Michael Kors, Tory Burch and Kate Spade are among brands linked to nine factories that have targeted more than 4,870 union members with unfair dismissals, according to a new Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) report. The Bangladesh, Cambodia, India and Myanmar factories blame reduced orders and Covid-19, but local unions say members and activists have been disproportionately targeted by the layoffs.
H&M, Primark, Zara, Levi Strauss & Co., Mango and Danish brand owner Bestseller are also named in the report, which tracks dismissals at nine factories. With the exception of Michael Kors, Tapestry and Tory Burch, all brands have responded to BHRRC’s allegations, acknowledging their link to one or more of the suppliers and varying levels of engagement with unions, suppliers and workers. The factories are all direct suppliers to the brands, the report says.
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, brands have been in the spotlight for order cancellations, late payments and layoffs to their suppliers. Now NGOs and unions fear the pandemic is being used to reduce unionised workforces. Consumers are increasingly demanding companies take responsibility but campaigners say labour exploitation is common and brands are still failing to conduct due diligence and engage with their entire supply chain.
“[Brands] will keep facing these reputational risks for their involvement in these [issues] until they change their practice at a fundamental level of the entire supply chain,” says Thulsi Narayanasamy, head of labour rights at BHRRC.
Members of the Sommilito garments Sramik Federation, a worker's club based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, protest against the retrenchment and forced resignations of workers and firing of pregnant women caused by factory closures during the Covid-19 pandemic.
© Sony Ramany/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Nine garment factories are highlighted in the report, involving multiple brands and more than 1,000 workers, including case studies on individual workers, like union leader Soy Sros. Sros, an employer of Superl Cambodia, was arrested after posting on Facebook about the factory intention of dismissing 88 workers. According to the report, Sros, who has now been released, spent 55 days in jail and is facing up to three years in prison, as well as a fine. The report says Superl Holdings is a direct supplier to Michael Kors, Tapestry and Tory Burch.
Reached by Vogue Business, Tapestry said that after learning of the allegations in May, it reached out to the factory’s parent company Superl Holdings and initiated an investigation. Tapestry says Superl reported the worker was released on bail on 28 May; charges were dismissed on 3 June; and that Sros resumed work at Superl Cambodia on 15 June after the local labour union (CUMW), the worker and Superl Cambodia reached a mutual agreement. Michael Kors and Tory Burch didn’t reply to a request for comment.
The report says that Myan Mode, which is linked to Inditex and Mango, after dismissing 571 workers including all 520 members of the factory union, reinstated 75 affected workers and agreed to recall hundreds more once operations return to normal. In the case of Rui-Ning, linked to Inditex, Mango and Bestseller, all 298 union members that were laid off, out of a total of 324 dismissals, were reinstated. In both cases, brands engaged with local unions or engaged in mediatory discussions with the factory. Inditex confirmed it engaged with owners and workers to drive dialogue towards a resolution in the case. Bestseller says it “actively contributed to the formulation of a collective brand position that was communicated to the factories”.
(Mango didn’t reply to a request for comment; the BHRRC notes that it received rejoinders from the workers' unions at Rui-Ning and Myan Mode saying that “the brands ignored their requests for help… and refused to meaningfully engage with them, instead favouring the factory management’s version of events”.)
A Primark spokesperson told Vogue Business that the company also was in direct contact with the union during its investigation into code violation allegations at the Huabo Times factory, which the report said dismissed 28 unionised workers. Primark says the factory and the union have reached an agreement, which includes the reinstatement of the workers and compensation in full for lost earnings.
Despite some positive outcomes, Narayanasamy says meaningful engagement and mediation remain an exception, while widespread policies and commitments to freedom of association and collective bargaining are rarely actively implemented. Brands also often defer to local laws, as opposed to higher, internationally recognised labour right standards, and engage with suppliers more than unions.
“The gap between the policies and the practices in the apparel industry is enormous,” she says. “Brands need to recognise that having a policy is never going to be enough to fulfil any kind of human rights obligations.” In the same way, a proposed EU mandatory due diligence on human rights, could be an “enormous step forward”, but wouldn’t solve all the issues related to the current system. “Legislation will allow [cases] to be brought to court, but it doesn't fundamentally change a system where brands ultimately have all of the power.”
Seven out of nine cases included in the report remain unresolved, according to BHRRC, and Narayanasamy says brands still lack concrete policies to respond to the layoffs that have picked up pace during the Covid-19 pandemic. “The Covid-19 pandemic has been used as an excuse to further roll back [workers’] rights,” she says. “We know there is going to be an economic slowdown for many months and years to come, but that shouldn't automatically translate into worse rights for workers.”
Vogue Business reached out to all the brands included in the report. Levi’s said it was sticking with the reply provided to BHRRC. An email statement from H&M is in line with the company's replies as published in the report. All other brands didn’t respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.
To receive the Vogue Business Sustainability Edit, sign up here.
Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.
More from this author:
Italy’s luxury manufacturing faces crisis as government delays help
White staff and a white curriculum: Inside fashion education
Covid-19 has emphasised the importance of brand transparency
"Factory" - Google News
August 05, 2020 at 08:47PM
https://ift.tt/2Dg5q7U
Michael Kors, Tory Burch linked to "unfair" factory dismissals, report says - Vogue Business
"Factory" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2TEEPHn
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Michael Kors, Tory Burch linked to "unfair" factory dismissals, report says - Vogue Business"
Post a Comment