labor rights in rmg sector

8/8/2019 Labor Rights in Rmg Sector

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Bangladesh Labour Rights in the Supply Chain and Corporate Social Responsibility / 1

rticle I: All human beings are bornee and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and con-cience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.ArticleEveryone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration,ithout distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion,

olitical or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.urthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, juris-ctional or international status of

he country or territory to which a

Labour Rights in the Supply Chainand Corporate Social Responsibility

Report of an FIDH Mission to Bangladesh

in the context of FIDH/ Carrefour cooperation June 2008

BAnglADesH


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The act-fnding missionThis mission took place rom December 1-8, 2007in Bangladesh. It was conducted by Isabelle Brachet,Asia Director (FIDH) and Priscilla Claeys, Globalisation

and Human Rights Desk (FIDH).The objectives o the mission were twoold: Assess eorts by Carreour1 to deal with labourrights issues in Bangladesh and, in particular, evaluatethe training programme or management and workersimplemented by the local NGO Karmojibi Nari2 in theramework o Inans, and veriy the implementation oFIDHs recommendations to Carreour ater previousmissions to Bangladesh in 2006 and 2005; Issue recommendations to Carreour Bangladesh,Carreour Group as well as to the government oBangladesh and other multinational corporationssourcing in Bangladesh in order to improve respect

or labour rights in the garment industry.

Background o the

FIDH/Carreour cooperation

The FIDH-Carreour cooperation (Inans) was initiatedin 1997. Carreour initially approached FIDH to ndways to improve working conditions at the actory leveland in particular to eradicate child labour. FIDH insistedon a broad and consistent human rights approach, thatwould integrate all human rights at work and be basedon internationally recognized human rights standards.In 2000, Carreour adopted its Social Charter, based

on the Universal Declaration o Human Rights and 8undamental ILO conventions. The audit methodologywas developed with the assistance o FIDH and initialaudits were realized by FIDH. In 2002, the mandate oInans was revised, so as to put an end to the systematic

involvement o FIDH in social auditing. New areas orcooperation were established: the role o local socialactors, reedom o association, purchasing practices,advocacy or international standards on business andhuman rights (see below).Previous FIDH visits to Bangladesh in the ramework oInans took place in April 2006 and September 2005, tomention only the most recent ones. Recommendationswere issued to Carreour and made public on the FIDHwebsite. One o the outcomes o those visits was thedecision to set up a training programme or workers,mid-level management and top-level management orCarreour supplying actories. This programme wasinitiated as a pilot project in 2004 and launched in2006 as a 3 year project or 2007-2009. The trainingsare implemented by local NGO Karmojibi Nari.Carreours Global Sourcing Oce or Bangladesh andPakistan is based in Dhaka and sources rom a totalo 114 actories in Bangladesh and Pakistan, out owhich 95 are active at the time o the mission. Amongthem, about 70 are based in Bangladesh.

FIDHs approach to the human rights

responsibilities o corporate actors

Economic globalization has considerably benetedtransnational corporations, leading to an unprecedentedconcentration o economic power in the hands o arelatively limited number o economic actors. This

power entails responsibilities. But the accountabilityo these actors, at present, is deeply unsatisactory. Inparticular, the legal ramework on the responsibilityo transnational corporations with regard to humanrights needs to be reinorced. This is a primary obliga-tion o States, but international law could contributesignicantly to dening this ramework, not onlyby clariying both the scope o the obligation toprotect imposed on States including any obliga-tions extending beyond their national borders , butalso by ensuring that the activities o transnationalcorporations are better monitored.FIDH has participated actively in the debate on corpo-

rate social responsibility (CSR), which has been devel-oping both at global level particularly since theestablishment o the Global Compact in 1999 andwithin the European Union. In both these ora, FIDHhas consistently advocated in avor o a regulatoryramework or CSR. FIDH has engaged in a sustaineddialogue with the Special Representative (SR) o theUN Secretary General on the issue o TransnationalCorporations and Other Business Enterprises, Mr. JohnRuggie, since the creation o his mandate in 2005.FIDH has contributed to the accomplishment o hismandate by a report3 published as a response to the

Contextualbackground

1. http://www.carreour.r/etmoi/developpement_durable/

2. http://www.karmojibinari.org/

3. http://www.fdh.org/?Position-paper-Contribution-to-the


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4 / Bangladesh Labour Rights in the Supply Chain and Corporate Social Responsibility

as minimum requirements, and to advocate the linkagebetween this initiative and other initiatives, particularlymultistakeholder initiatives, also aimed at harmonizingattempts to improve respect or workers rights in thesupply chain. As a member o the GSCPs AdvisoryBoard, FIDH believes it is in the most appropriateposition to play its surveillance role and to channelthe Programme towards increased accountability oall actors.In 2007, FIDH also reinorced its collaboration withtrade unions and developed a joint agenda o workwith the International Trade Union Conederation(ITUC).

The Ready-Made Garment (RMG)

Industry in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is classied as a least-developed country

(LDC) and ranks 140th out o 177 in UNDPs HumanDevelopment Report 2007/2008.4 An estimated 40%o the population lives below the poverty line andadult literacy, at 47,5%, is among the lowest in theworld. Almost 80 percent o Bangladeshs populationlives in the rural areas. The rural economy constitutesa signicant component o the national GDP, withagriculture (including crops, livestock, sheries andorestry) accounting or 21 percent and the non-armsector, which is also driven primarily by agriculture,or another 33 percent5.The garment industry provides 76% o total exportsand employs 2,4 million workers,6 out o a total

population o 144 million.7

Most actories are close to Dhaka. Many women comerom rural areas, which is said to have a positiveimpact on womens rights, and remittances are sent

SRs rst interim report, by participating with itsmember organizations in regional meetings, in legalworkshops and by submitting written interventionsto the UN Human rights Council.FIDH has consistently denounced human rights abusesby corporations and their complicity in human rightsviolations committed by the governments where theyoperate or with whom they co-operate.FIDH considers that global intergovernmental standardson business and human rights are necessary in order tostrengthen the protection o human rights and providea common ramework or eorts to address businessconduct. There is a need to get governments supportor the eventual negotiation and adoption o a UNdeclaration or similar instrument outlining standardson business and human rights. FIDH seeks to initiatea process that can ultimately lead to the adoption oa legally binding instrument at an intergovernmentallevel. Such an instrument, negotiated and adopted atthe inter-governmental level, would provide a clearreerence point on business and human rights throughthe outlining o credible and legitimate standardsagreed by States. FIDH has been advocating or such aninstrument at the international level, in collaborationwith other prominent NGOs such as Amnesty Inter-national, Human Rights Watch and the InternationalCommission o Jurists, and at the European level inpartnership with the European Coalition or CorporateJustice (ECCJ), and others.

FIDH has used its dialogue and cooperation withCarreour to push or global standards on businessand human rights and has contributed to Carreourssupport or the UN Norms on the responsibilities otransnational corporations and other business enter-prises with regard to human rights in 2005. In 2007,FIDH initiated dialogue with other global retailersinvolved in the Global Social Compliance Programme(GSCP) on this issue. The Global Social ComplianceProgramme (GSCP) is an initiative o major interna-tional retailors, aimed at improving respect or labourstandards in the global supply chain. Although it didnot initiate them, was not involved in them, FIDH has

welcomed discussions between Carreour and othermajor retailers (Wal-Mart, Migros, Tesco, Metro) whichhave led to the creation o this new business platormin 2007. Indeed, FIDH considers that joint eortsand commitments by a critical mass o companiesare necessary to bring sustainable improvements tothe respect and promotion o workers rights in theglobal supply chain. FIDH has been invited to jointhe Advisory Board o the Global Social ComplianceProgramme. FIDH sees its involvement in this initia-tive as a continuation o its long standing cooperationwith European retailer Carreour. FIDH has agreed tojoin the advisory board o the GSCP, together with,

in particular, UNI (Union Network International, thealiate o the International Conederation o TradeUnions - ITUC) in order to provide advice to theparticipating companies in the process, to encouragean alignment with the existing international standards

4. For Bangladesh UNDP country act sheet: http://hdrstats.undp.org/

countries/country_act_sheets/cty_s_BGD.html

5. World Bank data, http://go.worldbank.org/770VR4DIU0

6. Source: http://bgmea.com.bd

7. World Bank data 2006.

8. According to BGMEA fgures or July 06-June 07. Source: BGMEA

newsletter July 07 (www.bgmea.com.bd)

9. Under GSP schemes o preerence-giving counties, selected products

originating in developing countries are granted reduced or zero tari

rates over the most-avored-nation (MFN) rates. The least developed

countries (LDCs) receive special and preerential treatment or a wider

coverage o products and deeper tari cuts.


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under the Everything but Arms (EBA) window oEUs Generalized System o Preerence (GSP) or LeastDeveloped Countries (LDCs). However, Bangladeshails to utilize the total GSP credit9 due in part tonon-availability o domestic raw materials. Indeed,raw material is not produced in Bangladesh, whichconsequently depends on China, Pakistan and Indiaor its supplies. The Bangladesh Garment Manuactur-ers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) is currentlyworking to get duty ree access to US market.Saeguard restrictions on imports rom China are dueto expire on January 1, 2008 or the EU and January 1,2009 or the US, meaning that Bangladesh will aceincreased competition. Many actors are o the opinionthat diversiying the industry is necessary to guaranteea more sustainable development.

Rapid improvements in actory conditions

Many actors interviewed shared the impression thatworking conditions in export garment actories hadsubstantially improved over the last two years. Illustra-tions o such improvements included: Increased compliance o minimum wage payment;

deductions rom wages as penalties are becom-ing rare,

Factory owners have started to assign a humanresources, welare or social compliance ocer, andcomplaints can be directed to him/her,

Some actories have created a social welarecommittee10, Ventilation regulations are better observed, There is less verbal abuse, Workers increasingly receive a copy o their appoint-

ment cards (contract), Child labour is eradicated in export actories.

These observations seem valid or medium or largeexport garment actories but not or small actorieswhich are producing or the domestic market.

Tripartite Memorandum o Understanding (MoU)

was signed

A Tripartite Memorandum o Understanding (MoU)was signed in June 2006 between Employers, Employ-ees and Government (Labour and Employment Minis-

tries), ater a period o severe labour unrest.The 10 conditions agreed upon in the deal were:1. Reaching a consensus on immediate end to unrest2. Withdrawing the cases led against the workers

in Gazipur, Ashulia and Savar and releasing thearrested workers

3. No workers will be terminated4.

Reopening the closed actories immediately5. All workers to be given appointment letters andidentity cards

6. No obstruction in air trade unionism and combinedbargaining

7. One-day weekly holiday or workers and otherholidays as mentioned in the existing labour law

8. Overtime allowances to the workers enjoying regularsalary as per the labour law

9. Maternity leave with pay as per the labour law,and

10. Forming a Wage Board to x wages.

Set by the Wage Board, the minimum wage wasincreased or all categories o workers in the garmentindustry and came into eect on 22 October 2006.It had not been revised in the last 12 years. It is nowset at 1662.5 Taka per month (about 16.5 EUR) or aGrade 7 worker (entry-level, unskilled). The workershad been asking that the minimum wage be increasedrom 900 Taka to 3 000 Taka.

back to their home villages. The proportion o emaleworkers is 60-80% and RMG is the only ormal sectorwhere a signicant proportion o women are working.Men are usually ound in sweater and knitwear, andin cutting/dying jobs. It is reported that the ratiois changing slowly in avour o men because o theopening o many sweater actories. There is a high levelo migration o workers between actories, and theaverage turnover is reported to be around 20%. Thishigh turnover is due to a strong demand or skilledlabour combined with insucient wages.Exports increased by 16.59 % between 2005-06 and2006-07. Ready Made Garment (RMG) exports aredivided in: 49% to the European market, 33 % to theUS market and the remaining 18% to other countries.8Bangladesh products can enter the EU ree o duty

RecentProgress

10. These committees are a substitute or what the law provides or

in the orm o participation committees. Participation committees

require, according to the law, equal participation rom workers and

management and require workers representatives to be appointed by

the unions or, in the absence o unions, to be elected by the workers.

See Bangladesh Labour Law, 2006, section 205.


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Government eorts

Compliance issues gained signicant importance olate, in particular ater the Spectrum tragedy.The National Social Compliance Forum was ormed in2005. It is headed by the Ministry o Commerce andco-chaired by the Ministry o Labour. It also coordinateswith the Ministry o Works and Ministry o Home (onsaety issues), BGMEA and BKMEA, buyers, donors,NGOs and international labour unions (notably ITGLWFand AFL-CIO). It acts as a guiding and coordinatingauthority at policy level on compliance related activi-ties. A Compliance Monitoring Cell provides secretarialsupport to the National Social Compliance Forum

(SCF), monitors compliance with the Tripartite MoU(using a database o 500 actories), raises awarenesson compliance issues, and links with buyers. Two taskorces were set up: one on labour welare in RMG, andone on occupational saety (including building saety).Their role is to ormulate compliance related workplans or the sector. A Crisis Management Committeewas also established in July 2007.Labour inspections are coordinated by the Ministryo Labour. Currently, the total number o inspectorsis 111 or the whole country, out o which 63 arededicated to actories inspections (not only RMG),the rest to stores and establishments. More inspectors

are expected to be hired in 2008. Inspectors visitactories according to the government schedule, andit is unclear whether actories get notied in advance.I actories are not compliant within a set time rame,the Ministry may take them to the Labour Court(there are 3 in Dhaka, 7 in total or the country). TheChie Inspections Ocer interviewed by the missioncriticized the ocus on RMG at the expense o othersectors e.g. printing press, cigarettes, etc. where childlabour is still rampant.

Trade associations (BGMEA and BKMEA)

The Bangladesh Garment Manuacturers and ExportersAssociation (BGMEA) was ormed 25 years ago andhas a membership o 4000 actories, out o whichabout 2800 were active at the time o this mission.BKMEA (Bangladesh Knitwear Manuacturers and

Revision o labour law in 2006

The initial labour law text dates back to196911. All relevant laws are now includedin one document. On the whole, this newlegislation constitutes a progress with regardsto the previous legal ramework. Improve-ments include the extension o maternityleave rom 12 to 16 weeks, and the acilita-tion to create trade unions in specic sectors.Also, all prosecutions or oences in theLabour Code 2006 must now take placein the Labour Court rather than in theMagistrates Courts as beore and the courtshould ollow the Criminal Procedure Code(section 313(1)). Complaints can be lodged either byan inspector [Section 319(5) allows an inspector tolodge a complaint to the Labour Court with regardto commission o any oence] or an aggrievedperson or trade union but they must be done sowithin six months o the commission o the oence(section 313(2)12. However, several actors pointed tothe act that the new labour law is still weak on manyissues. On Working hours or example, the legislationis weak: it xes the working hours o a worker to amaximum o 10 hours a day, but species that excep-tion may be allowed in general or in particular orany establishment with the conditional permission.

Strong signal rom governmentthat actories have to comply

The Caretaker government and trade associations(BGMEA and its equivalent or knitwear, BKMEA Bangladesh Knitwear Manuacturers and ExportersAssociation) seem to have developed an ecient rela-tionship, and the government supports the actors o thiskey sector or the economy o Bangladesh. However,the state o emergency established in January 2007involves a prohibition o trade union activities, whichis necessarily detrimental to workers rights.

Initiativestowardssocialcompliance

11. As early as 1965 or certain regulations

12. Source: http://www.corporateaccountability.org/international/

bangladesh/law/code/criminal.htm


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Buyers and the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA)

Forum in Bangladesh

The MFA Forum14 is an open and global network oover 70 participants representing brands and retailers,trade unions, NGOs and multi-lateral institutions,which seeks to promote social responsibility andcompetitiveness in national garment industries that arevulnerable in the post-MFA trading environment. InMay 2005, the MFA Forum decided to set up in-countrygroups to work in Bangladesh and in Lesotho.The Multi-Stakeholder Forum Bangladesh15 (MFB)is composed o government, business associations,buyers16, NGOs and civil society (notably OxamUK in Bangladesh and Karmojibi Nari), develop-ment partners and trade unions. One representativeo each stakeholder sits on the steering committee.It has reportedly been a challenge to get unions onboard and their participation is irregular. GTZ17 hasworked with the MFA Forum since 2005 and acts assecretariat or the MFB. It has now developed a 3 yearaction plan which has 3 main areas o work: socialcompliance, competitiveness and ethical purchasingpractices. The main challenge or the MFB is, report-edly, to tackle the issues o reedom o associationand collective bargaining.The MFA Forum Bangladesh Buyers Group was origi-nally convened in 2005 by the MFA Forum. Buyersmeet on a regular basis to discuss issues o joint concern

and occasionally take joint action18

. They recentlycommissioned a research on purchasing practices,which was conducted by GTZ in the ramework othe MFA Forum. Tesco sits on the Multi-StakeholderForum Bangladesh (MFB) steering committee, whereit represents buyers. Carreours involvement in theMFA Forum Bangladesh Buyers Group is limited.Carreour participates in certain meetings held bydierent organisations or inormation sharing. Forexample, Carreour participated in the survey onpurchasing practices.

International Labour Organisation (ILO)

The ILO had a rst project with BGMEA in 1985 whichocused on eradicating child labour. It later tried todevelop a training program or actory workers andmanagement with BGMEA but only the rst phase othe project was implemented. In 2005, ILO organised2 high-level meetings on the challenges o the post-MFA era and social compliance. It is currently notactive in the RMG sector in Bangladesh.

Exporters Association) was ormed in 1996, and has1 500 members, out o which many are also BGMEAmembers.BGMEA is active in the eld o social complianceand is proud to say that compliance levels with thenew minimum wage and other points o the MoUare high (over 90%). BGMEA has its own compli-ance teams or monitoring. BGMEA has established aLabour Cell (which gave input into new labour law,talks to buyers), a Saety Committee, health centers,training programmes, schools... According to BGMEA,the Next step is participatory approach within theactory, rather than outside intererence o unions.We want to develop processes by which workers cantake their complaints.BGMEA has set up an Arbitration Committee, which,according to BGMEA, settles issues ree o charge orworkers and is aster than going to the Labour Court.It deals mostly with issues o payment o wages andovertime, leaves, illegal termination and dismissalsand actory closures. It has reportedly handled over2 000 cases since 1998 and realised more than 20million Taka but requests by the mission or detailedinormation on the cases and their outcome werelet unanswered.BGMEA has received land allocation rom governmentto build a garment village to be located 20km outo Dhaka, with dormitories or single workers. 400actories will be moved and inrastructure will be built

with government support. The objective is to closedown old actories and attract oreign investment. FIDHis concerned about the potential negative impacts othis project on women workers as actories will berelocated urther outside Dhaka, and include no plansor amily housing. Women with children may notbe able to work there as a consequence.

13. In April 2005, 64 workers were killed, 74 injured, and hundreds let

jobless when the Spectrum-Shahriyar garment actory collapsed.

14.For more on the MFA Forum, see http://www.ma-orum.net/15.International actors committed to work with the MFAF inBangladesh: The World Bank, The International Textile, Garment and

Leather Workers; Federation, Oxam International, Ethical Trading

Initiative (ETI), Social Accountability International, and the Fair Labor

Association.

16.Gap Inc., Inditex, KarstadtQuelle AG, H&M, Levi Strauss & Co.,Carreour, Cotton Group, Inditex, Tesco, Nike, Marks & Spencer,

Wal-Mart, Asda George UK, The Co-op.

17.GTZ has a program or the RMG sector called PROGRESS in which itpartners with the Ministry o Commerce and Labour (provides training to

labour inspectors), industry associations (BGMEA and BKMEA) and the

NGO Karmojibi Nari and two other NGOs in Chittagong. The programme

includes trainings to BGMEA/BKMEA social compliance ofcers,

advisory role to actories, productivity improvement, environmental

issues (e.g. ecological efciency, ocus on low cost solutions), and

improving the image o the industry.

18.For example, in February 08, buyers sent a joint letter o concernto the Bangladesh authorities with regard to the arrest o Mr. Mehedi

Hasan, labour rights investigator at Workers Rights Consortium (WRC).

Mr. Hasan was released the ollowing day.


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Major labour rights violations still ound

Despite recent improvements described above, themission, through actory visits and interviews wiithvarious actors conrmed that major labour rightsviolations are still ound in Bangladesh actories,including: No reedom o association: although unions exist as

ederations, they are de acto prohibited at the actorylevel; participation committees, where they exist,consist o workers appointed by the managementwhile they should be chosen by the workers;

No living wage: the legal minimum wage, whereimplemented, is insucient to cover basic needs;wages are paid with delay and overtime is otennot paid in accordance with the law;

No access to remedies; Excessive working hours, inappropriate maternity

leave and benets, harassment, blocked exits, etc.

Freedom o association

None o the actories visited had unionized workers.There is no acceptance o the right to unionize at theactory level and owners ear trade unions. The situ-ation has worsened since the state o emergency wasdeclared in January 2007: all union activity is banned.It is elt by unions that actory owners are takingadvantage o the political situation and o the act thatthe caretaker government is not accountable.Some actories have established so called participationor social welare committees. In all actories visited,workers in the participation committees were appointedby the management, as told by the management

itsel. The participation committee cannot bargainanything, unions say, it can only discuss issues suchas cleanliness, leaves, increase o productivity, etc. Itcan certainly not discuss salary increases. In ExportProcessing Zones (EPZs), where dierent regulations

apply,19 trade unions were not authorized by law.20 In2004, the government partially lited these restrictionby allowing workers in EPZs to orm Workers Repre-sentative Welare Committee (WRWC). Since 2006,workers are allowed to orm Workers Associations,however ormalities to create those committees arereportedly lengthy and complicated.Unions raised the issue o the diculty to accessinormation on which buyer sources rom whichactory. This makes it dicult to resort to buyerspressure when a problem is ound in a actory. FIDHbelieves that, by releasing the list o the actories theysource rom, buyers would in the long run contributeto increased compliance.

Minimum wage and living wage

Set by the Wage Board, the minimum wage wasincreased or all categories o workers in the garmentindustry and came into eect on 22 October 2006. Itis now set at 1,662.5 Taka per month (about 16 EUR)or a Grade 7 worker (entry-level, unskilled).I compliance gures bordering 100% as claimed byBGMEA are realistic or big export actories in Dhaka,they are according to actors interviewed unlikelyand harder to check or small actories out o Dhaka.Most actors nevertheless agree that compliance withthe new minimum wage has increased substantiallyover the last months. It is reported, however, that the

wage increase only really beneted Grade 7 workers(unskilled, helpers) who usually constitute 5-10%o the workers. According to unions and auditorsinterviewed, Grade 4,5,6 workers are still not paidthe wage provided by the law.How the minimum wage increase was handled byactory owners should be closely monitored. Somehave reportedly stopped to give production bonuses(e.g. actory beore was giving 1,100 Taka in wage and300-400 Taka in production bonus, now complies withminimum wage o 1662 Taka but without bonuses).Some have invested in new machines allowing to saveon labour cost or relocate helpers to other jobs (e.g.

machines to cut threads) as the mission was told bya actory owner. Some buyers, on their end, haveaccepted to (re)negotiate and increase their prices itis reported by a supplier that 10-20% o the increasewas covered by an increased cost o manuacturing(CM) but this was usually done progressively andnot by all buyers.Even ater its recent revision, the legal minimum wageremains the lowest o the sub-region and insucientto cover basic needs. Indeed, living wage estimates21vary between 2,500 and 7,000 Taka per month andRMG workers have been campaigning or their basicminimum wage to be set at 3,000 Taka (around 30

EUR), almost twice as much as the current legal mini-mum wage. This discrepancy is o particular concernin a context o major price hike and considering that,although the wage scale is supposed to be reviewed(which does not necessarily mean increased) every

Issueso concern

19. EPZ investors beneft rom a 10- year tax exemption, one stop cell

to do business, and energy guaranteed 24 hours. Workers are paid in

USD and their salary is reportedly higher than in other actories. EPZ are

governed by the EPZ workers association and industrial regulations act,

2004, and supervised by the EPZ Authority.

20. According to the ILO, restrictions on labour unions in EPZs were

removed in 2004: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/asro/

bangkok/arm/bgd.htm.

21. According to the Ministry o Commerce, 5-10.000 Taka are needed

to survive or a amily o 4 (fgures available in economic survey report,

Ministry o Finance).

22. Source UNDP, 18 March 2008, Kemal Dervis discusses global price

shocks in Bangladesh.


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Social auditing weaknesses

Although this section is largely devoted to Carreourssocial auditing system and practices, some o theobservations below equally apply to other retailersand brands which source rom Bangladesh. Carreourgenerally represents 15%-20% o total orders or itssuppliers, more rarely 30 to 35%. The three mainauditing rms active in Bangladesh are Bureau Veritas,Intertek and SGS.Carreour applies 3 charters to its suppliers: an ecologi-

cal charter, a quality charter, and a social charter. Theaudits are carried out by external specialised auditingrms and paid or by Carreour. It was reported thatsome other international buyers request their suppli-ers to pay or the audits. Every time a new potentialsupplier is identied, a social audit is commissionedand paid by Carreour beore the orders are conrmedwith this new supplier. When the actory is scoredD in the initial audit, it does not become a Carreoursupplier. Technical audits o Carreours suppliers takeplace every 2 years, and social audits at maximumevery 2 years. All social audits are unannounced.I problems are ound, a corrective action plan (CAP)

is drated by the auditing rm, which suggests timelimits or each corrective measure. The Productionand Merchandising departments o Carreour Bangla-desh Sourcing Oce are in charge o ollow-up. Thecurrent system set up by Carreour has to be adapted

year and revised at least every 5 years according tothe law, it is unclear whether and when this willbe done.According to BGMEA, talking about a living wageis not realistic right now, as the entire industry inBangladesh relies on cheap labour. Most actory ownersrecognize that the minimum wage is insucient tocover living expenses and agree that workers acceptovertime systematically because they need the extraincome. Some unions say they are unclear on whatto ight or minimum or living wage in thecurrent price hike context. Most unions interviewedelt that priority should be given to compliance withthe minimum wage and its requent/annual revisionbased on the price index.

Indeed, rising ood prices are a big concern or mostpeople in Bangladesh, where poor households spendnearly 70 percent o their income on ood items. InDecember 2007, annual ood infation in Bangladeshreached 16 percent, and prices o the most importantessentials, like rice and oil, increased more than thatin the last year22.

Access to remedies

The Arbitration Committee was established in 1997,as a result o a strike, and is the outcome o an agree-ment that was reached between trade associations and

unions. The Arbitration Committee developed as aparallel to the Labour Court system and has no legalbasis. It is reported that workers go to the ArbitrationCommittee because, although they know they willget less, they can get a aster solution. In practice, itresults useul in a number o cases but its eciencyand credibility would be enhanced i it were establishedand regulated by the law.The Arbitration Committee is not independent but ischaired by BGMEA President, although the originalagreement reportedly provided that the chairman be ajudge. It does not guarantee equal participation romtrade associations and workers representatives, which

is also contrary to what is provided or in the originalagreement. Twelve trade unions are in the BGMEAArbitration Committee, where they can submit griev-ances. Not all unions are members o the Committee,some have chosen not to join because they elt decisionswere biased in avour o actory owners.The Arbitration Committee can only address problemsarising at the actory level. Because o the one yeartime rame allowed to go to the Labour Court, i aworker loses at the Arbitration Committee, he/shecannot go to Court. Many unions are o the opinionthat the law should clariy that in case the worker goesto the Arbitration Committee, there is a suspensive

eect (i.e. the one year starts on the day the Arbitra-tion Committee renders its decision).The mission did not investigate more on the amountand results o cases brought to the Labour Court, but allactors interviewed agreed it is a too long process.

Carreours frst supplier charter in Bangla. See the current Charter:

www.carreour.com/docroot/groupe/C4com/Pieces_jointes/Carreour%20Supplier%20Charter%20EN.pd


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with international labour standards. Most importantly,the provisions o national law with regard to reedomo association are disregarded.23

In the opinion o many actors, social auditing is largelyinsucient, in particular when it comes to issuessuch as working hours, living wage and reedom oassociation. There are also large sections o the RMG

sector which remain out o reach: although mostsuppliers said they dont accept orders beyond capacityor send extra to sister actories, actors interviewedagreed that subcontracting is still prevalent. Moreover,the mission notes that the use o importers whichsource rom Bangladesh still exists and it is unclearhow social compliance is monitored in such casesby Carreour.For all the reasons stated above, constant monitoringby the workers themselves is indispensable to guaranteetotal compliance, many actors pointed out. Neverthe-less, it is clear rom the Bangladesh experience that thescrutiny and pressure brought by Corporate Social

Responsibility programmes o international brandsand retailers have brought serious improvements toBangladeshi workers.

Downward pressure

on prices and lead times

Social auditing eorts are largely counteracted bydownward pressure on prices and lead times. Manysuppliers and unions interviewed said that buyershave a contradictory speech: they say they want theirworkers to have enough ood, appropriate housing,a decent wage, and at the same time keep putting

pressure on suppliers to reduce their cost o manu-acturing (CM). According to Carreour Bangladesh,usual lead time is 90 days between when the orderis passed and shipping. About 5% o the orders arerequested under 90 days and, in such cases, Carreour

to allow or proper ollow-up o CAPs. The externalollow-up audit takes place at maximum 2 yearsater the previous visit. In the mean time, it is let toCarreour employees to check on the CAP implementa-tion when they go to the actories or other purposes.However, they are not specically trained to assesssocial compliance and it is not done in a systematic

way. There is no written reporting on these ollow-upvisits relating to measures taken by the supplier. Asa result pressure on the supplier to comply remainsinsucient.Auditors interviewed check social compliance on thebasis o a questionnaire reering to national labourlaw and the buyers code o conduct. When the codeand law tackle the same issue, the most protectivestandard should in theory prevail and its respect beincluded in the Corrective Action Plan. This is the caseconcerning minimum age (child labour), however,Carreours provisions on decent wage is not taken intoconsideration in the questionnaire, which reers only

to national legal provisions with regard to wages andbenets. According to a recent study conducted by GTZwhich compares Labour Law 2006 with provisionscontained in major international codes o conduct,Bangladesh Labour Law covers 85% o most codeso conduct provisions. However, it is insucient insome areas e.g. child labour, orced labour, discrimi-nation, voluntary overtime, which highlights theimportance o bringing the Labour Law in accordance

23. It is to be noted that, most international codes o conduct contain

provisions such as: Where the right to reedom o association and

collective bargaining is restricted under law, the employer acilitates,

and does not hinder, the development o parallel means or independent

and ree association and bargaining. (ETI code, Source: www.

ethicaltrading.org)


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Assessmento thetrainingproject

Description

A 3-year undamental rights at work trainingprogramme or workers, mid-level management andtop-level management covering all Carreour supplyingactories was launched in 2006, ater the conclusiono a pilot project in 2004. The trainings are designedand implemented by local NGO Karmojibi Nari.

Trainings sessions target three dierent groups, inthe ollowing order: Top-level management: The involvement o Carre-

ours Global Sourcing oce in Bangladesh is key.A discussion with the actory owners takes placerst, to present the objectives and content o thetrainings. This requires considerable involvementon the side o Carreour to get acceptance romactory owners. A 2-hour discussion takes placeat Carreours oce which ocuses on the contento the leafets, the trainings schedule and othercompliance-related issues that may arise. It is heldbetween three or our actory owners, Karmojibi

Nari and Carreour; Mid-level management training: This session consistso a one-day training, on site. A lot o time is spenton gender discrimination and Karmojibi Nari trainerstry to have an open discussion on its causes;

Workers training: This training is composed o a 1day training on site + day reresher one monthlater. The group is composed o 20 workers (15are selected by the management and 5 at randomby Karmojibi Nari, a condition being that workersselected can read). The selection is supposed torefect the proportion o male and emale workersin the actory (usually around 60-80% emale).Each worker receives 5 copies o the leafets to

distribute to other workers and is assigned the taskto disseminate what he/she has learned.Materials used in the training sessions include a videorealised by Karmojibi Nari (which ocuses on maternityleave and benets) and leafets presenting dierentaspects o the Labour Law. The 6 leafets cover: (1)the right to an appointment letter (contract), theservice book and ID card, (2) wage, when it shouldbe paid, how much it should be, (3) working hours,(4) occupational health and saety, (5) leaves orsickness, maternity, vacation and estivals, and (6)duties and responsibilities to be on time, discipline,good behavior, keeping acilities clean, reaching the

target, reading the actory handbook, increasing skills,attitude towards women. Leafets are based on the2006 Bangladesh Labour Law, not on Carreourssocial charter. It is elt by Karmojibi Nari that theact that the content o the trainings is based on thelaw o the land makes them easier to accept byactory owners.

Positive aspects

Trainings take place at the actory level, during workinghours, and bring the actory under increased scrutiny.Trainings give local NGO Karmojibi Nari access to

actories, which would otherwise be impossible.There seems to be a good level o involvement romCarreour Bangladesh to acilitate access to the acto-ries and ensure trainings take place smoothly (e.g. arepresentative o Carreour Bangladesh accompanies

calls its suppliers and negotiates with them to seewhat is possible.One o the consequences o shorter lead times is excessiveworking hours. Interview with actory owners showedthat recourse to overtime is common although, one othem said, we try no to go over 12 hours o overtimeper week or 2 to 3 extra hours extra per day (...)beyond this limit, workers productivity decreases.Some actories are open to or say they are trying hardto comply with social and environmental standardsbut this usually results in higher CM. Because o theinternal competition between the various sourcing

oces within Carreour, it is unclear whether theBangladesh Oce can aord to supply rom someo these actories.

In FIDHs view, it is highly problematic that socialauditing perormance (scores obtained in audits) isnot adequately taken into account by Carreour whenmaking sourcing decisions. Price being the determin-ing actor, a actory perorming better than anotheron the social ront is not avoured in any way. Thisquestions the relevance o the social auditing eortas a whole.


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Karmojibi Nari trainers during the rst hours o train-ing, Carreour insists on the importance o socialcompliance during the dialogue that is establishedwith actory owners at Carreours oce).Training sessions are very interactive and participa-tion is high. They create opportunities or increasedcommunication between all actors at the actory level,with peers and with superiors. Trainers have a goodunderstanding o the position top-level and mid-levelmanagers nd themselves in, and in particular o thepressure and competition actory owners ace. Theytry to be collaborative rather than conrontational.Trainings targeting not only management but alsoworkers are relatively innovative in Bangladesh.

Practical difculties encountered

Most actory owners ear that NGO activities will agitateworkers, and resistance rom actory management ishigh. As a result, the presence o actory managementduring workers training is hard to avoid: top andmid-level management usually come to check orobserve the workers training, which is not ideal orthe proper conduct o the training. Karmojibi Nariusually invites managers to leave ater a couple ohours and tries to balances its message and makethe link between social compliance and increasedproductivity, between rights and responsibilities oeach actor. Practical diculties are also encountered,

such as delays in implementation. The programme wassuspended or some time during social unrest in 2006,and it is reported that some trainings or workers andmid-level management had to be cancelled at the lastminute, probably because o the workload or becauseo Ramadan. This makes it dicult or Karmojibi Narito stick to its planning.Trainings may need to be adapted rom actory toactory. Some discussions indicated a level o awareness

on the side o workers that was quite high. I workershave a good knowledge o the legal provisions coveredin the training, there might be a need to reorientatethe training session towards less widely known aspectsor to nd ways to invite other workers to participate.Also, EPZ workers are covered by a dierent regulationand training sessions need to be adapted.Today, trainings do not suciently address reedom oassociation. There is no leafet on reedom o associa-tion, on the right to unionize or on prot sharing oremployees, although these provisions are covered bythe law. It appears that actory owners were consultedand that some reacted negatively (vetoed) the integra-tion o these issues in the trainings. Karmojibi Narisaid it decided no to publish leafets on these issues,because it elt it was too conrontational. Gettingapproval rom the NGO bureau may also have playeda role. It is a slow process, according to KarmojibiNari, and the issue o reedom o association willhopeully be addressed in uture work.Follow-up and assessing the impacts o trainings isa complicated exercise due to a high turnover oworkers and lack o measurable criteria. KarmojibiNari hopes that increased access to actories willprove to help the conduct o other activities in theuture and is interested in strengthening ollow-up,not only through rereshers or workers ater theinitial training as planned in the program. This willbe discussed again in 1 year.

Measures envisaged to overcome

difculties encountered

In order to improve the quality and impacts o thetrainings and address the above mentioned dicul-ties, FIDH and Karmojibi Nari have agreed to ndways to: I possible, provide oral inormation on reedom

o association, right to unionize and participationcommittees (although there is no leafet on thisissue);

Provide oral inormation on discrimination, not

restricted to gender discrimination but also political,racial, ethnic, religious, etc. (although there is noleafet on this issue);

Provide concrete inormation to workers on remediesavailable to them (labour court, BGMEA arbitrationcommittee);

Over the course o the project, increase the numbero workers selected by Karmojibi Nari vs appointedby the management;

Continue to meet regularly with Carreour GlobalSourcing Oce in Dhaka to discuss implementationo the project, planning o trainings and potentialproblems that need to be solved;

Conduct research and develop one extra sheet ortraining in EPZ on labour regulations that apply toEPZ workers; adapt training sessions when conductedin EPZs.


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who are socially compliant and integrate socialperormance criteria in sourcing decisions;

Ensure your purchasing practices and orders manage-ment do not induce labour rights abuses on the sideo producers trying to meet unrealistic deadlinesand prices;

Use the company infuence in order to help promoteand ensure respect or human rights: call on theauthorities to revise and increase the minimumwage so as to ensure it covers basic needs; alert theBangladesh government when trade unionists arebeing threatened, or i Labour Law provisions arenot in accordance with international standards;

Find ways to encourage and support the right oworkers to unionize and bargain collectively, orexample through trainings or actory workers andmanagement;

Engage with Human rights organisations and/ortrade unions relating to labour rights in the supplychain; get involved in multi-stakeholder initiatives inwhich brands and retailers work with trade unionsand other workers rights organisations in order toimprove respect or human rights;

Publicly disclose manuacturing sites list o supplers;put an end to using importers and trading rmswhich cannot be held accountable or respectinglabour rights;

Support demands or global norms on the HumanRights responsibilities o corporate actors.

To Carreour specifcally

Assign clear responsibility or social compliance atthe Bangladesh oce. This could be done through aSocial Compliance Ocer, as recommended by FIDHin 2006 and 2005. The person in charge o socialcompliance would supervise audits, ollow-up onCorrective Action Plans and coordinate Inans relatedactivities (including trainings), and participate tomultistakeholder initiatives on social compliancein Bangladesh; Request ollow-up audit within 3-6months maximum ater Corrective Action Plan (CAP)

was established. Establish a reporting procedure orCAP ollow-up; Continue to meet regularly with Karmojibi Nari

to discuss implementation o the project, plan-ning o trainings and potential problems that needto be solved. Discuss ways to tackle the issue oreedom o association, in the trainings or in aseparate project;

Make eorts to hire women at the Bangladesh Sourc-ing Oce so as to improve the gender balance;

Improve and increase public communication on theeorts undertaken to improve social compliancein Bangladesh.

These recommendations and ollow-up are discussedin the ramework o the FIDH / Carreour coopera-tion.

To the Government o Bangladesh

Immediately lit the state o emergency andrestore undamental rights guaranteed in theConstitution;

Ensure adequate implementation o internationalcovenants ratied by Bangladesh, and submit initialreport to the UN Committee on Economic, Socialand Cultural Rights (CESCR);

Ratiy ILO conventions, among which the ollowingdeserve to be recognized a high level o priority: ILO(n155) Occupational Saety and Health Convention,1981; ILO (n161) Occupational Health ServicesConvention, 1985, and ILO (n187) PromotionalFramework or Occupational Saety and HealthConvention, 2006;

Ensure eective and impartial labour administra-tion; increase eectiveness o Labour inspections

and Labour courts, notably by allocating adequateresources or their proper unctioning; Revise and increase the minimum wage so as to

ensure it covers basic needs; Ensure that garment villages projects do not have

adverse impacts on the enjoyment o human rightsand in particular on womens rights;

Ensure that investment agreements do not containprovisions that may have a negative impact on theenjoyment o human rights in Bangladesh.

To Factory owners and industryassociations (BGMEA and BKMEA)

Respect and promote undamental rights at workin actories, including reedom o association andthe right to collective bargaining.

To Multinational corporationssourcing rom Bangladesh

Assign Board level responsibility or social compli-ance; commit sucient internal resources so as toensure the eective implementation o the companyssocial commitments;

Report on audit results and methodology; ensure

adequate ollow-up o audits and corrective actionplans; Establish stable and long term relationships with

suppliers, nd ways to give incentives to suppliers

Recom-mendations


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International organisationsInternational Labour Organisation Mr Jamil

MediaNew Age Newspaper Zayd Almer Khan, DeputyEditor

NGOsASK Mrs. Sultana KamalBangladesh Institute o Labour Studies (BILS) Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmmed, Asst. Exec. DirectorBangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) Taslimur Rahman, Executive DirectorFNB - Mr.Abul Hasseb Khan, Vice-President(Director, Resource Integration Center)Friendship Mrs. Runa Khan, FounderINCIDIN Nasimul Ahsan, Advocacy ChieKarmojibi NariShirin Akther, PresidentRokeya Raque, Executive DirectorShahid Ullah, Director o Policy and ResearchLipika Biswas,TrainerOdhikar Adilur Rahman Khan, Secretary,

Nasiruddin Elan, Acting DirectorUBINIG Policy Research or Development

Alternative, Muzharul Huq, Managing Director

Trade Associations - BGMEAMr. Ferdous Perves Bivon, Vice-President

Mr. Mohammed A. Salam, First Vice-PresidentInamul Haq Khan, Director Compliance CellMrs. Jenea K. Jabbar, Advocate, Consultant

UnionsBangladesh Garments & Industrial WorkersFederation (BGIWF)/BCWS, Babul Akhter,General SecretaryBangladesh Independant Garment Workers UnionFederation (BIGUF), Rabeya Akter, GeneralSecretary (aliated with ITGLWF)National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF),Amirul Haque Amin

Auditing frmSGS auditors

Bangladesh GovernmentMinistry o Commerce Mr. Mohiuddin,Joint Secretary ExportMinistry o Labour Dr. Seraj Uddin,Chie Inspector, Department o Inspection

BuyersCarreour BangladeshAri Razzaque, Manager Bangladesh & PakistanBibek Majumder, Production Manager Bangladesh

& PakistanHasan Imam, Bangladesh Department ManagerSalim Uddin, Production EngineerThe entire team o the Global Sourcing OceBangladesh & PakistanTescoJacqui Gray, Country Manager

DonorsGTZ Ameena Chowdury, Senior BusinessAdvisor, PROGRESS (Promotion o socialenvironmental and production standardsin the RMG sector)

Factory ownersBabylon actory Mr. Emdadul Islam, DirectorBiswas Garments actory Md. Abdul Mabud,Director Apparel DivisionCreative Md. Giash Uddin, DirectorDBL Group (actory) Md. Mahuzur Rahman,Manager (Compliance)Hoplun Nirupam Barua, Assistant GeneralManagerManta Apparels actory Md. Manzur Morshed,ManagerNAZ Nasir Uddin Ahmed, Managing Director

Need dress Md. Jabed, Director Marketing,Jaar Ullah Jhan, Managing DirectorSonia Sweaters actory Mahabubur Rahaman,Director

List o peoplemet bythe mission


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Cotat mobiiatio

Establishing the facts:

investigative and trial observation missions

Through activities ranging from sending trial observers to organising international investigative missions, FIDH has

developed, rigorous and impartial procedures to establish facts and responsibility. Experts sent to the eld give their

time to FIDH on a voluntary basis.

FIDH has conducted more than 1 500 missions in over 100 countries in the past 25 years. These activities reinforceFIDHs alert and advocacy campaigns.

Supporting civil society:

training and exchange

FIDH organises numerous activities in partnership with its member organisations, in the countries in which they are

based. The core aim is to strengthen the inuence and capacity of human rights activists to boost changes at the

local level.

permanent lobbying before intergovernmental bodies

FIDH supports its member organisations and local partners in their efforts before intergovernmental organisations.

FIDH alerts international bodies to violations of human rights and refers individual cases to them. FIDH also takes

part inthe development of international legal instruments.

Informing and reporting:

mobilising public opinion

FIDH informs and mobilises public opinion. Press releases, press conferences, open letters to authorities, mission

reports, urgent appeals, petitions, campaigns, website FIDH makes full use of all means of communication to

raise awareness of human rights violations.

Dpt lgal juin 2008 - N498/2 Fichier informatique conforme la loi du 6 janvier 1978 - (Dclaration N 330 675)

Mobilising the international community:

FIDH

huma riht oraiatiorprt 155

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FIDH

17, passage de la Main-dOr - 75011 Paris - FranceCCP Paris : 76 76 Z

Tel : (33-1) 43 55 25 18 / Fax: (33-1) 43 55 18 80

www.dh.org

Director of the publication: Souhayr Belhassen

Editor: Antoine BernardAuthors: Priscilla Claeys, Isabelle Brachet

Assistant of publication: Bruce Pleiser


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s

rson belongs, whether it be independent, trust,

n-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty. Article III: Everyone has the right

life, liberty and security of person. Article III: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security

person. Article III: No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall

prohibited in all their forms. Article IV: No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and

e slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms. Article V: No one shall be subjected to torture

to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Article VI: Everyone has the right to

cognition every- where as a person be-

re the law.

FIDH

d d Droit d Hommrparti ur

oraiatio drprt 155

5 cotit

www.fdh.or

Ract: bo.ardoyuxouvrt.or

About Fidh

FIDH

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FIDH takes action for the protection of victims of human rights violations,

for the prevention of violations and to bring perpetrators to justice.

A broad mandate:

FIDH works for the respect of all the rights set out in the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights : civil and political rights, as well as economic,

social and cultural rights.

An international network:

FIDH was established in 1922, and today unites 155 member organisations

in more than 100 countries around the world. FIDH coordinates and supports

their activities and provides them with a voice at the international level.

An independent organisation:

Like its member organisations, FIDH is not linked to any party or religion

and is independent of all governments.

labor rights in rmg sector

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