Call n°285 (from 24 June - to 30 August 2005)

BANGLADESH - CARREFOUR HAS TO DO BETTER

CALL IN LIAISON WITH THE CLEAN CLOTHES CAMPAIGN

Sewing T-shirts is a hazardous occupation in Bangladesh. Workers’ rights are flouted daily, and hundreds have died in the past few years in accidents due to employers’ laxness. On 11 April, 74 people were killed and 100 injured when a textile factory collapsed. Since this disastrous accident local organizations have been struggling to obtain compensation for the victims, along with improvements in working and safety conditions. They have focused their campaign on the government and local firms, as well as the international customers of factories in Bangladesh. The situation is a result of the procurement practices of multinationals that force prices and labour standards down - despite their colossal profits. Mass distribution giant Carrefour, leader in this sector in France and the rest of Europe, and in second position world wide, is directly concerned in this case. Since the factory in question produced clothes for Carrefour, this firm has to accept its social responsibilities and to alter its procurement policies accordingly.

At 1a.m. on Monday 11 April 2005, between 200 and 400 employees were at work in the Spectrum Ltd. factory (in Savar, north-west of the capital), when the building collapsed. The workers were trapped and rescue operations were delayed by the lack of equipment. A total of 74 people lost their lives and over 100 were injured. Some are handicapped for life. Since then 5,000 people have been out of jobs and deprived of an income.

The factory was built on land liable to flooding and was nine stories high although the building permit specified only four stories. The lack of social dialogue is also seen as a cause of the accident since workers had noticed cracks and had tried, in vain, to alert their supervisors.

A TRAGEDY WITH SIMBOLIC VALUE

This tragedy is the sad symbol of daily violations of workers’ basic rights in Bangladesh’s textile industry.

The National Garment Workers’ Federation (NGWF) reports that monthly wages at Spectrum Ltd. were 700 taka (10 euros). This was way below the legal minimum of 930 taka which in any case is totally insufficient. Moreover, wages were paid in arrears, sometimes several months late. Employees worked seven days a week, despite national legislation providing for a day’s rest on Fridays. Finally, failures to comply with safety regulations were noteworthy. Three days before the disaster a worker died from burns caused by water from a boiler, and three months earlier a woman was seriously injured by electrocution.

Local trade unions, victims and former employees of Spectrum have been mobilized and have secured the company managers’ arrest. Yet many demands have still to be satisfied. First, the victims’ families have to receive adequate compensation, in accordance with the law [1], and those injured have to be granted compensation and free medical care, which is not currently the case. Second, the 5,000 workers deprived of an income still have to receive their wages. In the event of breach of contract the firm should comply with the regular procedure, although the workers would prefer a transfer another site [2]. Finally, the authorities have to establish proper management of the disaster. At present procedures are complicated by the fact that there is not even an official list of the victims.

Apart from the case of Spectrum, Bangladeshi organizations are demanding the immediate creation of a national programme to prevent other accidents and combat serious shortcomings as regards health and safety in the textile industry. More generally, only respect for human rights and trade union freedom will allow a real improvement in the situation.

CARREFOUR HAS TO LEARN A LESSON

Bangladesh’s garment industry is heavily dependent on European customers which consequently have the power to change the situation. An international campaign has therefore been launched, focused on all Spectrum’s customers [3]. French consumer-actors have a key role to play in this campaign since Carrefour purchases huge amounts of clothing from Bangladesh (39 million items in 2004).

After the accident at Spectrum and initial pressure by civil society, Carrefour has made a donation to a local organization and planned to include building permits in its audits. This is the first positive step but is the result of a unilateral decision; what the workers want is social dialogue. Carrefour has to do more. Rather than acting in isolation, the firm is expected to contribute to the accident victims’ compensation fund created by local unions and NGOs.

Above all, Carrefour should broaden its perspective as regards its social responsibilities. The measures taken until now in this respect are clearly not enough, especially in light of the fact that the group Shahriyar Fabric Industry Ltd. that owns the Spectrum factory was rated ’good’ in a social audit!

We demand that Carrefour and other European buyers, in liaison with local trade unions, urgently commit themselves to a programme to reduce risks and improve safety and working conditions in the garment industry in Bangladesh.

If Carrefour wants its social commitments to be taken seriously, it must also take them into account before imposing its conditions (prices, deadlines, etc.) on suppliers. It also has to guarantee more transparency and respect the right to organize, everywhere.

MORE INFORMATION:

De l’Ethique sur l’étiquette !

De l’éthique sur l’étiquette is an umbrella organization consisting of NGOs, trade unions and consumer unions striving to ensure that labour rights are observed throughout the world, especially in the textile industry. De l’Ethique sur l’étiquette is part of the European network Clean Clothes Campaign.

Member organizations of the Steering Committee:

Comité Catholique de lutte contre la Faim et pour le Développement (CCFD)
Confédération Consommation, Logement et Cadre de Vie (CLCV)
Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail (CFDT)
Fédération Artisans du Monde
Association Léo Lagrange pour la Défense des Consommateurs Peuples Solidaires

Other members:

Asseco-CFDT ; CSF ; FAGE ; Fédération française des Clubs Unesco ; Fédération des services -CFDT; FCPE ; FEP-CFDT ; FGMM-CFDT ; Frères des Hommes ; FSU ; Hacuitex-CFDT ; Institut Belleville ; Ingénieurs Sans Frontières ; Orcades; Ritimo ; Sgen-CFDT ; Solidarité Laïque ; Solidarités Jeunesses ; Terre des Hommes-France ; UFCS.

More details on the following websites:

www.ethique-sur-etiquette.org
www.cleanclothes.org
www.vetementspropres.be

WHAT TO DO?

By letter: cut and paste the standard letter below or use your own wording. Send it to the address indicated in the letter and remember to add your own name and address and to sign your letter.
By E-mail : customers@carrefour.com
Deadline: as soon as you receive this call and not later than end-August 2005.

LETTER TO CARREFOUR:

Date :

M. Luc VANDEVELDE
Président du Conseil de Surveillance
M.José Luis DURAN
Directeur Général
CARREFOUR
6 avenue Raymond Poincaré
BP 2123
75771 Paris Cedex 16

Messieurs,

Carrefour a fait fabriquer des t-shirts dans l’usine Spectrum qui s’est effondrée le 11 avril 2005 au Bangladesh, entraînant de lourdes pertes humaines. Depuis, les victimes et les syndicats se mobilisent pour faire valoir leurs droits.

Je pense que Carrefour doit assumer pleinement sa responsabilité sociale et prendre d’urgence des initiatives concrètes concernant :
- la participation aux fonds d’assistance et d’indemnisation gérés par des organisations locales sur la base d’un recensement complet et transparent des personnes concernées ;
- le paiement par votre fournisseur des salaires et indemnités de rupture dus aux 5 000 travailleurs qui se retrouvent sans emploi, et le reclassement de ces travailleurs auprès de vos autres fournisseurs ;
- votre participation à un programme concret assurant la sécurité des travailleurs et le respect des mesures de prévention dans ce secteur industriel.

Ce drame démontre à mon sens l’insuffisance de votre système de contrôle actuel et la nécessité de revoir vos pratiques d’achat, de faire preuve d’une plus grande transparence et d’associer à vos démarches les organisations représentatives des travailleurs.

Je vous prie d’agréer, Messieurs, l’expression de mes sincères salutations.

Translation

Mr Luc Vandevelde
Chairman of the Monitoring Committee
Mr José Luis Duran
CEO
CARREFOUR
6 avenue Raymond Poincaré
BP 2123
75771 Paris Cedex 16

(Date)

Dear Sirs

Carrefour was a customer of Spectrum, the factory in Bangladesh in which many people died or were injured when the building collapsed on 11 April 2005. Since then the victims, their families and trade unions have been mobilized to ensure that these workers’ rights are respected.

I strongly feel that Carrefour should acknowledge its social responsibility and urgently take concrete initiatives as regards:
- contribution to an aid and compensation fund managed by local organizations on the basis of a complete and transparent list of the persons concerned;
- payment by your supplier of wages and severance pay due to the 5,000 employees who are now jobless, and proposal of alternative jobs at other suppliers;
- your participation in a concrete programme to guarantee workers’ safety and implement preventive measures in this industrial sector.

I believe that this disastrous accident shows the inadequacy of your current auditing system, as well as the necessity to revise your purchasing practices, to act with greater transparency and to involve workers’ unions in your decision-making.

Yours sincerely,

(signature) (name)

[1] Local exporters and the courts initially proposed - at best - 100,000 Tk (1,250 euros), whereas the law provides for compensation of one million Tk in case of death. Negotiations are under way.

[2] This is feasible in so far as the owners of the Spectrum factory have nine other production sites which supply many international customers.

[3] The main European buyers, apart from Carrefour, concerned by this campaign are: Cotton Group (Belgium), Zara-Inditex (Spain), KarstadtQuelle (Germany), and Klaus Steilmann (Germany).