Tell Primark not to cut and run

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Tuesday, 17 June 2008 00:03

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.

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    Dear Mr Weston,

    I am writing to urge you to reconsider your decision to sack three  Indian suppliers allegedly implicated in the Panorama expose due to be  aired next week. Although I can understand that Primark wishes to wash its hands of responsibility in this case, choosing to withdraw orders only hurts the workers who were brave enough to speak out.

    As a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative I would have expected Primark to behave in a more ethical and credible manner and am urging  you now to acknowledge that this problem is not just about one rogue supplier but is systematic. I urge you take more positive action to improve the lives of workers in India and beyond who are  working to produce Primark clothing.

    I am also disappointed to see Primark saying that its Indian suppliers are not allowed to use home workers. Homeworking is a perfectly legitimate livelihood strategy for millions of women worldwide and contrbiutes significantly to garment supply chains and to local and national economies. Rather than banning home workers Primark should be  working to ensure that home workers are given the rights that they are entitled to receive as workers.

    Therefore I am calling on Primark 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.

    Sincerely,
    Joomla Professional Work