奴隷? 「私たちは、賃金と残業の課題を持っている」
持続可能性のH&Mのディレクターは、繊維産業の論争を見て:発展途上国での生産の労働条件
ENTREVISTA: HELENA HELMMERSON
¿Esclavismo? “Tenemos retos en salarios y horas extra”
La directora de sostenibilidad de H&M repasa el asunto más controvertido de la industria textil: las condiciones laborales en que se produce en los países en vías de desarrollo
El precio social de la ropa
Pablo Linde Estocolmo 16 ABR 2014 - 19:25 CET
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INTERVIEW: HELENA HELMMERSON
Enslavement?? "We have challenges in wages and overtime"
The director of sustainability H & M looks at the controversial issue of the textile industry: the working conditions of its production in developing countries
The social price of clothing
Paul Linde Stockholm 16 ABR 2014 - 19:25 CET
After presenting a 90-page report detailing a host of policies CSR data and very specific deadlines , Helena Helmersson , director of sustainability H & M manages a well-honed on the most sensitive issues discourse surrounding any textile multinational : working conditions in developing safety workshops , overtime wages ... at the headquarters of the Swedish company in Stockholm ( on a visit funded by this brand of clothing ) countries, recognizes that much remains to be done in these areas. And such areas she always refers to as " challenges."
Question. Can an industry that sells T-shirts to five euros be socially sustainable ?
Response . In fact , I think that to be profitable in the long term must be sustainable. Very often this concept is related to higher costs , but I disagree . In the short term we have to make investments , but long , reduce expenses using resources carefully. With energy efficiency costs are also lower . If we talk about social sustainability , it may be a factor in performance as strikes and labor problems cost us much money. I think it is possible and that we are an example of which can be combined with good prices and a more sustainable fashion accessible to many people.
Q. If the working conditions in developing countries improve , is not inevitable that the price of clothing also rise ?
R. The rise in wages is part of our roadmap. But this is just one part of our final prices. Many other things influence , like buying large volumes, good logistics routes ... We try very effective support costs and wages represent only a fraction of them .
P. They require their suppliers to pay the national minimum wage to employees. Is it enough ?
To be profitable in the long term we need to be sustainable "
Produced 1.6 million people for brand
H & M , short for Hennes & Mauritz , is the second European clothing chain , behind the Spanish Inditex. It has about 116,000 employees and 3,200 stores in 54 countries . Last year , the company had revenues of SEK 150,090 million ( 16.987 million euros). Germany is the country where they do more business : MSEK 31,140 ( 3.524 million euros). None of the 1,900 factories producing clothing brand are owned , belong to its 900 suppliers, working for 1.6 million people worldwide . Bulgaria, Cambodia, Egypt , Greece , China , Vietnam , Bangladesh and India are some of the major producing countries.
A. We have fostered advances in wages, but we believe that progress is very slow. We try to check if the salaries covering basic needs. There was a problem in many countries , but in others was a challenge , as in Cambodia and Bangladesh. In our roadmap we have many projects in these countries. Keep trying that wages rise. One of the measures is to ask the workers what they thought a fair remuneration for them as reference.
Q. Are you aware of the salary of the lowest charges a worker makes clothes for H & M ?
R. In Bangladesh , about $ 68 a month , which was increased last year when I was about 30 in Cambodia about $ 100 per month. ; if we include bonus reaches 170 .
P. The Pope went on to say that these salaries were slavery. Do you agree?
A. I think there are definitely challenges especially in these two countries to fulfill our roadmap . Of course we want our suppliers pay their employees fair wages . What else can we do to make this happen? Improve our purchasing practices to reduce overtime , ensure that wages are negotiated , train employees . This is really the role that we have, asking workers if their wages cover a decent life.
Q. Han sanctioned suppliers that do not meet these rules?
A. Of course . When we started work we require that they comply with our protocols , we asked and improvements to be transparent with us. We do many audits , four every 18 or 24 months. In a country like Bangladesh we have 400 people in our office, many of them local . But if we find problems and fix them we do not get through dialogue , then continue with them. We give six months before breaking our contract in order to avoid a situation stop overnight in thousands of workers.
Q. I still have not been enough improvements in wages , what other have seen things change then ?
R. We have launched some very interesting projects , for example in Bangladesh, where we try to develop social dialogue . There's very low rates of unionization , which means that we must work to counter in factories. We work to train both workers and managers on how to hold democratic elections in companies. We have seen great results. If you look at women in business , see how some have been chosen to negotiate with them by their peers and that , in this country, is quite impressive. Begin to address issues such as overtime, wages ... This year 50% of our suppliers should have democratic elections and by 2018 , 80% . In addition , in April we started a training school for employees to learn how to negotiate in social dialogue . Furthermore, we have also negotiated with governments , such as the Prime Minister of Cambodia last year. The same did in Bangladesh in 2012 and I think we left them a very clear message : the big companies want better working conditions. We need the security that gives the social stability for our expansion . Although it is difficult to note results , have begun to discuss mechanisms for dialogue .
You can sell clothes to five euros and be socially responsible . We show "
Q. How pressuring suppliers to promote the social dialogue?
A. First form of rights and responsibilities . In Bangladesh we promote through videos and educational centers.
Q. limited to a formative role ? Do not have enough strength to force this democracy ?
A. Of course collect the code of conduct that suppliers that have democratic processes get more points and therefore more productive workload. So it's a balance between our code, which leaves them very clear what we seek, and the training work .
Q. Many NGOs complain that it is difficult to know whether the audits are really helpful because sometimes the real situation is made up, workers are forced to lie about their conditions. How can you be sure of the results of inspections ?
A. We really qualified inspectors . And we have seen the problem for many years. I think it's very good that we have our own auditors , in a mixture of some international , but mostly local , because they have to be familiar with the country and culture. They are well prepared to control transparency, especially in checking the extra hours , wages ... We review the documents confirming this and do interviews with workers . It is true that inspections are a problem in the industry, but I think it is being solved .
Q. Things have changed since the tragedy of Bangladesh 2013, with 1,130 dead and 1,537 wounded. Not manufactured for H & M in the damaged building , but how this event has affected the industry?
A. No, we were not , and is not by chance. We have very strict requirements for that not to happen , we require that they work in industrial buildings , they can not be shared, etc. . It was a horrible accident and regardless of not being present , we have to get involved because we work there. We engage in a national plan and a partnership between the marks to pass a few standards and inspections in buildings.
Q. Once inspected buildings, does a monitored to ensure that faults have been repaired that might have ?
A. Yes , that's very important. Of course, if we detect a very big problem , we would make workers leave the building , but this has not happened. If we find something that does not need to close the factory but must be arranged, ask the provider for a plan of action and we monitor for you to meet .
Q. They do the same with their suppliers subcontractors ?
R. also audited factories of subcontractors , the public have included in our list of suppliers . Because a company can not use subcontractors but we have verified that it meets our standards. We have to have absolute control.
Q. And how to prove that not outsource to other companies for worse ?
R. Han happened sometimes , but we try to find out with our knowledge about the capabilities of our suppliers. We know how much you can produce in a month. And compared to our plans to see if they cheat . However, we are challenged to continue to monitor subcontractors, because although there are not many cases has happened. If no return happens twice to ordering from the company.
P. deadlines and volumes are fundamental in that, how they ensure that they are appropriate and how to adjust to not overburden providers Changes?
Penalize providers who do not comply with labor rights and train workers "
A. We use a very planned way to shop , we adjust rates each factory orders . We have 160 strategic suppliers that give us 60% of production. Know so well is essential for capacity planning . We can not work with companies overnight . The tried and have to overcome a trial period . Sometimes last minute changes that may incur overtime occur , but are cautious in giving us the right price and the right terms to know they can afford it.
Q. Are extra overtime really ?
A. Yes, when schedules do we ensure that they can deliver orders with regular work .
Q. They ensure that the pay ?
A. Yes , that's what we reviewed in audits. But I repeat that wages and overtime are one of our challenges , unfortunately not all factories comply.
Q. Do you think the money for CSR should be made mandatory by law firms ?
R. In our industry I think I should have a regular shape that even a minimum social and environmental sustainability. What I hope is that companies see the benefits there without any legal requirement that requires them .
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