INTERNATIONAL TEXTILE, GARMENT AND LEATHER WORKERS’ FEDERATION

For immediate release: November 6, 2006

Making the ‘Social’ in CSR Sustainable

Gap Inc. and the global union for textiles, the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation are blazing the trail in translating corporate social responsibility into long-term sustainable practice at factory level. In a joint work programme the two are now engaged in the initial stages of developing and promoting a mature system of industrial relations throughout the Gap Inc. supply chain.

As part of the programme the ITGLWF have embarked on joint work with Gap Inc. at global, sub-regional and national levels with the aim of creating a better understanding of the right of workers to form unions and to bargain with their employers as part of the process of social dialogue on which mature systems of industrial relations are based.

Staff from the ITGLWF engaged recently in detailed briefings for the entire Gap Inc. social compliance team – some 100 persons – on the theory and practice of freedom of association and on how collective bargaining can secure and maintain standards in line with national law and international practice.

In a second tier of action, the ITGLWF and its national affiliates have met with Gap Inc. social compliance staff in two sub-regions – South Asia and South East Asia - to better understand how both organizations work, to examine some of the key compliance issues and to establish how better to improve industrial relations in the company’s supply chain.

In Delhi, India, Gap Inc. staff, the ITGLWF and trade unions from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India conducted an overview of the company’s CSR operations in these countries,  while a similar exercise in Jakarta, Indonesia brought together Gap Inc. staff, the ITGLWF and trade unions from Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. In both exercises the emphasis centered on developing a long-term sustainable approach at national and supplier level.

Discussions revolved around how to identify whether freedom of association and collective bargaining are respected, how to proceed where there are, at present, no unions, how employer resistance to deal with unions can be overcome, how to develop in-plant capacity on the part of both management and unions, and how promote the benefits of mature systems of industrial relations.

The next stage of the process involves developing a national dialogue, in the different countries, with Gap Inc. suppliers and involving Gap Inc. buyers and compliance staff, manufacturers supplying Gap Inc. and the relevant trade unions with a view to identifying and resolving industrial relations issues in the Gap Inc. supply chain.

Says ITGLWF General Secretary Neil Kearney, “Moving beyond auditors, consultants and the host of other CSR fads is essential for long-term sustainability in good labour practice in global supply chains. Key to such sustainability is the establishment of mature systems of industrial relations built around social dialogue.

“In the industrial context effective dialogue requires a voice for workers as well as management. Unfortunately, serious shortcomings in the application of the right of workers to freedom of association and to bargain collectively make social dialogue almost impossible.

“Increasingly, it is recognized that no matter how well intentioned the corporate social responsibility approach of brands and retailers, the impact is limited and unsustainable in the longer term without social dialogue. Given that social dialogue is a key outcome of unionisation and collective bargaining it is now essential that these be at the heart of any CSR programme.

“The ITGLWF commends Gap Inc. on its far-sightedness and its pioneering efforts in the garments supply chain. We welcome the opportunity to work with Gap Inc. to help build a mature system of industrial relations grounded in social dialogue across the global garment industry and we look forward to engaging with other brands in the same endeavor.”