FOR THE PRESS

For immediate release: July 31 2009

Lesotho Could Face Disaster if Garment Industry Lifeline Damaged

“Competing in the global garment industry is not easy when you are a small, under-resourced African nation with huge economic, social and health problems,  and while it is important to acknowledge the problems exist in Lesotho’s apparel industry it is also important to recognize the improvements that have been made and the contribution to this progress by the government, local trade unions and the brands and retailers who source there”.

So says Neil Kearney, General Secretary of the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation, speaking in Brussels on allegations of serious breaches of labour and environmental standards in Lesotho’s apparel industry due to be published in the UK’s Sunday Times this weekend.

“While we are committed to demanding the highest possible labour and environmental standards, we fear that this story may damage efforts to stablilise and grow the country’s garment industry”, says Mr. Kearney.

“The ITGLWF has worked closely with local trade unions, key international buyers and retailers and the Government of Lesotho over a number of years to improve wages, working conditions and labour standards, to secure support for infrastructure development and to develop market openings, particularly in Europe, for Lesotho’s garment exports. We have done so because the garment sector is almost the sole source of manufacturing employment, providing the vast majority of the country’s foreign exchange earnings and providing a lifeline for a small, under-resourced nation with huge economic, social and health problems.

“Estimates suggest that more than one-third of the garment sector’s workforce is HIV-positive. In spite of this productivity and industrial efficiency is on par with the garment industry average.

“Lesotho is far from key markets and lacks direct access to ports and other transport facilities. Its ability to have secured and built a significant textile and garment industry is a tribute to the energy of its workforce, the involvement of government, the confidence of inward investors and the commitment of a handful of international buyers who have continued to source there in spite cost and accessibility restraints.

“The ITGLWF believes that sustainable development in Africa will only come when Africa’s natural resources are utilized in the continent itself instead of being exported in raw form at knock-down prices. Nowhere is this more clear than in the textile and garment sector where 97% of Africa’s cotton – some of the best in the world – is exported in raw form with the continent’s garment industry then having to import fabric at high cost making the industry highly uncompetitive.

“Lesotho is one of the few African countries where African cotton is now transformed on the continent – in the case of Lesotho, into denim fabric – which is then utilized in the production of jeans for export. The ITGLWF wants to see this develop both in Lesotho and elsewhere in Africa. 

“However, the development of manufacturing capability must be on the basis of environmental protection and the provision of decent work for those employed.

Countries like Lesotho struggle to meet both environmental and labour standards. Weak infrastructure and regulatory institutions arising from lack of resources is a constant problem.

“But, efforts over the past five or six years involving the government of Lesotho, manufacturers, trade unions and the key international brands and retailers buying in Lesotho have been able to bring about considerable improvements in both environmental and social conditions.

“While there has been much improvement, much more needs to be done on both levels. This is clear from stories of environmental damage caused by inadequate handling of waste water and of waste disposal. Clearly, greater effort is needed particularly in the public provision of secure industrial waste disposal facilities. The European Union’s “Aid for Trade’ support for Africa should be utilized to effect further improvements.

“On the labour front there have been significant improvements in unionized factories. Precious Garments is a good example here where efforts have been made to develop mature systems of industrial relations where regular dialogue and negotiation between representatives of workers and management has replaced confrontation and conflict.

“While the industry still doesn’t pay a living wage to its workforce, earnings and working conditions in unionized factories are better than in many competitor nations.

“Un-unionized workplaces are still a problem but the ILO is due to launch a “Better Work” programme in conjunction with the Government of Lesotho, employers and unions later this year which should effect considerable improvement.

“In 2004 there were real fears that Lesotho’s textile and garment industry would disappear and with disastrous local implications with the advent of trade liberalization in the sector on the ending of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement governing trade in textiles and clothing. Fortunately a handful of international brands and retailers including Gap Inc., Levi Strauss and Wal-Mart, stuck with their suppliers there in difficult circumstances which has maintained much needed jobs.

“So, while acknowledging that numerous problems exist in Lesotho’ textile and garment industry it is important to recognize the progress that has been made over the past five or six years and the contribution to this progress by the government of Lesotho, local trade unions and the brands and retailers who source there.

“The ITGLWF wants to see these improvements continue and intensify. But, this will be easier if there are greater market opportunities both in the United States and in the European Union. That’s why we have been working to encourage European buyers to consider Lesotho as a textile and garment source, supporting sustainable development in the African continent.

“We are concerned, however, that undue negative commentaries using easy targets and without recognizing the progress that has been made and the contribution of these easy targets to that progress may deter new buyers from exploring Lesotho as a reliable source of textile and garment production. Were this to happen it would do great damage to efforts to promote sustainable African development using textiles and clothing as the traditional engine of that development”.

-ENDS-

The Brussels-based International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation brings together some 230 affiliated trade unions in 130 countries worldwide with a combined membership of 10 million workers.

Contact:

Neil Kearney, General Secretary on +32 475 932487 or on nkearney@itglwf.org

ITGLWF Secretariat at 32/02/512.26.06, or office@itglwf.org