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Donald Dee was right. (Garments exporters worry about
int'l image, July 6, 2003) Anvil Ensembles is one of those hot, dingy,
small-time garment export firms whose revenue is insignificant compared
with what the whole garment industry contributes. But he was wrong to say
that Anvil was just one case and that garment firms are not sweatshops.
I am a researcher at the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP)
and I know that there are hundreds of small factories like Anvil Ensembles
that require workers to work long hours in substandard working conditions
for meager wages. We have compiled hundreds of cases of violations of
labor laws under our Anti-Sweatshop Campaign project. The case of Anvil
was one of them. We exposed the Anvil case because we want to send the
message that sweatshops exist.
Dee's Confederation of Garment Exporters of the Philippines (Congep) may
be committed to compliance with the Worldwide Responsible Apparel
Production (WRAP) principles. In fact, the signing of the agreement on
April 28, 1999, marked the signatories' "commitment to compliance with the
standards, from workers' health and safety to workers' right to join or
form unions."
However, neither Dee's garment exporters nor those "insignificant
Anvil-like factories" are free of violations. Sweatshop operation is
anything that violates two or more labor standards. Indicators are pretty
basic: less than minimum pay, non-payment of wages, locked exits, long
working days, no breaks, etc. Dee should brush up on the concept of
sweatshop operation and existing policies that are supposed to check it.
Yes, Mr. Dee, sweatshops exist. Some of them are in your backyard. Instead
of hitting us and other groups that seek to expose sweatshop operations,
work with us in pressuring the government to set up mechanisms for workers
to seek the assistance of the Department of Trade and Industry's Garments
and Textile Export Board (GTEB).
The GTEB is tasked to monitor garment exporters' compliance with WRAP, an
international agreement of cooperation in promoting decent work and core
labor standards. Obviously, it has yet to do its job.
--ANNE FOS, Trade Union Congress of
the Philippines, Masaya and Maharlika Streets, Diliman, Quezon City |
