The fashion industry seems determined to move towards a new more sustainable, circular and ... ethical model?And we left this last assessment open to interpretations, after attending to see how international initiatives that seemed to have come to correct the great inequalities and abuses that occur within the large value chains of the main multinationals of fashion and textile,As the new Bangladesh agreement, now international agreement, for health and safety in the textile and clothing industry, they begin to show themselves as insufficient when trying to guarantee basic labor rights, which would be denying them to theConfection workers.
Al menos así se deduce del último trabajo de investigación llevado a cabo por el Worker Rights Consoritum (WRC), el Consorcio de los Derechos del Trabajador. Organización internacional independiente con sede central en Washington D. C., desde donde trabajan monitoreando el cumplimiento de los derechos laborales y llevan a cabo trabajos de investigaciones sobre las condiciones laborales en diferentes fábricas en las distintas partes del mundo, y que ha llevado a cabo un último proyecto de investigación centrado en las condiciones laborales de los trabajadores de la confección de Karnataka. Estado del suroeste de la India, y región en la que se encontrarían algunos de los principales proveedores textiles de multinacionales como Nike, Zara, H&M, Puma, Tesco, C&A, Gap o Marks&Spencer.
According to the research work carried out by the WRC, and that the organization was responsible for making known through the British media The Guardian in the middle of this month of December, more than 400,000 workers of the Karnataka clothing would not be receivingThe payment of the legal minimum wage established by the State, since last April 2020. Almost two years in which they have had to try to subsist with a salary below the established, after the factories of the preparation were neglected,According to the workers, to practice the additional rise of 417 monthly rupees, about 4.92 euros, which had to have been practiced since then.
As a consequence of this decision, from the WRC they estimate that each textile worker D Karnataka is owed about 20 monthly payments, in which it would correspond to an additional payment of about 8,351 rupees, about 98.50 euros.An amount that might seem to change in its change to the economic values of other markets, but that in short would represent an default that would amount to date to more than 48 million euros.However, being the most important thing that his non -payment would have pushed workers, most of them women, to an even more cuddled vulnerability situation than they had to be faced.
"In terms of the number of affected workers and stolen total money, this would be the theft of more atrocious salaries we have ever seen," says Scott Nova, WRC executive director, in statements to The Guardian."The children of the preparation workers go hungry so that brands can make money."
"If we had obtained the salary increase last year, we could have eaten vegetables at least sometimes a month", but "throughout this year I have only fed my family with rice and chutney sauce," one of the workers lamentedIndies affected in statements to the same British media."I tried to talk to the factory managers about it," she says, "but they told me‘ this is what we paid for working here.If you don't like it, you can leave. ”
A pesar de la puesta en marcha de esas iniciativas internacionales, como el nuevo Acuerdo de Bangladesh, la ley francesa de diligencia debida para las empresas o la que, en su mismo sentido, deberán de tramitar el resto de países de la Unión Europea, desde el WRC se lamentan de la, a su parecer, manifiesta inacción que frente a estos abusos demuestran las grandes multinacionales de la moda. Compañías y marcas que se habrían negado a intervenir o a actuar a pesar de los llamamientos que a este respecto les han invitado a hacer desde el WRC, como respuesta a la postura adoptada por sus distribuidores de esta región de la India.
Suppliers that would be defending claiming that the Ministry of Labor and Employment of KarnatakSuperior of Karnataka manifested against, ruling that the minimum wage, including all the arrears, should be paid to workers regardless of the other judicial procedure that manufacturers have undertaken in front of the same court in order to suppress, and when not to delay,The increase in salaries.Being currently the Karnataka Textile and Textile sector, according to the WRC, the only industrial sector in the entire region that would be denying to comply with the resolution.
"Almost two years have passed since clothing suppliers have refused to pay the legal minimum wage," and "brands have allowed this to continue, knowing that they are the only ones with the power to stop this theft of widespread wages,"Nova adds, for whom this attitude of "indifference and inaction" is clearly "shameful and cruel."“The payment of the minimum wage is practically the lowest limit in the responsibility of a brand towards its workforce.If they do not even insist that they are paid, then they are letting a large -scale human rights violation continue. ”
"The salary increases we received every year did not cover our life costs", and they only reach to cover "things like food for family and medicines," another of those affected came to detail, who claimed to have been forced to lethis house and to have to move with relatives after not being able to face the payment of the rent."Working in clothing factories is very painful," she emphasizes."The brands you buy in my factory demand quality and that clothes are sent on time, but they are not worried about what happens to me."
Como respuesta a estas sombras que se ciñen sobre sus cadenas de valor, de ahí la importancia de garantizar políticas de transparencia como la que están practicando otras multinacionales textiles como Mango, han sido diferentes las compañías que se abastecen en esta región de la India las que han decidido salir al paso de las informaciones, manifestándose como plenamente comprometidas con el pago del salario mínimo legal. Algo que esperan, pero que por el momento no garantizan que estén realizando, sus proveedores de Karnataka.
“Les hemos dejado claro a nuestros proveedores en Karnataka que deben pagar a los trabajadores el salario mínimo exigido por ley, incluidos todos los atrasos”, han manifestado desde el Grupo sueco H&M. “Si no lo hacen”, añaden, “en última instancia deberán hacer frente a serias consecuencias comerciales”.
"We hope that our suppliers comply with the payment of the VDA and with the arrears," they added in this same line from the American GAP.To do this, "we have established a calendar, so we expect total compliance."
En el mismo sentido, desde la cadena holandesa C&A habrían emitido un comunicado en el que aseguraban que habían exigido a sus proveedores que cumplieran con el mandamiento judicial. Algo de lo que estaban “seguros” que harían, y para lo que se mantenían a la espera de una confirmación por escrito de la medida a adoptar.
Siguiendo con estas exigencias, Marks&Spencer, Puma o Tesco eran otras de las compañías textiles que se manifestaban en la misma dirección. Mientras que Nike incidía en que “espera que todos los proveedores cumplan con los requisitos legales locales y el código de conducta de Nike”.
On the other hand, from the Spanish Inditex issued statements in the same direction, with which they entered to highlight that the multinational owner of chains as popular as Zara “has a code of strict conduct, which requires that all the factories of our chain of our chainof supplies pay minimum legal wages. ”Therefore, "we are hiring suppliers in the region to which we are urging them to pay the VDA.""Salaries," they add from the Spanish multinational, "they must always be enough to meet at least the basic needs of workers and their families."
