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01 Apr

Posted at 16:23h in

For Immediate Release

April 1, 2022

Contact: Rachel Cohen, racohen78@gmail.com, 917-370-8464

Landmark Dindigul Agreement to Eliminate Gender-Based Violence and Harassment at Eastman Exports Natchi Apparels with the Support of Global Allies

Tirupur, India (April 1, 2022) – Today Eastman Exports Global Clothing Private Limited, the Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union, the Asia Floor Wage Alliance, and Global Labor Justice- International Labor Rights Forum, along with H&M Group (H&M), jointly announce the groundbreaking Dindigul Agreement to Eliminate Gender-Based Violence and Harassment (GBVH), in the first year reaching 5,000 mostly female workers in spinning mills and garment cut and sew facilities.

These stakeholders have signed as set of agreements which jointly commit to work together from their supply chain role to eradicate discrimination based on gender, caste, or migration status; to increase transparency; and to develop a culture of mutual respect in the garment factory setting.

The agreement draws language from the International Labor Organization’s Convention 190 concerning the elimination of violence and harassment in the workplace and strongly protects freedom of association and the rights of Dalit women workers. Tirupur is known as India’s textile spinning capital and is the largest producer of cotton yarn in India, employing over 280,000 workers total.

“All our employees deserve safety and respect at work,” said Subhash Tiwari, CEO of Eastman Exports, one of the largest clothing manufacturers in Tirupur, India. “It is our hope that this unique agreement and partnership will not only positively impact Natchi’s valued workforce but will also serve as a model for other garment factories.”

The agreement includes an innovative program known as “Safe Circles” with regular training for all workers, supervisors, and managers; a peer education program; and shop floor monitors to detect and report GBVH. The program will be anchored by Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union (TTCU), a women-led independent and majority Dalit trade union of textile workers. The Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA), an alliance of trade unions and labor organizations representing garment workers across Asia and Global Labor Justice- International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF), a global human and labor rights advocacy organization focused on eliminating GBVH have joined as signatories and will support these efforts.

As a part of the agreement, Eastman Exports will amend its internal policies and procedures including to strengthen the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) and establish an independent grievance mechanism overseen by third-party experts.

“This agreement delivers power and support to women workers to monitor, prevent and remediate GBVH collectively and with management,” said Jeeva M, General Secretary of TTCU. “We will use this as a model to organize against GBVH and caste-based discrimination industry wide.”

Anannya Bhattacharjee, the International Coordinator of AFWA said, “The leadership and commitment of the Dalit women-led trade union TTCU has led to this historic agreement, which puts forth a model of how fashion brands, suppliers and trade unions can work together to prevent and remediate GBVH in Asian garment supply chains. We are happy to be partnering with H&M and Eastman Exports in the implementation of this agreement, which offers a multi- faceted approach to achieving violence-free workplaces.”

“This agreement is a model for the role brands, suppliers, and labor partners have in eliminating gender-based violence from supply chains and promoting freedom of association,” says Jennifer (JJ) Rosenbaum, Executive Director of GLJ-ILRF. “Brands play a critical role by using commercial relationships and business leverage to reduce the existing risk of GBVH, incentivizing suppliers to comply with remediation. We urge all brands to sign similar agreements, join this model and replicate it across the industry.”

H&M recognizes the critical role of enabling collaboration between all stakeholders to reduce risks of GBVH, including at the intersection of gender and caste as well as of freedom of association violations, that contribute to GBVH in the garment industry. H&M wants to use its size and scale to influence the industry in a positive way. H&M will, for example, contribute financially to develop awareness trainings for management and workers, an independent and trustworthy grievance mechanisms run by an independent assessor, and a framework for measuring and reporting impact. The ambition is to find solutions that can be brought to scale at industry level.

In signing this agreement, all stakeholders honor the loss of a young garment worker, TTCU member, and Eastman employee, Jeyasre Kathrivel, whose life was tragically cut short as a result of GBVH. We honor her legacy through this important agreement and ultimately meaningful change across the garment industry.

Foley Hoag attorneys, Gare Smith and Allison Anderson, advised Eastman Exports, and worked with TTCU, AFWA and GLJ-ILRF on this agreement.

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Eastman Exports Global Clothing Private Limited is one of the leading apparel manufacturers in India, perfectly positioned to stay on the top in the fashion world as the most preferred and trusted knitwear manufacturers in India. Eastman’s journey from a modest growth at the time of its inception to its current business volume is a complete testimony to the clarity of vision and the quantum of energy that propels the company. For more information, contact: Alagesan Senniappan alagesan@eastmanexports.com; Poornakala poornakala@eastmanexports.com

Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Workers Union (TTCU) is an independent, Dalit women-led trade union of textile workers organizing to end GBVH, wage theft, and caste-based violence in garment factories.  For more information, contact: Thivya Rakini info.ttcu@gmail.com

Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA) is an Asian labour-led global labour and social alliance across garment producing countries (such as India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Bangladesh) and consumer regions (USA and Europe) for addressing poverty level wages, gender-based violence, and freedom of association in global garment production networks. For more information, contact Nandita Shivakumar nandita.s@asia.floorwage.org.

Global Labor Justice – International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ – ILRF) is a non-governmental organization that works transnationally to advance policies and laws that protect decent work; to strengthen freedom of association and workers’ ability to advocate for their rights; and to hold corporations accountable for labor rights violations in their supply chains. For more contact Sahiba Gill, sahibagill@globallaborjustice.org.

Foley Hoag, LLP is counsel to Eastman. Legal services were provided by the Global Business & Human Rights practice, which helps clients align their business practices with the U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. For more information contact Gare Smith, gsmith@foleyhoag.com.

22 May

Posted at 15:58h in

For Immediate Release

May 22, 2022

Contact: Rachel Cohen, racohen78@gmail.com, 917-370-8464

Labor Groups Supporting Indian Garment Workers Call On More Global Brands to Join Landmark Dindigul Agreement to End GBVH

Guardian Breaks Story on Gender Based Violence and Harassment Endemic in Clothing Supply Chains

Tirupur, India– The Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union (TTCU), the Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA), and Global Labor Justice-International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF) today called on more global brands to join H&M in signing the groundbreaking Dindigul Agreement to Eliminate Gender-Based Violence and Harassment (GBVH), which will empower 5,000 mostly female Dalit workers to protect themselves and their coworkers in spinning mills and garment cut and sew facilities.

New reporting in the Guardian details how global fashion supply chains are built on widespread gender-based violence and harassment across Asia.

TTCU, AFWA and GLJ-ILRF have a long history of organizing with and supporting the workers who are fighting back. We launched the Justice for Jeyasre campaign in 2021 when Jeyasre Kathiravel, a young garment worker and union member in TTCU was murdered after facing months of sexual harassment by her supervisor. 

Thanks to the movement we built with workers in India and around the world, in April, factory owner Eastman Exports Global Clothing Private Limited, the TTCU, AFWA and GLJ-ILRF, along with H&M Group (H&M), announced the Dindigul Agreement, a set of accords that jointly commit all parties to work together to eradicate GBVH and discrimination based on caste, or migration status; support women workers in collectively detecting, remediating and preveniting GBVH on the shopfloor, to increase transparency; and to develop a culture of mutual respect in the garment factory and beyond.

In the Dindigul Agreement, H&M has agreed to a regular review mechanism in deciding its level of sourcing based on Eastman’s fulfillment of the provisions of the agreement, other brands, especially those who were sourcing from Eastman at the time of Jeyasre’s death should follow suit, meet with us and sign on. 

A joint statement from the original signing parties is available here. 

Labor stakeholders are also in dialogue with other brands sourcing from Eastman Exports’ Natchi facilities in the past two years including Walmart, M&S, and Authentic Brands Group (which owns Lucky Brand Jeans, Brooks Brothers, Forever 21, Izod, and others)- along with BlackRock a major investor in Authentic- about joining the agreement consistent with responsible business practices under the UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights.  Together with the labor stakeholders and Eastman, brands and investors who join the agreement would be contributing towards a model for the industry. 

“When reporting workplace problems leads brands to pull orders, working women  are left to choose between sexual harassment or unemployment.  All brands who say they want their supply chain free of gender based violence and harassment now have a clear choice to source from units covered by the Dindigul agreement or to talk with us about its expansion.” said Jennifer (JJ) Rosenbaum, Executive Director of GLJ-ILRF. “For brand investors like BlackRock, this is also a concrete way to make their environmental, social and governance commitments (ESG)  commitments real.” 

“For the first time, workers have an agreement that empowers us to fight back collectively against violence and harassment at work. Garment workers have long felt that we have to accept harassment as part of our jobs– we get fired by our employers when we speak out against it and the big brands whose clothing we make, don’t take responsibility. Under this agreement, Eastman commits to zero tolerance for GBVH and to working with us to remediate any harassment that occurs. H&M commits to use business leverage create support and accountability for that promise. More brands should follow their lead and sign on. Let it be a model for India and the globe so all garment workers are empowered and protected,” said Jeeva M, General Secretary, TTCU.

“The Dindigul Agreement is transformative because it incentivises suppliers to protect workers rights and eliminate GBVH. Now is the time for more global fashion companies to be part of the solution to violence and harassment by sourcing from factories that confront these issues head on as Eastman has agreed to do. Suppliers and brands should support worker-led processes to address GBVH and recognize workers’ rights to organize in unions. Too often, when abuses are brought to light, brands will try to save their reputation by pulling out of the factory, victimizing workers a second time as they lose their jobs,” said Anannya Bhattacharjee, AFWA International Coordinator.

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Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Workers Union (TTCU) is an independent, Dalit women-led trade union of textile workers organizing to end GBVH, wage theft, and caste-based violence in garment factories.  

 

Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA) is an Asian labour-led global labour and social alliance across garment producing countries (such as India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Bangladesh) and consumer regions (USA and Europe) for addressing poverty level wages, gender-based violence, and freedom of association in global garment production networks. 

 

Global Labor Justice – International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ – ILRF) is a non-governmental organization that works transnationally to advance policies and laws that protect decent work; to strengthen freedom of association and workers’ ability to advocate for their rights; and to hold corporations accountable for labor rights violations in their supply chains. 

26 Feb

Posted at 01:10h in

For Immediate Release

February 27, 2023

Contact: Rachel Cohen, GLJ-ILRF: racohen78@gmail.com

 

REPORT: Big Fashion Founding Families, Investors Cash In On Wage Theft 

Asian Unions and Allies Launch Campaign to Stop Nike, Levi’s and VF Corp. From Funneling Stolen Pandemic Wages toward Buybacks that Enriched Owners, Wall Street

Register for the press call on Tuesday, February 28 at 9:00 AM ET / 7:30 PM IST / 9:00 PM ICT: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8916767074099/WN_I7-pu3rASn-Bvb1yHxAGVA

 

WASHINGTON – Labor Unions in six countries in South and Southeast Asia are joining forces to demand an end to stock buybacks by US-based Big Fashion companies after years of unpaid wage claims. These unions and their global allies, Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA) and Global Labor Justice-International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF), are launching their “Fight the Heist” campaign with a new report that reveals how Nike, VF Corp. and Levi’s and their wealthiest investors are profiting through wage theft from workers in their Asian supply chains.  

The report “Big Fashion Investors Cash In on Wage Theft,” released today, shows that after quickly bouncing back from a brief pandemic slowdown in 2020, Nike, VF Corp. and Levi’s executives and investors have seen their profits skyrocket through stock buybacks and dividends. Meanwhile, the vast majority of garment workers, who lost on average 22% of their normal wages in 2020, have received no payback and remain in permanent crisis, with many factories continuing to steal overtime pay or pay subminimum wages. 

 Share buybacks in other sectors, like the airline and semiconductor industry, have recently come under scrutiny. Senators and members of Congress are proposing legislation to rein in Wall Street’s expansive efforts to reward investors. However, there’s been little notice of Big Fashion’s lavish payments to investors as garment workers struggle to survive.

“At the same time that workers lost wages en masse, Big Fashion made record profits and brands paid themselves millions through stock buybacks. The Nike-owning Knight family, for example, paid themselves $74 million in dividends while garment workers literally could not survive,” said GLJ-ILRF Executive Director Jennifer (JJ) Rosenbaum. “The campaign is demanding that brands negotiate a forward-looking solution to transform their supply chains for workers, pay back the money garment workers lost and end stock buybacks until workers are made whole.”

Nike and Levi’s increased their share buyback programs in 2022. Nike authorized a new $18 billion dollar buyback program ($3 billion more than before), Levi’s approved a $750 million share repurchase program ($650 million more than before). VF Corporation paused and reinstated its existing share buyback program in 2021, and projects spending $7 billion on share repurchases in the next four years.

“At the start of the pandemic, I was furloughed for weeks at a time and lost all my savings,” said Netra, who makes Nike apparel at a factory in Indonesia. “My factory never paid my back wages and I’m struggling to send the money my parents and siblings rely on. Nike should ensure factory owners pay us fairly for the work we’ve done.”

The new report follows up on a 2021 AFWA report, “Money Heist,” that surveyed thousands of workers at the beginning of the pandemic in 189 factories that make clothes for some of the world’s largest brands. The report documented at least $164 million in lost wages as garment producers skirted national laws on worker pay. 

In late 2022, investigators returned to dozens of factories from the first report and found:

  • Nine in ten factories have not resolved workers’ COVID wage claims from 2020.
  • More than half of factories are not paying workers owed overtime, beginning in 2020 onward. 
  • One in five factories are not paying workers minimum wages or owed benefits.  

Taking data collected as representative of a likely overall trend, the total potential COVID wage claims for Nike, Levi’s and North Face parent company VF Corporation in just the six surveyed countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) could be as much as $427 million.

“The pandemic was a global shock that has had a severe impact on the health and finances of garment workers,” said AFWA International Coordinator Anannya Bhattacharjee. “The industry looks for every possible opportunity to push its risk and losses onto workers with the fewest options and least bargaining power. But workers are fighting back and linking arms with workers in the US to demand that these companies pay them what they are owed before they make lavish payouts to investors.”

Asian garment unions, AFWA, GLJ-ILRF and other allies are calling on these Big Fashion companies to: 

  • Sit down with garment workers and their unions for a systematic investigation of COVID wage claims, including specific impacts on women workers. 
  • Stop billionaire payouts from dividends and stock buybacks until all garment workers are repaid their lost wages.
  • Transform their global supply chains to provide living wages for all workers.

Unions representing workers at Nike factories today filed an OECD complaint with the US National Contact Point. It alleges that Nike has contributed to “severe human rights impacts” for garment workers in its supply chain but has not addressed and remediated the impacts according to the OECD Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct. Nike has not responded to unions’ requests for dialogue about these impacts, which the Guidelines call for. 

If the US NCP approves the complaint, the NCP will formally invite Nike to dialogue with the unions about their demands and facilitate a dialogue process.

You can read the full “Big Fashion Investors Cash In on Wage Theft” report here. 

You can read more about the OECD complaint here.

 

Get more info on the campaign on our press call on Tuesday, February 28 at 9:00 AM ET / 7:30 PM IST / 9:00 PM ICT

Zoom registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8916767074099/WN_I7-pu3rASn-Bvb1yHxAGVA

 

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Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA) is an Asian labour-led global labour and social alliance across garment producing countries (such as India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Bangladesh) and consumer regions (USA and Europe) for addressing poverty level wages, gender-based violence, and freedom of association in global garment production networks. 

Global Labor Justice – International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ – ILRF) is a non-governmental organization that works transnationally to advance policies and laws that protect decent work; to strengthen freedom of association and workers’ ability to advocate for their rights; and to hold corporations accountable for labor rights violations in their supply chains. 

 

28 Jun

Posted at 00:42h in

In the first year, 98% of grievances were resolved, including all GBVH cases

Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, India– One year after the signing of the historic Dindigul Agreement, a new report documents how major global fashion companies, a clothing and textile supplier and labor organizations have empowered women garment workers including migrants in India to respond to and eliminate gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) and caste-based discrimination and win more rights in their workplace.

In 2022, global brands H&M Group, Gap Inc. and PVH Corp. along with Eastman Exports and Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union (TTCU), the Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA), and Global Labor Justice-International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ–ILRF) committed to joint accountability to end GBVH at Eastman factories in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, India. 

In the first year of the agreement, reports from workers and other data show that a worker and union-led model created positive impacts for women workers that have surpassed even the bold predictions by the committed parties in meaningful and measurable ways.

From April to December of 2022, workers using the provisions of the Agreement raised 185 grievances: 

  • 177 (96%) were raised by women
  • 98% of the 185 grievances workers raised at the factory were resolved
  • 90% of grievances were resolved within a week
  • All 23 GBVH cases raised were resolved 
  • Over 30 union-management meetings to resolve grievances held at the worksite.
  • 58 worker shop-floor monitors were trained to identify GBVH and accompany workers in the grievance process
  • Over 2,000 workers and management were trained on GBVH and the terms of the agreement, including senior management, support staff and contract bus drivers.

“I was one of the first women who used the grievance redressal mechanism of the Dindigul Agreement to report gender-based violence … As a veteran in this industry, I still cannot believe I received justice; and I know that this would have never happened had the Dindigul Agreement not been signed, and the union had not been present on the factory floor. I really want to continue working for this factory now,” said garment worker Amalajyoth, who maintains the feeding record in the garment unit. 

The Dindigul Agreement enables women to have collective voice, agency and power in their workplace and in the fashion supply chain. The report highlights how the decisive and timely remediation of GBVH under the Agreement has also led to successful remediation of other types of labor violations under national law regarding minimum wages, payment of social security, workplace hazards, and other workplace conditions. 

The development of a multi-tier bottom-up survivor-centered GBVH identification, prevention, and remediation system, along with mature industrial relations has also helped Eastman Exports increase worker efficiency by 16%, increased reporting to work on time by 4.3%  and has reduced attrition rate by 67% between 2021 and 2022.

“The agreement has created a space of social dialogue between the union and the management of Eastman Exports. This has enabled us to help both workers and management improve working conditions as well as efficiency of production. Transparent conversations are happening between management and workers– leading to less conflicts, mature industrial relations and improved trust and confidence in management among workers,” said Thivya Rakini, TTCU President.

“We value the work put in by the organizations, and together, have come a long way. We believe in an employee first culture and will continue to imbibe best practices at work. We firmly believe in fostering a healthy and supportive environment, where every employee feels heard, respected, and valued. We remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring fair treatment, equitable opportunities, and a supportive workplace for our valued workforce,” said Cibi Karthic, Director, Eastman Exports. 

“The Dindigul Agreement addresses the fundamental power imbalances within the factory floor, and gives the victims and survivors of GBVH an opportunity to remediate GBVH, based on their lived experiences. This democratizes workplaces, improves the retention of women workers, and increases work efficiency and worker well being. This is why we believe the Dindigul Agreement is a model that works for  workers, suppliers and brands alike,” said AFWA International Coordinator Anannya Bhattacharjee. 

The role fashion brands play in the Dindigul Agreement makes it especially effective.

​​“Using ILO C190 definitions and concepts and centering women’s agency in grievance handling and remediation, the Dindigul Agreement has shown what works,” said GLJ-ILRF Executive Director Jennifer (JJ) Rosenbaum. “Investors and brands who are serious about their human rights due diligence obligations have a model for responding to the gender-based violence and systemic discrimination in garment supply chains that employ over 94 million workers globally.”    

The Dindigul Agreement’s impact has gone beyond GBVH prevention with many positive echoes in the factory: creating better jobs that promote equity and a democratic workplace culture; preventing other kinds of rights violations; joint problem solving between workers and management; meaningful remediation as defined by women workers; and appropriate roles for the union, supplier and fashion brands. In addition, the U.S. Government has recognized that the Dindigul Agreement strengthened supply chain accountability and provided meaningful remediation from forced labor indicators. 

The many positive impacts in its first year make clear that the Dindigul Agreement is a model for unions, suppliers, brands, and investors committed to preventing GBVH, promoting the agency and empowerment of women garment workers, and eliminating forced labor. 

The Program Agreement text is available as an appendix to the report. 

The Agreement was signed in honor of the loss of a young garment worker, TTCU member, and Eastman employee, Jeyasre Kathirvel, whose life was tragically cut short as a result of GBVH. 

Read the report here.

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Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union (TTCU) is an independent, Dalit women-led trade union of textile workers organizing to end GBVH, wage theft, and caste-based violence in garment factories.  

Global Labor Justice – International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ – ILRF) is a non-governmental organization that works transnationally to advance policies and laws that protect decent work; to strengthen freedom of association and workers’ ability to advocate for their rights; and to hold corporations accountable for labor rights violations in their supply chains.

Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA) is an Asian labour-led global labour and social alliance across garment producing countries (such as India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Bangladesh) and consumer regions (USA and Europe) for addressing poverty level wages, gender-based violence, and freedom of association in global garment production networks.