JOURNAL
Children’s Rights International
Justice is Hope
An Initiative of World Congress on Family Law and Children’s Rights Inc.
Fact sheet - Fibres and Fabrics International (FFI)
The Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) and the India Committee of the Netherlands (ICN) are conducting a campaign to help workers at the Indian garment manufacturer Fibres and Fabrics International (FFI) in Bangalore to secure safe and fair working conditions. In June 2007 FFI responded by launching a court case against the two organisations, as well as their broadband and Internet service providers, after having used legal action to silence local labour rights organisations in July 2006.
Background information:
End of 2005
Local unions and labour rights organisations report several labour violations, including high work pressure, forced (unpaid) overtime, and physical and verbal abuse at the garment manufacturer FFI and its subsidiary JKPL in Bangalore.
April 2006
A fact finding team of local labour rights organisations confirms the grievances on the basis of interviews with workers at FFI. In July the team conducts additional interviews and in August it publishes a report: (http://www.cleanclothes.org/ftp/06-08-Fact_Finding_Report-FFi.pdf). The report recognizes that a number of problems have been resolved (e.g. physical violence has stopped). However, workers who make critical comments about labour conditions at FFI remain subject to intimidation.
May 2006
FFI refuses to talk seriously with the local trade union, the Garment and Textile Workers Union (GATWU) to discuss how grievances can be resolved. Despite an appeal by the Dutch Clean Clothes Campaign and the India Committee of the Netherlands in December 2005, the producer’s main client, G-Star, also refuses to address the problem. The CCC and ICN decide to make the case public.
July 2006
On the basis of accusations made by FFI that the organisations spread false information, the local judge in Bangalore bans local unions and labour rights organisations from speaking in public. The court does not consider the content of the case, but issues an order ‘prima facie’ that forbids the organisations to publish information about conditions at FFI. In February 2007, this ‘gag order’ is prolonged.
Oct 2006
CCC and ICN report G-Star’s violation of the OECD guidelines at the Dutch National Contact Point (NCP). NCP accepts the report and takes on the case, but no concrete measures are taken as yet. G-Star demands time and again that CCC and ICN stop the campaign and remove displeasing information from their websites. In June 2007 CCC/ICN and G-Star have two meetings. These meetings take place outside the framework of the formal procedure at the NCP.
Nov 2006
CCC and ICN file a complaint at Social Accountability International (SAI), against the SA8000 certification of the FFI factories. CCC and ICN argue that the certification is unjust because the right to freedom of association is not respected as long as the local union and labour organisations cannot speak freely. SAI accepts the complaint. On the basis of the complaint, research is conducted that leads to the suspension of SA8000 certification. In April 2007 SAI publishes a statement saying that SAI certification needs to be suspended in cases where manufacturers resort to legal action or other obstructions that makes consultation with external stakeholders regarding the company’s compliance with labour standards impossible. (http://www.saintl.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=534&parentID=477&nodeID=1).
Jan 2007
CCC and ICN receive a letter from FFI’s law firm Pramila Associates. CCC/ICN are accused of having "indulged in a systematic, planned conspiracy to malign and cause harm and damage to the business, image and reputation of FFI by deliberately publishing false information and cyber crime”. A large sum of money and the immediate suspension of the campaign are demanded on penalty of ‘criminal- and civil legal steps’. The company also threatens to call in Interpol. The accusations and threats are directed at the providers XS4ALL and Antenna as well. Antenna hosts the website of ICN. XS4ALL only sells broadband services to CCC.
Jan 2007
CCC receives a letter from the Indian Embassy in The Hague in which CCC/ICN are requested to remove the information about FFI from their websites because the information is said to be untrue. The letter further states that the CCC should not interfere in the Indian legal system.
May 2007
CCC, ICN, XS4ALL and Antenna are summoned to appear in front of the judge in Bangalore on June 25th on grounds of libel. FFI’s accusation also includes cyber crime, and acts of xenophobic nature. While the case has not yet been handled in court, the staff of these Dutch organisations face an international arrest warrant to force them to appear in court in India.
Sept 2007
The judge in Bangalore requests the lawyers of FFI to proceed with the formalities necessary to enable it to issue the arrest warrant. The court hearing of November 20th at which it should have become clear if the international arrest warrant will indeed be issued, is postponed to November 23rd.
Oct 2007
The Dutch Socialist Party questions the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Justice and the State Secretary of Economic Affairs about the possible consequences for policy on corporate social responsibility - which is based on independent research, transparency and dialogue - if the Indian judge decides in favour of FFI. The Minister has answered (November 7th) that he considers this a case between private parties.
Amnesty International issues a public statement about the continuous harassment of defenders of workers’ rights and campaigners abroad and condemns ‘the practice of filing apparently unsubstantiated criminal charges’ aimed at curtailing the freedom of expression (www.cleanclothes.org/news/07-10-02.htm).
The Dutch Queen pays a state visit to Bangalore, India. In the presence of the Dutch delegation, the Indian Minister of Trade, Kamal Nath, accuses CCC/ICN of spreading false reports. The accusation leads to a media frenzy and renewed attention in the Dutch parliament.
Fair Wear Foundation posted their report on FFI on their website http://www.fairwear.nl/tmp/2007%20-%20Report%20on%20FFI%20complaint,%20aug%202007.pdf, in which they conclude that FFI not only has been acting in violation with the International Labour Standards on Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining and to the basic requirements needed for verifiable code implementation; but also that it has not shown the will to correct this serious non-compliance by refusing to come to an agreement with the trade union and by sticking to its course of taking legal action against parties that criticised the company. Reported violations include the forced dismissal of 85 workers who joined the union GATWU in 2006.
Nov 2007
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders launches an urgent appeal in support of staff members of the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) and the India Committee of the Netherlands (ICN), and calls upon the Indian Prime minister to stop the harassment of the CCC and ICN Human Rights Defenders. See: http://www.fidh.org/spip.php?article4860
The International Trade Union Confederation releases a press statement, in which it criticises the attempts by the Indian government and the Bangalore Court to cover up serious labour rights violations at the Indian jeans manufacturer Fibre & Fabrics International (FFI) and its subsidiary Jeans Knits Pvt. Ltd. See: http://www.ituc-csi.org/spip.php?article1566
What is the current situation at the jeans factory FFI?
While a number of the original labour rights violations reported at FFI have been resolved since GATWU and CCC/ICN first drew attention to them, intimidations and threats of trade union members and staff of labour rights NGO’s persist.
At this moment it is impossible to obtain independent information about working conditions at FFI due to the fact that local labour rights organisations are legally prohibited from sharing any information. However, news coverage about bad working conditions in other garment factories in Bangalore, where over the past year at least three deaths were reported, makes clear that adequately tackling labour rights violations remains urgent.
Instead of solving the reported problems and entering into dialogue with local organisations, FFI has opted for a legal fight. The ´gag order´ has very serious consequences for local trade unions and NGOs. The affected organisations are silenced; they can no longer share information about the situation at FFI with others. They can no longer do their work properly. This entails a serious violation of the right to organise and freedom of expression. Employees should be free to form and become a member of the trade union of their choice, without fear of discrimination or intimidation. At FFI this is currently not the case. 85 Workers have been dismissed following their joining of GATWU in 2006. GATWU is locked out and its work is being obstructed. As long as GATWU is forbidden to speak publicly, workers can no longer count on protection if they are confronted with repression as a result of their trade union membership or their interest in joining a union These limitations on the freedom of expression also prevent workers from raising awareness of abuses and from seeking support.
Finally, protest against these harassments also serves a broader purpose. Arbitrarily dragging defenders of workers’ rights to court does not contribute to a sustainable solution of problems in the garment industry. Legal procedures are being abused in order to gag local and international organisations, to intimidate them and to discredit them. In its public statement on October 2nd, Amnesty International shared these concerns. The case poses a serious threat to corporate social responsibility if it sets a precedent for companies to use the courts to silence critics, rather than cooperate to solve existing problems.
Who is who
Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC)
International campaign organisation that aims to improve working conditions in the garment industry worldwide
India Committee of the Netherlands (ICN)
Independent non-governmental organization, based on solidarity with deprived groups in Indian society
G-Star
Main client of FFI/JKPL
Fibres and Fabric International (FFI)
Garment manufacturer in Bangalore
Jeans Knit Pvt Ltd (JKPL)
100% subsidiary of FFI
GATWU
Garment and Textile Workers Union – local trade union
NTUI
New Trade Union Initiative – Indian trade union federation
Cividep
Civil Initiatives for Development and Peace - local
labour rights organisation
Munnade
Women Garment Workers Front - local
women’s organisation/ ‘pre-union’
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