The WRC had moved Cotton On Group to the negative side of the tracker last week after multiple requests for recommitment went unanswered. Georgetown University, the nations oldest Catholic and Jesuit institution of higher learning, is committed to the protection and promotion of human rights worldwide. alarm" method for triggering inspections: workers are empowered Given that the corporation has faced challenges during the crisis more severe than those confronting some of its competitors, and given the large volume of orders at stake, it is to Gap Inc.s credit that it has made it a priority to honor its obligations to suppliers and workers related to past orders. When Bestseller retroactively cancels an order, in part or in whole, this means large financial losses for the affected supplier. We investigate working conditions in factories around the globe. violations at a site have been confirmed, the pressure on the licensee The Advisory Knowledge and experience on employment and labor law in Southeast Asian countries. There was a brief period when Primark was considering extending payment terms, but the company has since reversed that and recommitted to paying suppliers 30 days after the product leaves the port. There is a preference for this position to be based in Karachi, but other locations in Pakistan will be considered; the position will require some travel primarily within Pakistan and South Asia. This the first example that the WRC has identified of a major apparel retailer systematically reneging on its financial commitments on existing orders during the current round of lockdowns, although last month we receivedreports from Bangladesh of some order deferrals and reduction of order amounts from original commitment levels. monitoring is ultimately a management tool for companies to use. In-depth investigations of labor practices in factories around the world; Public reporting of labor rights abuses where they are identified; Engagement with factories and buyers to develop and implement corrective action plans to improve working conditions, including efforts to convince international customers to require the factories to cease abusive practices; Building and maintaining relationships with unions and worker rights advocates and working to inform workers and worker organizations about how the labor rights codes of conduct governing the behavior of apparel brands can be used as a tool to defend workplace rights; and. with the University manufacture "Licensed Articles" (as As research by the Center for Global Workers Rights has shown, the refusal of brands like Bestseller to honor their obligations, and pay in full, causes factories to suspend or fire workers, often without pay. Although Colloseums parent company Fashion FC Club filed for insolvency in May of this year, the brand was acquired by Schulz Fashion on July 1. have demonstrated patterns of violations. "Licensee" shall for purposes of the Code, and unless otherwise One complicating factor is that C&A has been less than fully candid about a significant element of its approach: the fact that it is delaying delivery, and payment, for as long as a year on some of the orders it has nominally reinstated. For general inquiries about Georgetown Universitys licensing program, please contact [email protected]. Failure to these contractors abide by the university principles. behalf. The Communications and Research Associate will help drive work in three areas: This person will also coordinate the WRCs internship program and provide programmatic support on key organizational initiatives, including leading special projects, as needed. University Join the WRC mailing list to stay updated on our work. University decision-makers similarly need a way to The Impact of Covid-19 on Workers and Businesses at the Bottom of Global Garment Supply Chains , 27 March 2020, https://www. The intent is to provide a system The company has shifted its position considerably over the ensuing weeks, reinstating a substantial portion of the orders originally canceled. The Worker Rights Consortium is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, religious creed, medical/physical/mental condition, veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law. For security reasons, the names of some WRC personnel are not listed; these team members, including our investigators outside the United States, can be reached at the email addresses listed below. In global manufacturing, regulation usually means self-regulation, with brands inspecting their own suppliers under voluntary standards. SITRADAHSA Delta Apparel Honduras Message to the WRC University Caucus. practices to create incentives for improvements. The Accord is the first modern legally-binding agreement between workers, factory managers, and apparel companies that requires brands and retailers to:- Open their supplier factories to fully independent inspections by qualified experts and engineers- Allow the results of these inspections to be reported publicly, in a searchable database- Help pay for essential safety renovations- Stop doing business with any factories that fail to make needed safety repairsAdditionally, the Accord outlines a complaint mechanism by which workers can anonymously report potential violations at their factory to the Accord. The WRC conducts independent, in-depth investigations; issues public reports on factories producing for major brands; and aids workers at these factories in their efforts to end labor abuses and defend their workplace rights. If Bestseller wants workers to be paid on time and to continue to have jobs in the months ahead, it will pay in full, and on time, for all of the clothing it ordered. As the verifier that there are many outstanding questions that require further research. any violation is evidence of negligence or worse on the part of Reversing this trend requires that licensees themselves In purchasing Camaeu, FIB took on the brands financial obligations, including their obligation to pay for orders, which should be of primary concern to the brands new owners. University students have of compliance, the University should not have a stake in company-controlled Comprehensive The agency is then responsible for verifying the complaint. Hema told its suppliers in Asia on January 11 that it has canceled all orders effective immediately, according to a news report published today. Independent to get more GuideStar Nonprofit Profile data today! The Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) is an independent labor rights monitoring organization. about GuideStar Pro. steps, will conduct further inspections, and will evaluate whether We do not believe that the loss of any one vendor would have a material adverse effect on our business. Although URBN would not suffer if their supplier factories were forced to close, workers surely would. Worker Rights Consortium. Knowledge of corporate accountability, supply chains, and labor and/or human rights. Something went wrong. The WRC is based in Washington, DC, and has more than 25 staff located in the US, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. licensing program, initial dues shall be 1% of its previous year's licensing the licensee. The Worker Rights Consortium is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, religious creed, medical/physical/mental condition, veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law. Despite numerous brands and retailers agreeing to pay for orders completed and in production at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Urban Outfitters and its subsidiary brand Anthropologie have been unwilling to make this commitment and have invokedforce majeureto avoid paying for orders. 1990 K Street, NW, Suite 410 Washington, DC 20006. Thanks for subscribing! 2 talking about this. Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics, Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools, Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations, Revenue and expense data for the current fiscal year, CEO, Board Chair, and Board of Directors information, *with the ability to download the data for 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018. The Communications and Research Associate will report to the Deputy Director for Strategy & Field Operations. As a result, Levis is now protecting the cash-flow of all suppliers, despite its extension of payment terms. or manufacturers which produce, assemble or package finished Licensed We and our allies worked to pressure brands buying from the factory, and the factory owner, to pay their former workers what they were owed. when a pattern of violations is shown. Once will be generated. The Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) is an independent labor rights monitor that investigates working c The LOC meets regularly, and its membership includes faculty, students and administrators. One worker said she only earned about half of what she needed to cover basic living . The reason was the brands decision to delay payments to all suppliers relative to agreed terms. The Consortium will require reporting of remediation In late October, several suppliers reported to the WRC that German apparel brand Colloseum had failed to pay for completed orders on originally scheduled payment terms.. This position is based at our office in Washington, DC and requires some travel. and universities will fund the Consortium with a percentage of licensing These postponements appear to affect a modest, but consequential, percentage of C&As outstanding orders. IMGCL then contracts with global brands thatmanufacture apparel and other products bearing the trademarks and names of colleges and universities. Please check your entries and try again. Please check the captcha to verify you are not a robot. It is the unique role of Universities to be centers of inquiry, Article 27 - Work and employment. Something went wrong. The committee makes recommendations regarding the Universitys relationships with the collegiate products and apparel industry stakeholders. for enforcing Codes that is straightforward, practicable, consistent with As the daughter of a Uyghur economist imprisoned for life, I call on governments and the UN to act, says Jewher Ilham of the Project to Combat Forced Labor at the Worker Rights Consortium, and . The WRCs commitment in all cases is to remain involved long-term to ensure that violations are eliminated and that improved conditions are maintained. Asda, a UK-based supermarket chain and a subsidiary of Walmart, is refusing to meet obligations to suppliers producing for its George brand of apparel. The Worker Rights Recently, Colloseum has told suppliers it wants to accept only 50 percent of these garments, which would cause enormous losses for the suppliers. Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2021, 2020 and 2019. It also includes an enforcement mechanism by which legal action can be brought against non-compliant signatories.The Accord represents a fundamental shift in how safety violations are addressed at garment factories. working conditions mandated by their Codes of Conduct. On July 2, the WRC was informed by Levis that, as of this week, all of its suppliers now have access to low-cost financing, guaranteed by Levis, to help them weather Levis payment delays. Colleges and universities Scott Nova, executive director of the Workers' Rights Consortium, calls the crisis in Karnataka the worst case of wage theft he has ever witnessed. Hema is an Amsterdam-based retailer with stores in 10 countries that sources goods from over 600 suppliers across 40 countries. AEO acknowledged that it took these discounts but told the WRC that it softened the blow by paying the affected invoices immediately upon receipt, rather than waiting until 60 days post-shipment as per its usual policy. A cover letter, explaining your interest in the position and your relevant experience; Two writing samples, preferably including one piece of persuasive writing such as a blog or op/ed; and. With apparent indifference to the ethical implications, Kohls then paid a $109 million dividend to its shareholders on April 1. information gathered should be made available to workers and worker-allied The international attention following the catastrophe forced brands back to the bargaining table, and the WRC and our allies successfully convinced them to sign the historic Accord on Building and Fire Safety in Bangladesh. specified in the Code, encompass all of Licensees' contractors, subcontractors Working in more than two dozen countries, we investigate factories producing for well-known brands and retailers, issue public reports on the labor rights violations we uncover, and help workers and worker organizations secure remedies and protect their rights. Primark itself wont pay a penny for any of these clothes until autumn 2020, preserving its own cash flow, and that of its already cash-rich corporate parent, Associated British Foods, at the expense of suppliers a tiny fraction of their size. other interests, including apparel-producing companies. After earlier reports of TJXs cancellation of orders in Bangladesh, the WRC had written to TJX in mid-April, asking whether TJX plans to pay in full for orders completed and in production with the originally agreed upon prices and terms. The investigatory Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. One way that the LOC carries out its charge is through its relationship with the Worker Rights Consortium, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that monitors manufacturers compliance with the codes of conduct of colleges and universities. Instead, Bestseller, through individual dialogue, is telling suppliers they must accept retroactive cancellations and price reductions on its orders, which vary in size from supplier to supplier and which, in the aggregate, constitute a huge financial blow to Bestsellers supplier base and to the workers who make its clothes. So theyre trying to get out of paying. There has been no indication from URBN or its suppliers that this has improved. One way that the LOC carries out its charge is through its relationship with the Worker Rights Consortium, a non . that term is defined in the License Agreement) bearing the names, to compare firms and specifically utilizes public awareness of company The growth of asset values has outstripped returns on labor for four decades, and a McKinsey report found that a majority of those assets . Please check your inbox in order to proceed. Please check the captcha to verify you are not a robot. Please check your email for further instructions. Buying a home near work is more lucrative than working. Despite sewing clothes for some of the world's biggest brands, more than 400,000 garment workers in the southern Indian state haven't received their legally mandated minimum-wage increases, he . The Worker Rights Consortium Kohls employs a cancellation clause in all of its purchase orders so grossly one-sided that it effectively gives Kohls the contractual right to cancel orders without liability at any time and for any reason. flourish when they are hidden. Suppliers have not reported similar problems with orders produced for Walmart, but Asdas misdeeds are nonetheless the responsibility of its American corporate parent. When Rana Plaza collapsed in 2013, the WRC had already been working for years to press apparel brands to fundamentally change their approach to fire and building safety in Bangladesh in order to bring about genuine safety improvements in their supplier factories there. The combination The WRC documented that a year after PT Kahoindah Citragarment closed, its 2,001 former workers were still owed $4.5 million in back pay. Bestseller insists that it has not cancelled orders unless it has been in agreement with the given supplier (emphasis added). After receiving confirmation from Cotton On Group that the company is maintaining its prior commitment to pay in full for orders completed and in production, the WRC moved the brand back to the positive side of the tracker today. According to the report, management also failed to take disciplinary actions and blocked employees' attempts . . It is concerning to see that C&As public statement does not communicate honestly about the fact that they originally canceled orders outright (see their March notice to suppliers), with major impacts on suppliers and workers, and instead now says the orders were merely put on hold. In Fall 2000, Georgetown established the Licensing Oversight Committee (LOC) to provide guidance to the University on these issues. The university's role should be limited to requiring outcomes: the decent Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Our thoughts are with his wife and sons, and the union movement in Bangladesh that he tirelessly dedicated 25 years of his life to, Hong Seng Knitting continues to refuse to provide back pay to more than 99 percent of the affected workers and continues to refuse to pay meaningful compensation to the Burmese migrant worker who was forced to flee the country after management reported him to the police. What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, United Students Against Sweatshops is convinced Students who graduated with a concentration in social justice lawyering were honored at a ceremony in May. This means that affected suppliers cannot ship the clothes they have already made and cannot request payment until well into 2021. relationship with universities. Clear filters. A Worker Rights Consortium report in April estimated that total severance theft during Covid-19, across the supply chains of global brands and retailers, was $500m to $850m (360m-620m). This enables the WRC to uncover labor abuses that brands and their auditing organizations routinely ignore. Bestseller will soon impose new payment terms on suppliers that are considerably worse (90 days versus 40 days from the date goods are shipped) than those Bestseller maintained prior to the pandemic. inspections and off-site worker interviews. The Governing Board will be comprised of 3 students The there is a need for "pro-active" investigations, to shine Bestseller is imposing retroactive price reductions, retroactive order cancellations, and long delays in payment of invoices, across its supply chain. 1. must develop their own internal process to comply with these provisions. The Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) is seeking to hire a Communications and Research Associate. 37th and O Streets, N.W. An investigation by the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) has found that a supplier factory to Gildan Activewear located in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, engaged in a mass firing of its workers in retaliation for their going on strike over unpaid overtime. recommendation of sanctions. The WRCs team of 24 professionals includes both US-based staff and overseas representatives. We urge all apparel brands and retailers to pay for completed and in-process orders and not to request additional discounts or deferments. Combating Gender-Based Violence in Lesotho, WRC Statement in Response to Murder of Shahidul Islam, After More Than a Year, Workers at Nike Supplier Are Still Owed over $800,000, New Report Details Impact of Lesotho Anti-GBVH Program, Haitian Workers at Factory Supplying Gildan Activewear Fired for Striking over Poverty Wages. This decision by C&A will result in tens of millions of dollars in payments flowing to suppliers. Worker Rights (1) Show Results. These were goods suppliers had already produced or were in the process of producing. The WRC conducts independent, in-depth investigations; issues public reports on factories producing for major brands; and aids workers at these factories in their efforts to end labor abuses and defend their workplace rights. These Universities According to Drapers, Urban Outfitterscancelled orders and told suppliers it can no longer accept delivery of goods on purchase orders. Consortium will use this Code of Conduct as the basis for its investigations to recognize that any plant located around the world can bring negative Under the Accord, brands and retailers are legally responsible for ensuring the workers who make their clothes work in safe conditions. The WRC found that the dismissal of 64 Haitian workers at Gildans supplier, Centri Group, was. This position is covered by a union contract. to pull the alarm, signaling to the agency and the public that a violation and therefore one additional role of the Consortium is to promote 1990 K Street, NW, Suite 410 Washington, DC 20006. At least three years experience working on human or labor rights issues in Pakistan; Experience conducting field interviews to document violations of workers rights or other human rights; Commitment to the cause of social justice; Proven ability to establish and maintain relationships among unions and/or civil society organizations; Ability to provide written summaries in English of interview findings and worker rights violations; Cover letter (12 pages) explaining your interest in the position and relevant background; Three references (please indicate if you wish to be notified prior to any references being contacted).