Pressemeldungen - Unternehmensverantwortung & Lieferkettengesetz 18 May 2020 Salaries to Live Instead of Dividends at Hugo Boss If the group does not move forward, the shareholders can show it the way. For example, on the occasion of the Hugo Boss Annual General Meeting, shareholder and FEMNET Chairman Dr Gisela Burckhardt calls for the creation of a ‘fund for living wages’ for the group’s seamstresses in its supply chains. At the latest in times of the corona crisis, it is now becoming apparent that without sustainable income structures, the survivability of the clothing industry and its employees is at stake. Corona is spreading globally, as is the case with Hugo Boss. Not only production and trade in Germany are affected, insolvencies threaten everywhere: Within a very short time, global supply chains have collapsed. The seamstresses who produce clothing for brands such as Hugo Boss at low wages are particularly at risk. Textile workers worldwide are plunging into life-threatening livelihoods in the face of contract cancellations and factory closures. ‘It is not acceptable to pay only starvation wages to the people who produce Hugo Boss’s products, thereby condemning his workers and their families to chronic vulnerability, material and psychological deprivation’, explains women’s rights activist Dr Gisela Burckhardt. Instead of paying a minimum dividend, Hugo Boss’ shareholder calls for the creation of a ‘fund for living wages’. On the occasion of the virtual Annual General Meeting on May 27, 2020, it has Counter-application for the appropriation of the balance sheet profit for 2019. The fund is intended to gradually raise the salaries of Hugo Boss's seamstresses in the supply chain until the group complies with the internationally recognized human right to living wages. Burckhardt also calls for transparent reporting on the measures. In this way, the fund can improve the precarious situation of the predominantly female workers and migrants, she explains. According to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, Hugo Boss must ensure the protection of employees in the Group itself as well as in its supply chains. Against this background, the shareholder has made further counter-proposals for the non-exoneration of the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, employees in Hugo Boss' supply chain received Study "Exploitation Made in Europe" Wages below the poverty line, for example for suppliers in Croatia and Bulgaria. ‘If the group does not care about the people who sew its products, then the shareholders do and lead by example in these tough times’, Burckhardt appeals to the shareholders. ‘As a responsible investor, it is my firm conviction that my profit must never be based on the exploitation of the labour force.’ Contact: Katharina Edinger, FEMNET e.V., Press and Public Relations Telephone: 0175 - 58 46 55 60 E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Further information Countermotions by Dr. Gisela Burckhardt to Hugo Boss' Annual General Meeting 2020 (PDF file) Study ‘Exploitation Made in Europe’ (Clean Clothes Campaign, Bread for the World, April 2020) (PDF file) Download the press release (PDF file) About FEMNET e.V. FEMNET is a non-profit women's rights organization based in Bonn. Founded in 2007, the association advocates for better working conditions in the clothing industry of the global South, where much of the clothing used in the West is sewn. FEMNET requires companies to comply with social standards along the entire supply chain, for which the policy should create binding rules. Women in India and Bangladesh support FEMNET through a mutual legal assistance fund. In addition, the association supports partner organizations in the work against violence against women in the workplace and for better childcare in textile factories. In Germany, FEMNET conducts educational work at universities and schools, advises cities and municipalities on the purchase of fair workwear and provides information on seals and fair-produced clothing. The project "Filling the Gap: Achieving Living Wages through Improved Transparency" is co-funded by the European Union.
