Tackling exploitation of workers

The more time passes and the more we learn on television and on the internet, we begin to realise that our decisions can affect others thousands of miles away. Our choices in what we purchase have precisely that effect on third world and developing nations. MICHAEL CARABOTT takes an in-depth look at the issue.

The activist

Nina Zitta is a 26-year-old Swedish activist who is involved in fair trade and the Clean Clothes Campaign. She recently travelled to Cambodia where she produced a documentary about exploitation of workers in that country.

Ms Zitta is on a voluntary placement with the Maltese Fair Trade Cooperative until June. The first thing Ms Zitta explained was that consumers and consumer trends were intrinsically linked to the concepts of fair trade and the exploitation of workers around the world.

She said that many companies around the world, especially sports and clothes chains, did not produce their own goods but outsourced to factories in the Far East. “Workers there do not have even the most basic of rights. They work in atrocious conditions for a pittance of a wage,” she said, drawing on her own experience in Cambodia.

She explained that factories competed with each other to win contracts and this led to working conditions being eroded due to each factory trying to undercut the others’ prices.

Ms Zitta took Cambodia as an example and explained that according to the law, workers work 48 hours a week on the paltry salary of $45 per month. “Their wages do not even cover their basic needs. They need more money, yet the demand from Europe is what is fuelling this drive,” she said.

She also explained that workers were pressed by their employers not to join unions and that many were exploited because their contracts were all on a short term basis, in line with the orders that their employers receive.

She said that factories – particularly those which produced clothing – were noisy, dusty and essentially a health hazard. “Coupled with that, these workers are on the job for very long hours,” she said. When filming her documentary, Ms Zitta realized that things were not always transparent. “We were refused access to many of the factory floors,” she said.

Ms Zitta said that the textiles problem was particular to South East Asia, but this had not always been so. “Before Portugal, and indeed Malta, joined the European Union, textiles used to be produced in both countries. But once the standard of living started picking up and workers secured better conditions, costs for the factories likewise increased, making them seek out cheaper pastures in Asia where workers do not have rights,” she said.

Ms Zitta explained that consumers should look out for the fair trade logo which is bestowed by Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International. “This organisation audits companies who claim to produce fair trade products. If it is found that they do pay the suppliers a fair price, they get a logo which identifies their product,” she said.

Fair trade essentially means that companies bypass the international markups of wholesalers by buying directly from farmers. Examples of these are citrus fruits for juices and coffee beans.

I pointed out that fair trade was not really a concept which had filtered into Malta yet.

“In general, people do not mind paying a bit more if they know they are buying a product directly from the producer. But again, as you mentioned, the product needs to be available before you can buy it,” she said.

She said that many activists were working hard around the world to encourage fair trade, but that the movement needed people’s support. “And how do you support it? Well first of all by buying fair trade products and secondly by pressing suppliers for information, to ask where their products are made, who makes them and the conditions they work in,” she said.

Asked about the response to her documentary, Ms Zitta said: “It is mostly shown in schools and the response is normally that kids, and their teachers, are shocked at the conditions that some people have to work in.”

She said that unfortunately, another reaction that sets in is the: “But what can you do?” syndrome. Ms Zitta said it was up to each and every one of us, as consumers, to make our mark and put pressure on multi-nationals. “I wanted to do something. When I met these people, they inspired me for the rest of my life. You can too,” she said.

Links

www.cleanclothes.org

www.l-arka.org

www.fairtrade.org.uk

General Workers’ Union

General Workers’ Union secretary general Tony Zarb said: “Exploitation of workers is not something which began yesterday in Malta; it has been around for a long, long time. Such instances are major headaches for trade unions, and it generally tends to happen in places where workers are not organised.”

He said that in the years since the economy was liberalised and employment opportunities widened, the issue of exploitation of workers came to the surface. “There are many different forms of exploitation, but it tends to happen to those workers who are on part-time contracts even though it is their main job,” he said.

He said that many workers are paid for 19-hour weeks – meaning that employers do not have to pay them on a pro rata basis. “On these grounds, the GWU wants to see the legal notice stipulating these conditions to be repealed. At present, employees must work more than 20 hours to be entitled to any benefits,” he said. He also spoke of the phenomenon of illegal employment of foreign workers. “They are being employed without a work book, which is illegal, and since they do that they are employed in miserable conditions which are inferior to others,” said Mr Zarb.

He said that such workers have no form of protection from exploitation. Also, since employers prefer to give jobs to foreigners than to Maltese workers because it is cheaper for them to do so, “Maltese people are suffering because they either cannot find a job, or are forced to accept the same bad conditions,” Mr Zarb said.

Another form of illegal exploitation takes place when employers pay their workers in kind with products from their own companies, rather than in cash. “This is also illegal but we have seen it happen,” he said.

Mr Zarb said there are also instances where employees on definite time contracts are forced to stay out of trade unions because employers would not give them a job if they joined. “This is in violation of basic human rights which stipulate that a person has a right to freedom of association. This is also protected by our own code of laws as well as our Constitution, but it is something which is a reality,” said Mr Zarb.

Union Haddiema Maghqudin

Gejtu Vella – UHM secretary general – had pointed out, years back, that part-timers were not entitled for any pro-rata conditions of work enjoyed by employees working a 40-hour week. During the early 1990s part-time workers were granted a half-baked measure and earned pro-rata conditions of work provided that they were in employment for more than 20 hours a week, he explained.

“This led to blatant abuse by some employers employing workers on part-time basis. This is an open secret to all. It has become customary for some employers opting to engage workers on part-time basis on 19 hours and 30 minutes a week. Just below, by a few minutes, the 20 hours required by the legal notice.”

He said the weekly minimum threshold to earn pro-rata conditions of work has led some employers to make “best use” of it in the wrong way by employing workers on part-time with less than 20 hours, so they lose the pro-rata conditions of work entitlement.

“This has been brought to our attention in various instances and on our part we have made various representations both at enterprise level and at national level on this issue. However, with regret this issue as yet has not earned a high place on the government’s agenda, assisted and supported by the employers and entrepreneurs lobby group,” he said.

Mr Vella said that ensuring all workers enjoyed, on a pro rata basis, the conditions of work enjoyed by the workers employed for 40 hours a week, was important to further encourage the full participation of all those aspiring to participate in productive work.

He said rigidities in the labour market will not help foster a good climate to create wealth and new job opportunities. He also said that the guarantee of the rightful conditions of work on a pro-rata basis for those employed as part-timers was essential.

“The UHM strongly believes that it is high time this situation is corrected for the benefit of the part-timers and the entrepreneurs,” he said.

What is Fairtrade?

The Fairtrade mark is an independent consumer label which appears on products as an independent guarantee that disadvantaged producers in the developing world are getting a better deal. For a product to display the Fairtrade mark it must meet international Fairtrade standards. These standards are set by the international certification body Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO). Producer organisations that supply Fairtrade products are inspected and certified by the FLO. They receive a minimum price that covers the cost of sustainable production and an extra premium that is invested in social or economic development projects. The Fairtrade Foundation licenses the Fairtrade mark to products in the UK which meet FLO standards. The supplier (brand-owner or main national distributor) must sign the Foundation’s licence agreement which provides a licence to use the mark.

Development agencies recognise the important role that consumers can play to improve the situation for producers. By buying direct from farmers at better prices, helping to strengthen their organisations and marketing their produce directly through their own one-world shops and catalogues, the charities offer consumers the opportunity to buy products which are bought on the basis of a fair trade.

Fairtrade labelling was created in the Netherlands in the late 1980s. The Max Havelaar Foundation launched the first Fairtrade consumer guarantee label in 1988 on coffee sourced from Mexico. Today the FLO co-ordinates Fairtrade labelling in 20 countries.

The Clean Clothes Campaign

The CCC is an international campaign, focused on improving working conditions in the global garment and sportswear industries. There is a Clean Clothes Campaign in nine European countries. These are Austria, Belgium (North and South), France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Over 200 different organisations participate in the campaign.

The local campaigns work autonomously at the national level, and come together to work jointly at the European level. This European campaign network is backed up by a broader, international network that includes trade unions, NGOs, and individuals in countries where garments are produced, namely Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Central America. The international secretariat of the campaign is based in Amsterdam. The CCC also cooperates with similar campaigns in the United States, Canada, and Australia.