Pressemeldungen - Unternehmensverantwortung & Lieferkettengesetz

OECD complaint against TÜV Rheinland

© FEMNET

OECD complaint on TÜV Rheinland test report on RanaPlaza factory

Ministry of Economy recognises need for action for reforms in controls in the global supply chains of the textile industry

Berlin and Dhaka. The system of controls on safety and working conditions (social audits) in the global supply chains of the textile industry needs to be fundamentally changed. The Final declaration The OECD National Contact Point (NKS) at the Federal Ministry of Economics in Berlin in the Rana Plaza complaint procedure against the testing service provider TÜV Rheinland could pave the way for necessary reforms. The NCP recommends a dialogue between testing service providers, business associations, dealers, manufacturers and trade unions. Topics include: the transparency of audit reports and whether it makes sense for controls (social audits) to be paid by the owners of the factories checked: In addition, the NCP recommends measures that could already be implemented today, such as incorporating the experience of trade unions and workers.

The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and its Bangladeshi partners Garment Workers Unity Forum, Comrade Rubel Memorial Center, Rana Plaza Survivor Group and FEMNET and medico international from Germany are disappointed that no agreement could be reached with TÜV Rheinland, but welcome the statement of the NCP. The declaration ends with OECD complaints procedure against TÜV Rheinland, which the ECCHR and its partners launched in May 2016. The organisations accused TÜV Rheinland of disregarding human rights violations such as child labour, discrimination against women, the absence of trade unions and building safety risks in its test report on a manufacturer in the Rana Plaza factory complex. The complaint procedure lasted for more than two years until TÜV Rheinland finally broke off the negotiations.

"The system of audits is part of the problem rather than a solution: instead of remedying it, exploitation in global supply chains is legitimised," says Moniruzzaman Masum of the Comrade Rubel Memorial Center. “Test service providers must assume legal responsibility towards workers”, stresses Carolijn Terwindt from ECCHR. “Workers must have access to adequate remedies against negligent auditors” Gisela Burckhardt from FEMNET adds: “Test service providers should obtain information from local trade unions and NGOs and make their reports available to the public or at least to trade unions and workers.”

Since 2010, when the ECCHR for the first time an OECD complaint in Germany submitted, the procedure at the NCP has improved significantly. Nevertheless, the ECCHR and its partners criticise the serious hurdles that prevented Bangladeshi stakeholders from being able to participate adequately in the negotiations or to speak publicly about them. Survivors of the Rana Plaza collapse talk about their fight for justice in this video.

contact:

ECCHR, Anabel Bermejo - Tel.: + 49 (0)30 – 69819797 / E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

FEMNET, Dr Gisela Burckhardt – Tel: +49 (0) 1520- 1774080 / E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Rana Plaza Survivors Association, Mahmudul Hasan Hridoy - Tel.: +880 1753-722871 / +880 1753-722871