Pressemeldungen - Unternehmensverantwortung & Lieferkettengesetz © cini.angela - Depositphotos.com 24 April 2020 From Rana Plaza to COVID-19: Textile workers again in deep crisis. Fair Purchasing Practices of Businesses Press release of civil society in the Textile Alliance Seven years after the factory collapse of Rana Plaza, textile workers are once again plunging into a crisis due to COVID-19. Right now, the Alliance for Sustainable Textiles must prove itself as an authority for safeguarding human rights responsibility, demands civil society in the Textile Alliance. While brand and retail companies are responding to the COVID-19 crisis with far-reaching cancellations from their suppliers, textile workers in the producing countries are suffering extreme economic hardship due to the loss of income. If the regular wage falls away, which often does not reach the end of the month anyway, there are no social security systems in place. On 21 April 2020, the Textile Alliance, together with other international multi-stakeholder initiatives, issued a declaration on common priorities to address the crisis in the producing countries. "The call for joint action, immediately and in the long term, by international trade unions and employers' associations at the level of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) must now also be supported by alliance companies," says Berndt Hinzmann from the INKOTA network. “As in the case of Rana Plaza, joint action is now needed. The crisis fund called for and the guidelines formulated in these declarations rightly focus on wage protection for workers, fair purchasing practices and the establishment of social security systems.” "These appeals should not be left alone, however. The member companies of the Textile Alliance should now publicly commit themselves to fair purchasing practices," says Gisela Burckhardt of FEMNET. “Fair purchasing practices allow suppliers to continue to employ and pay workers. Only a public commitment by individual companies creates transparency about who is willing to respect human rights even in the crisis.” "In view of the crisis of brands and retailers, the Textile Alliance has suspended the reporting obligation for companies this year, but the suspension of the reporting obligation does not mean a pause in responsibility for human rights and the environment in the supply chain," warns Sabine Ferenschild of the SÜDWIND Institute. "In a first step, companies can show that they take their human rights responsibilities seriously, even in times of crisis, by paying in full for orders that have already been completed and are in progress." background Alliance for Sustainable Textiles Joint declaration of multi-stakeholder initiatives "Responding Responsibly to the COVID-19 Crisis" International Labour Organisation, COVID-19: Action in the Global Garment Industry Coalition for Sustainable Textiles, guiding principles for responsible purchasing practices in times of COVID-19 This press release was written by the civil society organisations in the steering committee and does not necessarily represent the opinion of all civil society members. The Textile Alliance has 19 civil society member organisations, which are represented in the steering committee by FEMNET, INKOTA-netzwerk and the SÜDWIND Institute. Download the press release (PDF file) Contact persons: Dr Gisela Burckhardt, FEMNET, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Tel.: 0152 01774080 Dr. Sabine Ferenschild, SOUTHWIND Institute, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Tel: 01578 9606450 Berndt Hinzmann, INKOTA network, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Tel.: 0160 94 69 87 70
