Supermarkets & Sweatshops

UK retailers under increasing media spotlight
In June 2008, War on Want received extensive media coverage after we advised the BBC on issues around garment workers in the developing world. Simon McRae, senior campaigns officer, was interviewed for the Panorama programme Primark: On the Rack, which was watched by over four million viewers.
Our campaign (recently including a protest outside Primark) to improve working conditions and win a living wage for workers supplying clothing to high street chains and supermarkets, was widely covered in the mainstream newspapers, TV and radio.
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Furthermore, War on Want, together with Labour Behind the Label, funded a speaking tour for Suhasini Singh (pictured below outside Tesco's AGM). Suhasini is a researcher with the India-based NGO Cividep, which has provided War on Want with research on labour rights issues and factory conditions in Bangalore.
Suhasini gave War on Want direct testimony from workers and information about the conditions faced by those making garments for massive UK companies like Tesco. She was able to attend the company’s AGM and speak directly to Tesco’s CEO, Sir Terry Leahy, about the conditions and pay in the sweatshops that make clothes for Tesco.
As the biggest retailer in the country, and a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative, Tesco should be leading the way in ensuring that workers making its products are paid a living wage, have the right to join a trade union and don’t work excessive hours or under poor conditions. Instead, research carried out by Suhasini for War on Want in Bangalore found that workers in factories supplying Tesco were paid half a living wage, finding it even more difficult to get by now with the increase in global food prices. She took time to answer some questions for us.
Q: What were the conditions and pay like in the factories that you investigated?
A: The working conditions of garment workers are precarious in Bangalore. They have to work for nine to ten hours with a break of half an hour for lunch, that's it! They are forced to complete targets of 100-120 pieces per hour, when under normal circumstances one can do just 60 pieces. Many get paid well under a living wage, yet they are expected to take care of a family of four or more! Overtime is not paid, workplace harassment and abuse are rampant and above all, workers cannot voice their opinion through unions.
Q: Do you think companies are doing enough to ensure that workers in their supply chains are paid properly and have good working conditions? What changes would you like to see made by the companies that buy these clothes?
A: Generally speaking, companies have just managed to improve the physical condition of the factory but nothing beyond that. Workers are paid the minimum wage, which is far below a living wage. Collective bargaining at the workplace is not allowed so there is no other way to increase the wages of workers from what they are getting now. British companies should ensure that suppliers pay living wages to the workers so that they have a decent living. They should allow unionisation in the factory. This will help workers to voice their opinions and demands on various issues. Moreover, freedom to form a union is enshrined in Indian Labour Law; they should respect it.
Q: You met Sir Terry Leahy after the Tesco AGM. What was his reaction to the things you told him about the garment industry in Bangalore?
A: I told him about the deplorable condition of the garment workers in Bangalore producing for Tesco and said that with Tesco's increased profits this year he can actually give a living wage to the workers there. He replied saying, " We will look into it. A lot of research has to be done to determine the living wage. We [Tesco] want to work with the best employers in India." I wonder if it is his genuine desire to put in some effort in this direction, or if this is just one of those fake statements!
War on Want is campaigning to make sure that workers supplying big UK supermarkets get a fair deal. Time and again we’ve uncovered poverty pay, unacceptable working conditions and a lack of trade union rights in the factories that provide clothes for the UK high street. The companies that make massive profits off the back of the clothing industry have a responsibility to ensure that their suppliers treat workers fairly and that cheap clothing doesn’t come at the expense of workers’ rights.

Unions and employers agree way forward

(13/08/08) Trade unions and local government employers in England, Northern Ireland and Wales have confirmed they will meet again next week to continue negotiations on pay and conditions.Talks reopened yesterday with an initial meeting to set the timetable and agenda for the way forward.UNISON head of local government Heather Wakefield, who is also the joint union side secretary, said the talks were "an initial meeting" to "kick off National Joint Council negotiations in the context of the agreed statement with the Local Government Association. The meeting focussed on the timetable and process for the talks, which will continue on 22 August."The joint statement between UNISON, Unite and the employers which paved the way for the talks had said that a "new era of employment is needed to reflect properly the contribution of the workforce" to improving services and meeting the needs of their local communities.The statement went on: "to secure this new settlement, the partners are committed to immediate serious and meaningful negotiations over a range of issues", including the joint union pay claim and a review of conditions of service, with "nothing ruled in or out". The talks will aim for proposals "that recognise the aspirations of the workforce in the context of the financial position of local government".Negotiations will continue on 22 August, and Ms Wakefield added: "Arrangements are being made for meetings of the UNISON and trade union sides of the NJC executive for next week, prior to the next meeting with the employers. Further updates will be sent to branches and posted on the UNISON web site.

Inflation soars to 4.4%

(12/08/08) UNISON members faced with pay cuts are being hit with the steepest inflation increase since records began.Official figures out today reveal the government's preferred CPI measure of inflation jumped from 3.8% in June to 4.4% this month.It is the biggest monthly change since records began in 1997, with the new figure now more than twice the government's official 2% target, which this year’s public service pay offers were based upon.The latest data from the Office of National Statistics shows the largest upward pressure from food prices, which have soared a record 13.7% in the past year. Rising fuel costs have also pushed the figure up.Looking ahead, the International Monetary Fund predicts inflation could hit 5% as recent gas and electricity price rises kick in.Todays figures confirm what UNISON members have been saying for months, said general secretary Dave Prentis.He said members are facing "unparalleled hikes" in the cost of basics such as milk, bread, cheese, petrol, gas and electricity."The government's unjust public sector pay policy means that teaching assistants, nurses, librarians, care workers, home carers, nursery staff and hospital cleaners are having to cope with the biggest rise in inflation since records began, on a real pay cut," he said.Urging the government to rethink, he added: "Instead of targeting the public sector workers who keep this country running smoothly, the government should turn their firepower onto the big city bonuses and corporate fat cats who are the real villains when it comes to fuelling inflation."

Local gov talks reopen tomorrow

(11/08/08) Local government pay talks in England, Northern Ireland and Wales reopen tomorrow, with UNISON hoping they will usher in a 'new era' for council workers.The union is seeking improved pay and conditions that begin to match up to that of other public service staff.Speaking ahead of the talks, UNISON senior national officer Lucille Thirlby said: "Local government staff play a vital role in keeping communities across the UK running smoothly."They work as social workers, provide home care, work in libraries, and keep our streets clean. During the school holidays many will also be looking after children in summer play schemes or teaching them to swim at local leisure centres. "We hope that this week's talks with the local government employers will herald a 'new era of employment' for local authority staff."We will be doing our best to make sure that pay and conditions begin to match up with the crucial work local authority do day in, day out, and to rates of pay elsewhere in the public sector."Last month around half a million council workers took strike action to protest against a below-inflation pay offer of 2.45%. Unions have agreed to suspend further action pending the outcome of the new negotiations.

TUC disappointed by interest rate hold

Commenting on the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee's decision to hold interest rates at five per cent this month, TUC Head of Economics and Social Affairs Adam Lent said:
'While the Government talks of the need for an economic recovery plan to restart growth in the UK, the Bank is doing all it can to hold down consumer confidence and business investment.
'This is not the time to be holding rates when the prospects for the economy in 2009 look increasingly weak. The Bank should cut and cut fast.'

Four deaths at work per week

is no cause for celebration warns

leading personal injury law firm

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Report
With four people still dying at work per week in Great Britain, a leading personal injury law firm has warned of the dangers of complacency, following the Health and Safety Executive’s latest report of a small drop in the figures.
The provisional figures reveal that 228 workers lost their lives as a result of accidents or incidents at work in 2007/08 compared to 247 workers in 2006/07. The report also shows a slight increase in the number of workers killed in the agriculture sector and a slight decrease in the construction sector.
Mick Antoniw, from Thompsons Solicitors, is not convinced: “If you were to include the road traffic accidents related to work which resulted in deaths and the increasing number of deaths from industrial diseases such as mesothelioma, the HSE results would reveal a far darker picture. Of course we welcome any decrease in deaths at work, but we must not allow any employer – however large or small - to get complacent and neglect the duty of care that they have to all of their employees.”
Antoniw continues: “Despite our record as the ‘best’ major industrial nation in Europe, Great Britain can hardly be proud that 228 people died directly as a cause of their work. A huge amount of effort is required to reduce the misery faced each year by families who lose a loved one due to negligence by an employer.”
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Report

06/08/2008
UNISON CALLS ON MPS TO SUPPORT

LOCAL GOVERNMENT STAFF

UNISON, the UK’s largest public sector union, has today (6 August) written to MPs calling on them to lobby the Local Government Association (LGA) in a bid to bring the ongoing dispute with local government staff in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to a close. Local government workers including teaching assistants, social workers, librarians, refuse collectors, school meals assistants and environmental health officers have already staged a 48-hour walk out over a 2.45% pay offer. Further action has been suspended, pending talks with the employers scheduled for later this month. UNISON senior national officer for local government, Lucille Thirlby, said: “Over the last ten years, local government staff have become the poor relations of the public sector, with colleagues in comparable jobs elsewhere in the public sector overtaking them by thousands of pounds a year. “Local government social workers earn £3,329 less than their colleagues working in the NHS. It is not surprising that they top the list of recruitment difficulties. “If we allow this worrying trend to continue, we run the risk of sparking a recruitment and retention crisis elsewhere in local government. Our communities cannot afford to lose staff who provide essential services such as looking after children or teaching them to swim, cleaning our streets or keeping our libraries running smoothly.” In Scotland local government workers represented by UNISON, GMB and UNITE have voted to strike in a separate dispute. The first day of action is scheduled for 20 August.Notes to editors Local government staff can earn as little as £5.52 per hour and 57% earn less than £15,000 per year. According to the IDS Pay in the Public Services 2008 Survey a catering assistant in local government is paid £1,554 less per year than a catering assistant in the NHS. A home care assistant in local government is paid £1,789 less per year than a care assistant in the NHS. Since 2002, council reserves in England alone have doubled to more than £11 billion and since 2004, efficiency savings have exceeded £6 billion – twice as much as required by the Government.