered online at:
www.amrc.org.hk.

To pay by US dollar check, request an invoice from:
Asia Monitor Resource Centre,
Flat 8-B, 444 - 446 Nathan Road,
Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR,
tel.: + (852)2332-1346,
fax: + (852) 2385-5319,
e-mail: admin@amrc.org.hk.

For and update of the Women Working Worldwide project "The Rights of Workers in Garment Industry Subcontracting Chains" please go to www.women-ww.org for an overview of the research carried out in 9 countries: Bulgaria, Thailand, India, China, Bangladesh, Philippines, Sri Lanka, the UK and Pakistan.

Full reports will be available shortly, please e-mail: info@women-ww.org.
New research into informal sector workers in the garment industry is already released, as collaborative action research by TIE-Asia and WWW. You can find the report "Women Working in the Informal Sector in Sri Lanka at:
www.cleanclothes.org/publications/03-06-08.htm and
www.tieasia.org/NEWSsection.htm.

Three issues have been published of a new, bi-monthly publication of the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) that presents critical issues of interest to those working to improve conditions and empower workers in the global garment and textile industries. The first issue focused on pricing issues in the global garment industry, the second one on the role of Asian TNCs. Both can be found at
www.somo.nl - click Publications.