INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-INDONESIA:

LUXURY BRANDS AND HORRIBLE CONDITIONS:

The following call for solidarity is from the international Clean Clothes Campaign. It's about conditions in an Indonesian factory where luxury clothes are made for fashion giants Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger.

ILILILILILILIL

Luxury fashion brands leave Indonesian workers in the cold:
Polo Ralph Lauren, the upmarket US-based fashion giant, continues to ignore union repression and bad working conditions at one of its suppliers in Indonesia, the Mulia Knitting Factory near to Jakarta. The fashion house simply refuses to respond to the plight of workers who produce its garments.

Tommy Hilfiger, another buyer at the same clothing factory, has claimed that they have discussed the problems with the supplier, but the company has yet to take decisive action.

Following the establishment of the factory union SBGTS-GSBI in May 2007, the management of the Mulia Knitting Factory (MKF) organised a campaign to destroy the union by forcing all of its founding members to resign from the union or be removed from the factory. Unsafe and bad working conditions in the factory make the issue of workers' representation all the more urgent.

Although the national umbrella organisation GSBI has now managed to open up a direct dialogue with the MKF management, the latter remains unwilling to discuss matters related to freedom of association.

Support these Indonesian workers in their struggle. Send letters to Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger today and forward this message to your friends. Your actions will make a difference! Take action now!

ILILILILILILIL
BACKGROUND

The CCC and its allies in Indonesia and in the US have undertaken intensive efforts to set up constructive dialogues with MKF's foreign buyers to support a solution to the problems at the clothing factory. Indonesian law, international labour standards and the fashion brands’ own codes of conduct protect the workers’ rights to form and join a union. But Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger have done nothing to demonstrate that there is substance behind the claims in their codes.

Despite seven letters from the CCC and our allies and repeated phone calls, Polo Ralph Lauren's corporate social responsibility manager has refused to discuss the problems at MKF. Unfortunately, this is common practise for the designer of lavish lifestyle(this is a total aside- but I've always hated this word from the first time I heard it-Molly) products.

Although Polo Ralph Lauren actively promotes charities and philanthropic programmes, it refuses to mainstream ethical trade principles in its day-to-day operations. The company has been the defendant in a number of court cases involving discrimination and violations of labour rights.

After dragging its feet, Tommy Hilfiger now says it is committed to solving the problems in its supply chain. However, after more then six months, its efforts have not yielded any concrete results. This raises serious questions about Tommy Hilfiger's commitment to uphold the values laid down in their corporate Code of Conduct.

Support these Indonesian workers in their struggle. Send letters to Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger today and forward this message to your friends. Your actions will make a difference!
LLLLLLLLLLLLLL
THE LETTERS:

Please go to THIS LINK to send the following letters to Polo Ralph lauren and Tommy Hilfiger.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLL
To Polo Ralph Lauren's CEO and its Senior Director of Global Compliance.

Dear Sir,

I have learned that workers at one of your suppliers, PT Mulia Knitting Factory (MKF) in Indonesia, have been denied their right to freedom of association. Founders and members of the SBGTS-GSBI workers' union, established at the factory in May 2007, have been forced to resign from the union or be removed from the factory.

Unsafe and bad working conditions in the factory make the issue of workers' representation all the more urgent.

As you know, with today's globalised production patterns, manufacturers and retailers who order their goods from suppliers worldwide are increasingly aware of their overall supply-chain responsibilities.

In this framework, I urge you to make sure that Polo Ralph Lauren does everything in its power to address the problems at your Indonesian supplier.

Specifically I urge you to use your influence and assure that MKF:

1 - offers immediate reinstatement to all workers who were wrongfully dismissed or transferred because of their refusal to disassociate themselves from SBGTS-GSBI. The reinstatement should include compensation for salary arrears since the date of their dismissal or transfer. The workers should be reemployed at their previous positions in the factory with no loss of seniority and no reduction in salary;

2 - respects the right of their workers to Freedom of Association, and issues a statement to the work force, verbally and in writing,stating that the factory will respect the rights of workers join any organisation of their choosing, be it an NGO or a labour union, and that no worker will be fired, demoted, transferred or the subject of retaliation of any other kind for the decision that he or she makes. In that statement, the MKF management must clarify that the legally registered SBGTS-GSBI union is considered a legitimate entity.

Rather than denying the CCC any chance at communication, I further urge you to see the Campaign as a possible partner, that has specific expertise in matters relating to worker rights and working conditions in the global textiles supply chains. Fashion companies that show a real willingness to respect the rights of the individuals who produce their clothes can count on the support and collaboration of the CCC in designing and implementing pragmatic solutions.

Hoping for your cooperation in bringing these matters to a swift resolution,

Yours sincerely,

LLLLLLLLLLLLLL
To Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Social responsibility managers in Europe and the US

Dear Madam, Sir,

I understand from information provided by the Clean Clothes Campaign that Tommy Hilfiger has dragged its feet rather than decisively acting on reports of serious labour-rights violations at one of your suppliers, PT Mulia Knitting Factory (MKF) in Indonesia.

Despite months of communications with the CCC, and despite Tommy Hilfiger's stated commitment to solving the problems at their supplier, your apparent efforts has not lead to any concrete results in the factory.

I have learned that workers at the factory have been denied their right to Freedom of Association. Founders and members of the SBGTS-GSBI workers' union, established at the factory in May 2007, have been forced to resign from the union or be removed from the factory.

Unsafe and bad working conditions in the factory make the issue of workers' representation all the more urgent.

As you know, with today's globalised production patterns, manufacturers and retailers who order their goods from suppliers worldwide are increasingly aware of their overall supply-chain responsibilities.

In this framework, I urge you to make sure that Tommy Hilfiger does everything in its power to address the problems at your Indonesian supplier.

Specifically I urge you to use your influence and assure that MKF:

1 - offers immediate reinstatement to all workers who were wrongfully dismissed or transferred because of their refusal to disassociate themselves from SBGTS-GSBI. The reinstatement should include compensation for salary arrears since the date of their dismissal or transfer. The workers should be reemployed at their previous positions in the factory with no loss of seniority and no reduction in salary;

2 - respects the right of their workers to Freedom of Association, and issues a statement to the work force, verbally and in writing,stating that the factory will respect the rights of workers join any organisation of their choosing, be it an NGO or a labour union, and that no worker will be fired, demoted, transferred or the subject of retaliation of any other kind for the decision that he or she makes. In that statement, the MKF management must clarify that the legally registered SBGTS-GSBI union is considered a legitimate entity.

Hoping for your cooperation in bringing these matters to a swift resolution,

Yours sincerely,

ILILILILILILIL

A LITTLE MOLLY ADDENDUM:

I doubt that I have ever entered any of the stores mentioned above. If I have seen them it is probable that I walked or drove faster to get past them. This, however, brings up the question of what happens to the "remainders" from the manufacturers who via slave labour supply these so-called quality luxury clothes. Quite frankly I wouldn't be surprised if the left-overs ended up at dollar stores throughout the world (Winnipeg is the world's capital of such outlets). The same stuff at 1/50th the price. It would be amusing to find out if this was true. For all I know I'm walking around with a "Tommy Lauren" set of undergitch as we speak. Bow down before my fashion sense.