UTP mapping in the textile sector by Jorge Conesa

- Goal: to end up with an enforceable brand agreement
- The campaign targets brands, but it aims for an enforceable agreement. Brands "sign a contract" that would be enforceable in court
- This builds upon the work that had started before the pandemic, aiming for a living wage EBA. From that proposal: "Brands should pay an additional living wage contribution on every order they place. The living wage contribution will be based on two factors: 1) The average gap between the statutory minimum wage and the estimated living wage in production countries; and 2) The average percentage of the cost of a garment that goes towards labor. The living wage contribution will be paid by the brand to the supplier, and then will be distributed by the supplier, visible on the pay-slip, equally to all its workers. Where an independent union exists, the supplier will be obligated to negotiate a separate agreement directly with the union regarding the disbursement of the living wage contribution. The living wage contribution will apply to every country from which a brand is sourcing, to avoid penalizing any particular country for implementing the agreement before its competitors. Payment of the living wage contribution by the brand and the pass-through to workers will be monitored by signatories, who can set up an independent third-party organization established specifically for this purpose. Workers will have access to a 24-hour complaint mechanism to report violations. Unlike voluntary codes of conduct, this program will be enforceable, through a legally-binding agreement between grassroots unions, labor rights groups and brands. The agreement will also include strong protections for the right to organize, a critical component in ensuring that workers are able to speak up. Signatory brands will be required to terminate business with any supplier factory that doesn’t pass the living wage contribution to workers or that fails to comply with the remediation plan mandated by the monitoring organization including where this violates the right to organize. The imposition of meaningful consequences means that brands will have to take their commitments seriously – or face legal action." This proposal is presented at https://wageforward.org/
- Link: https://www.payyourworkers.org/ and https://cleanclothes.org/campaigns/pay-your-workers/covid-19-wage-assurance

- Main UTP addressed: low prices, but the rest of UTPs identified in 2020 are also addressed: eg. irresponsible disengagement, long payment terms...

Is there anything in the regulatory field that would help?
a) HREDD, but only if it has teeth, there is the risk that HREDD block all the calls for legislation in the next years; which would be even more problematic if its scope ends up by leaving out a very significant part of the textile sector.