Showing its true colours? Primark cuts and runs
Monday, 16 June 2008 23:44
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Labour Behind the Label is calling on Primark to reverse its decision to cut and run from three Indian suppliers, in advance of a BBC Panorama investigation. Panorama has reportedly uncovered the widespread use of subcontracting in the manufacture of embroidered goods, including the employment of home workers under extremely bad conditions and possible instances of child labour.
LBL has yet to see the Panorama documentary, which is now due to be aired on 23rd June, so we don't yet know what the exact allegations will prove to be. According to Primark's press release, the use of child labour and home working are the reasons behind its withdrawal:
"Primark is an ethical business that demands the highest standards from its suppliers.....As soon as Primark was made aware of the facts the company acted immediately, cancelling all new orders with the factories concerned and withdrawing from sale the embroidered garments involved.."
Cutting and running from a supplier is not the action of an ethical company. Ultimately this kind of action only punishes workers. When companies respond in this way what they are really saying is that if workers speak out about their conditions they will lose their jobs.
Sacking suppliers also fails to take account of the fact that the kind of subcontracting uncovered by BBC researchers, in which factories recruit unregulated suppliers to help them meet high production targets, is not a one-off problem down to one or two deceitful or unscrupulous suppliers. It is widespread and systematic. As long as companies are demanding high volume orders, with short lead times, at the lowest possible price, subcontracting will continue. If Primark really is an 'ethical' company it needs to look at its own purchasing practices and work with others to create a more stable industry where profits are more equitably shared.
This means that Primark is not the only company with such problems in its supply chain. Indeed, only last year a Gap supplier in India was found to be using a subcontractor that employed child labourers. In fact few, if any, companies could say with 100% certaintly that there is no subcontracting in their supply chains. It is how a company responds to such cases that says most about its approach ethical trade.
Cutting and running is almost always an approach designed to deflect criticism and not to see genuine improvement to workers rights. Blaming your suppliers is, quite simply, just passing the buck and refusing to take responsibility.
Labour Behind the Label is calling on Primark to work with its suppliers and the workers involved to achieve a positive outcome in this case. Specifically we want it to:
- Postpone the cancelling of contracts and work with suppliers to ensure that standards at these factories and at their subcontractors are improved and that workers are not negatively impacted as a result of these allegations.
- Acknowledge that home working does and will continue to exist in their supply chains and join with other in the ETI home working group to find ways to ensure that home working is a positive choice for workers.
- Follow best practice for remediating cases of child labour including the provision of education and job training for ex-child workers, payment of ongoing wages to them/their family and the guarantee of jobs as soon as they reach the legal working age.
- Start a comprehensive programme of monitoring and implementation of its code of conduct, throughout its whole supply chain not just the part sthat have been highlighted in the media, working with local trade unions and workers rights organisations.
- Look seriously at the impact of its own purchasing practices on suppliers, including whether suppliers have the capacity to respond to large orders at short notice and whether the price paid per piece is realistic in allowing for decent working conditions.
