Viewing all content tagged: Abuse and Harassment
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Arvind Lifestyle Apparel Manufacturing
Country: Ethiopia
Issues: Abuse and Harassment, Freedom of Association Violations, Health & Safety Violations, Wage and hour violations, Wage Theft
Arvind Lifestyle Apparel Manufacturing Plc., located in the Bole Lemi Industrial Park, is one of two textile and apparel factories in Ethiopia owned by the Indian multinational Arvind Lifestyle Apparel. The facility’s buyers include The Children’s Place, PVH, H&M, and Gerber Children’s Wear. The plant primarily manufactures jeans, trousers, and shirts. (A second Arvind facility…
“Ethiopia is a North Star”: Grim Conditions and Miserable Wages Guide Apparel Brands in their Race to the Bottom
Country: Ethiopia
Issues: Abuse and Harassment, Gender-based Violence and Discrimination, Health & Safety Violations, Wage and hour violations, Wage Theft
As global brands continue their relentless quest for low-cost production locations, Ethiopia is emerging as a coveted destination. This report presents the results of an investigation of the labor rights environment in Ethiopia’s growing textile and apparel export sector. The investigation included in-depth interviews with garment workers at four export factories producing for leading brands. It reveals wages that are lower, by a substantial margin, than those in any other significant exporting country and grim working conditions that bear little resemblance to the standards the brands claim to be upholding in their supply chains.
MAA Garment and Textiles, Kebire Enterprises
Country: Ethiopia
Issues: Abuse and Harassment, Gender-based Violence and Discrimination, Health & Safety Violations, Overtime Violations, Wage and hour violations, Wage Theft
Based in the northern Tigray province in the town of Mekelle, MAA Garment and Textiles (“MAA”) employed 1600 employees as of 2016. As one of Ethiopia’s 17 vertically integrated factories, the Ethiopian-owned facility has the capacity to weave and spin cotton products as well as assemble (cut, make, and trim) garments. Its output includes trousers,…
Hansae Vietnam
Country: Vietnam
Issues: Abuse and Harassment, Freedom of Association Violations, Gender-based Violence and Discrimination, Health & Safety Violations, Overtime Violations, Statutory Benefit Violations, Wage Theft, Wrongful Termination
The Hansae Vietnam factory has been the subject of in-depth investigation and reporting concerning labor rights issues and engagement with Nike and Hansae on their remediation, by both the WRC and the FLA, for the past two years.
JoeAnne Company International Factory (JoeAnne Dominicana)
Country: Dominican Republic
Issues: Abuse and Harassment, Freedom of Association Violations, Wrongful Termination
In 2013, the WRC conducted an investigation of JoeAnne Dominicana in response to a complaint alleging that employees had been dismissed in retaliation for exercising their associational rights. The WRC’s investigation found compelling evidence that at least five workers were terminated in retaliation for participating in a meeting with representatives of a union federation. The WRC also found evidence that at least one worker was dismissed for perceived union activities after being seen conversing regularly with identified union leaders and another worker was fired after stating that she believed workers had been fired for attempting to form a union. These actions violate both university codes of conduct and Dominican law.
Gildan Villanueva
Country: Honduras
Issues: Abuse and Harassment, Freedom of Association Violations, Health & Safety Violations, Overtime Violations, Wage Theft, Wrongful Termination
The WRC’s investigative work at Gildan Villanueva began after a complaint was filed by several of the factory’s employees stating that they had been fired in May 2013 in retaliation for their efforts to seek assistance from a local, non-governmental organization in order to improve working conditions at the facility. The workers alleged that supervisors openly expressed hostility towards the workers who met with the organization for their participation in protected, concerted activities, and that many of them were subsequently fired as a result of their participation in these efforts.
Petralex
Country: Honduras
Issues: Abuse and Harassment, Freedom of Association Violations, Wage Theft, Wrongful Termination
The WRC’s initial investigation at Petralex documented systematic labor rights violations, including retaliatory firings of union leaders, who were protected from dismissal by Honduran law, as well as the firing of other workers who were supporters of the union or family members of union leaders.
I-Cheng (Cambodia) Co., Ltd.
Country: Cambodia
Issues: Abuse and Harassment, Freedom of Association Violations, Health & Safety Violations, Overtime Violations, Precarious Work, Statutory Benefit Violations, Wage Theft, Wrongful Termination
The WRC’s assessment of I-Cheng found violations in the areas of: (1) wages and hours, including payment of a probationary wage that is below the legal minimum, and unlawful involuntary overtime; (2) gender discrimination, including an explicit policy of hiring men on contracts of shorter duration than those under which the company hires women; (3) freedom of association, including the establishment of and compelling membership in a company-controlled labor union, unlawful unauthorized deductions of union dues from workers’ wages, and the illegal retaliatory termination, in May 2014, of 243 employees who were members of an independent union; (4) statutory paid sick leave, including failure to pay such legally-required benefits to employees; and (5) occupational health and safety, including heat levels so excessive that they regularly cause employees to faint on the job.
Kin Tai Garment
Country: Cambodia
Issues: Abuse and Harassment, Freedom of Association Violations, Health & Safety Violations, Precarious Work, Statutory Benefit Violations, Wrongful Termination
The WRC’s assessment of Kin Tai, initiated in March 2013, identified a number of serious labor rights violations in the areas of: (1) employment contracts, including illegal employment of workers on short-term contracts and as casual labor; (2) wages and benefits, including failure to properly provide legally required bonuses and paid leaves; and (3) occupational health and safety, including failing to provide employees with necessary protective equipment.
BKI, S.A.
Country: Haiti
Issues: Abuse and Harassment, Freedom of Association Violations, Health & Safety Violations, Overtime Violations, Statutory Benefit Violations, Wage Theft
The WRC’s assessment of BKI identified noncompliance with the Ordinance’s requirements in the following main areas: (1) wages and hours, (2) abuse, and (3) occupational health and safety.