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Gildan given 90 days to comply with the Fair Labor Associations standards
Thursday, 01 July 2004 14:33
| Gildan given 90 days to comply with the Fair Labor Associations standards Tell Gildan to reverse their decision to close the El Progreso factory, and to fully comply with all the recommendations of the FLA and WRC for corrective action. Source: Maquila Solidarity Network Gildan Campaign Update and Action Alert Gildan Workers' Rights Violated, Say US Monitoring Groups Tell Gildan: Don't Cut and Run from Your Responsibilities to El Progreso Workers In separate reports released this week, the Fair Labor Association (FLA) and Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) confirmed that the rights of workers at Gildans El Progreso factory in Honduras have been violated. Both reports substantiate earlier findings of MSN and the Honduran Independent Monitoring Team (EMIH) that Gildan fired workers for attempting to form or join unions. The parallel investigations by the two organizations also verified other violations of the FLA and WRC codes of conduct and Honduran law, including excessive hours of work; compulsory, unpaid overtime; failure to pay legal overtime premiums; failure to provide full statutory holiday benefits; sexual harassment by the company doctor; and failure to provide child care and nursing facilities as required by Honduran law. These findings mirror those of MSN and EMIH. The WRC investigation also found specific examples of illegal firings of pregnant workers and failure to provide pregnant workers immediate medical attention or leave from work to visit a doctor outside the factory. While neither report could confirm worker allegations of forced pregnancy testing, the WRC report notes that workers continue to believe that blood tests for new employees are for pregnancy or HIV-AIDS. On July 29, the FLA released a public statement, announcing that it was placing Gildan on a 90-day special membership review because it has "failed to achieve or maintain compliance with the FLA's standards. In its announcement the FLA states, "Since Gildan's decision to close the factory raised questions about its commitment to freedom of association, the FLA Board believed it was essential for Gildan to publicly reaffirm and communicate this commitment. The unprecedented decision, which was made by the FLA's Board of Directors at its July 27 meeting in Seattle, means that Gildan must take a number of specific steps to be removed from the FLA's membership review status. If it fails to do so, Gildan could face possible expulsion from the Association. One of the key conditions for Gildan's continued membership in the FLA is its willingness to implement an adequate corrective action plan at El Progreso.
REQUESTED ACTION:Please first read the updates on this case We have at most two months to convince Gildan to not cut and run from its responsibilities to its El Progreso workers. Please write a letter to Gildan today (see sample letter below). Tell them to reverse their decision to close the El Progreso factory, and to fully comply with all the recommendations of the FLA and WRC for corrective action. If you are involved with one or more organizations or institutions that bulk purchases Gildan T-shirt, please ask them to write or phone Gildan today. Ask them to tell Gildan that future orders with the company depend upon how Gildan treats its El Progreso workers. SAMPLE LETTER (Please write your own and send a copy to MSN) Letters can be sent by e-mail to: Stephane Lemay, Vice-President, Public and Legal Affairs Dear Mr. Lemay: I am extremely concerned to learn that in the face of credible reports from the Fair Labor Association (FLA) and Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) confirming that workersrights at your company's El Progreso factory in Honduras have been systematically violated, your company continues to deny that any workers have been fired for their union sympathies. I am even more disturbed to learn that your company has announced it is cutting and running from its responsibilities to those workers who were brave enough to tell the truth about their situation to FLA auditors and the WRC investigative team. I also understand that, as a result of your decision to cut and run from El Progreso, the membership of your company in the Fair Labor Association (FLA) is now under review. Gildan promotes itself as a socially responsible company. I would hope that your company would use this opportunity to demonstrate that these nice words on paper have real meaning for the workers who make your products. I would urge your company to reverse its decision to close the El Progreso factory, and to fully comply with all the recommendations for corrective action from the Fair Labor Association and the Worker Rights Consortium. I will be watching closely to see that your company lives up to its responsibilities to current and unjustly fired El Progreso employees. Before I buy another Gildan product, I would like assurance that your company will do everything in its power to ensure that those workers continue to have employment opportunities with your company at El Progreso or another Gildan factory in Honduras, that they receive just and generous compensation for their highly productive labour, and that they are not subjected to blacklisting for speaking the truth. Yours truly, [signature and name] WHAT THE WORKERS IN HONDURAS ARE SAYING Far from accepting Gildans statements that it is complying with and exceeding legal standards, Gildan El Progreso workers are concerned that they will not receive what is legally due to them. They report that after being told that the plant would be closed, they were called to the office one-by-one to receive and sign their notice forms. Those that hesitated were told that they would loose any severance pay if they didn't sign. Workers report that some have already been let go from the factory without due severance. Others were given one week to one month's notice as of last week. They have no word about additional benefits Gildan has claimed to be providing. As well, workers report seeing machinery already being sent out of the El Progreso factory: it is thought to be going to Nicaragua or Haiti, but this is unconfirmed. At a meeting July 28 with MSN coordinator Lynda Yanz and a representative from EMIH, the Honduran Independent Monitoring Team, workers expressed their outrage that Gildan is not only closing their factory, but also portraying them in the Canadian media as unproductive workers and blaming the factory closing on a lack of efficiency. According to workers, the only days when production was lost in the last several months was when workers were told there was no work because cloth hadnt arrived from Gildans textile facility in Canada with the result that workers were sent home - without pay. While Honduran law requires that Gildan provide workers during this notice periodwith time off to look for other work, the workers report that its becoming clear that Gildan workers are now black-listed in the El Progreso Provenir industrial park. They also point out that they cant afford to take time off without pay; they need every penny they can earn over the next one or two months. While Gildan still claims that the factory closing had nothing to do with the MSN/EMIH complaint or the FLA and WRC reports and recommendations, the workers say theyre getting a different message: If you stand up for your rights, if you talk to auditors, this company walks away from its workers. On July 29, EMIH convened a meeting with Honduran labour, women's and human rights groups to develop a common strategy to fight Gildan's unjust decision to cut and run from its responsibilities to its El Progreso workers. One of the groups present, Centro de Derechos de Mujeres (CDM), was particularly concerned to read Gildans assertion that Gildan and CDM were collaborating on the preparation of an educational brochure on freedom of association, without having ever been notified of this by Gildan. They will be making a public clarification shortly. Over the next two months MSN will be working in collaboration with these groups to defend the rights of current and unjustly fired Gildan employees. BACKGROUND The FLA and WRC investigations were carried out in response to a Third Party Complaint filed by MSN, together with the Canadian Labor Congress (CLC) and the Independent Federation of Honduran Workers (FITH), alleging In January 2004, Gildan agreed to fully cooperate with the FLA investigation and to accept its findings. While it did not allow the WRC investigative team access to the factory, following the investigations, it did engage in joint discussions with the WRC and FLA on corrective action. However, after receiving the results of the two investigations, and in the midst of face-to-face negotiations on a corrective action plan, on July 12, Gildan's CEO made the surprise announcement that his company was closing the El Progreso factory on September 30, 2004. For a summary of the key findings that came out of the two investigations, see Summary of Fair Labor Association and Worker Rights Consortium findings at www.maquilasolidarity.org Maquila Solidarity Network / Ethical Trading Action Group European Gildan Distributors AUSTRIA BELGIUM WIC CROATIA CYPRUS DENMARK ENGLAND Elms & Elms IS Enterprises International Mr President Leisurewear ltd PAG UK Leisurewear Plc ESTONIA FRANCE Team Tee Top Tex GERMANY G2 Groener GmbH GREECE HOLLAND HUNGARY Reintex Kft IRELAND ITALY Marca NORWAY SCOTLAND SLOVENIA UMco d.o.o SPAIN Linitex Ziraketan SWEDEN SWITZERLAND |
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