ITGLWF

‘Grow Teeth or Drop Pretence of Defending Rights’, ILO Told

[EMBARGOED UNTIL JUNE 12 2007 AT 17:01 PM TUESDAY JUNE 12 2007]

“Were poverty wages, long hours and appalling working conditions the passport to rapid development and wealth , then the key textile, clothing and shoe producing countries would be topping the charts in terms of economic and social well-being instead of wallowing in poverty”, Neil Kearney, General Secretary of the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation (ITGLWF) told the International Labour Conference today.

Mr. Kearney said such industries and their record over the past two decades are living examples of how exploitative working conditions dehumanize and impoverish workers, their families and communities.

“Ask Ratnamma. Heavily pregnant she continued working at Shalini Creation, part of Texport Overseas, till the last days of March fearful of losing her monthly attendance bonus. Already in labour she had to beg factory managers to let her go home. Passed from one to the other and after much reluctance and delay she was finally signed out but no one was allowed to go with her. A few meters from the factory gate she gave birth in the street, cut the umbilical cord herself and struggled home only to find her baby was dead.

“Workers at Hermosa in El Salvador understand the meaning of indecent work and exploitation. When their employer went bust they were owed some US$850,000 in unpaid wages, benefits and severance. The well-heeled sporting goods brands which profited from sourcing from the factory turned a blind eye and only after extreme pressure volunteered a shameful US$36,000 – less than 5% of the amount owed.

“In Turkey, workers in the sector slave for low wages with few rights. Less than a fifth of the workforce are registered meaning that nearly 3 million textile and garment workers cannot even join a trade union. When workers do organise as they are harassed by the employer, intimidated by the authorities and fired. Even if they do succeed in legal action they need only be compensated not re-instated meaning that every employer at small cost can destroy union organization with impunity while the Turkish government stands silently by.

“If the ILO is serious about promoting decent work it will have to make a greater effort in sectors like textiles, clothing and footwear, concentrate on key issues such as the living wage, working hours, contract labour and how to ensure real freedom of association and collective bargaining. And it will have to harness the energies of member governments in the process.

“The payment of a living wage lies at the heart of the ILO Constitution and is embedded in the Declaration of Philadelphia. But, everywhere it is ignored. The statutory minimum wage in most countries is a fraction of what a worker needs to live decently. Often it is not increased for years and everywhere is treated as a ceiling and not a floor. Sustainable development is not possible where wages earned, even after excessive overtime, do not reach subsistence level. Area number one for ILO global action.

“Below subsistence wages force workers and their families to work excessive hours. Recently garment workers in Sri Lanka have had to work around the clock and twelve years olds in China producing Beijing Olympics’ goods have just been reported to be working fifteen hours a day, seven days a week. Being worked to death is not the route to sustainable development. Area number two for ILO action.

“Increasingly, employers in the textile, clothing and leather sectors in countries like Cambodia are resorting to temporary employment and contract labour. Without job security workers are defenseless. They are fired if they even think of organizing, are cheated of the benefits that go with permanent employment and work at the whim of the employer. Rootless work is not the route to sustainable development. Area number three for ILO action.

“The key to decent work lies in the ability of workers to combine together and to bargain with their employer. Today the exercise of these rights is more difficult than ever before. Organizing is ridiculed as being ungrateful and anti-employer and is increasingly regarded as akin to terrorism. Daily, workers who try to oppose exploitative employers are fired, blacklisted and denied the right to ever work again. Those trying to bargain are harassed and intimidated and forced out of workplaces as workers at TOS in the Dominican Republic have recently discovered. Neutering workers is not the route to sustainable development. Area number four for ILO global action and the most vital.

“Were governments to shoulder their responsibilities, most of these excesses would be avoided. Unfortunately, either from inertia, incompetence or downright corruption governments are turning their back on the plight of the poorest workers. Laws are enacted but not enforced. Factory and labour inspectorates shrink. Justice disappears as labour cases languish in the courts for years. Government inaction is not the route to sustainable development. Area number five for ILO global action.

Concluded Mr. Kearney: “If we want sustainable development we need decent work. If we want decent work we need governments to be energetic in the pursuit of worker rights. If we want universal worker rights we need a sharply focused ILO with a lot more power and influence than today, interacting with other international agencies, harnessing globalization, linking global trade and labour standards and capable of ensuring that Member States do more than pay lip service to key ILO Conventions. In short, the ILO must urgently grow teeth or stop pretending that it is the defender of worker rights”.

The full text of Neil Kearney’s speech is available at:
http://www.itglwf.org/DisplayDocument.aspx?idarticle=15325&langue=2

-ends-

The International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation is a Global Union Federation bringing together 220 affiliated organisations in 110 countries with a combined membership of 10 million workers.

For more information, contact:

Neil Kearney (General Secretary) at 32/475932487 (mobile) or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
ITGLWF Secretariat at tel: 32/02/512.26.06, fax: 32/02/511.09.04 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Visit our website at www.itglwf.org

Discuss this article on the forums. (1 posts)