Index
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NEWSLETTER 22,
Oct 2006
The Garment Industry
in Turkey
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From almost
nothing, in two decades Turkey has become
one of the world's top ten clothing exporters.
Its products go largely to Western Europe
and the US. It is strong in knitted and
woven apparel and also produces goods made
from cotton grown in the country.
Much of the garment industry
in Turkey is unregistered. Estimates vary
but there may be as many as three million
workers employed in 44,000 workplaces. Most
of the industry is in and around Istanbul
and neighbouring cities. It is a highly
unregulated labour market, with many workers
hired and fired according to when factories
receive orders and obliged to work excessive
hours to meet deadlines.
There are also said to be
many undocumented migrant workers in the
sector, largely from the Balkan states,
former Russian republics, and the Middle
East. According to the DISK-affiliated textile
workers' union, the sector also uses the
labour of 180,000-200,000 children. Under
Turkish labour laws, union membership is
restricted to registered workers, and so
organising in the garment sector is very
difficult. Unsurprisingly, violations of
Turkish labour legislation as well as international
labour standards are reportedly rife.
CCC has taken up several cases
of violations of trade union rights at Turkish
garment factories, most recently this June
against the US-based company Paxar. Paxar's
Turkish factory produces labels, prints
logos, designs and texts on garments for
clients such as Marks & Spencer, Next,
adidas, Wal-Mart, Levi Strauss, Puma, Disney,
Gap, C&A, OTTO, Esprit, Nike, S.Oliver
and Tommy Hilfiger. The company has violated
Turkish law and corporate codes of conduct
by attempting to destroy trade union organising.
It stands accused of firing worker activists,
press-uring union members to renounce their
membership, and failing to negotiate in
good faith with a trade union that was lawfully
authorised to represent workers at the factory.
For more infor-mation on this case please
see www.cleanclothes.org/urgent/06-06-20.htm.
For more on
the garment industry in Turkey, see:
Basic Information on Labour
Conditions and Social Auditing in the Turkish
Garment Industry
Fair Wear Foundation, July 2004, available
at
www.fairwear.nl/tmp/Background%20study%20Turkey%2007-2004.pdf.
Garment and Textile Production:
Focus on Turkey
SOMO Bulletin on Issues in Garments and
Textiles,
Number 3, SOMO, Netherlands, November 2003,
available at
www.cleanclothes.org/publications/03-11-somo.htm.
Made in Turkey
CCC Newsletter, No.16, February 2003, available
at
http://www.cleanclothes.org/news/newsletter16-16.htm
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