Gap, Next and M&S in new sweatshop scandal
By: Gethin Chamberlain
Some of the biggest names on the British high street are at the centre of a major sweatshop scandal. An Observer investigation has found staff at their Indian suppliers working up to 16 hours a day.
Marks & Spencer, Gap and Next have all launched their own inquiries into the abuses and pledged to end the practice of excessive overtime, which is in flagrant breach of the industry's ethical trading initiative (ETI) and Indian labour law.
Some workers say they were paid at half the legal overtime rate. Gap, which uses the same factory as Next, confirmed it had found wage violations and gave its supplier a deadline of midnight last night to repay workers who lost out. M&S says it has yet to see evidence to support the wage claims.
Workers also say that those who refuse to work the extra hours have been told to find new jobs. Those in the factory supplying Gap and Next also claim staff who refused to work extra hours were threatened and fired, a practice defined under international law as forced labour and outlawed around the world. The factory has pledged to apologise and reinstate anyone who lost their job.
Next said it had found the situation to be "deplorable" and the chairman of the Indian company it uses has apologised and promised to make amends, blaming demand for workers at the forthcoming Commonwealth Games in Delhi for leaving factories short of staff.
Gap admitted wage and overtime violations and ordered its supplier to reduce working hours to within the legal limits and to refund workers who have been illegally underpaid.
Marks & Spencer admitted its supplier had been operating excessive overtime but said it had acted quickly to tackle the problem. It admitted its own audits had found a number of other violations, which it described as "high-risk issues in documentation and conditions
Source : http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/08/gap-next-marks-spencer-sweat...
these are unfair labor practices, aren't there any workers union?
Well this happens on Indian soil so the Indian government should do more to stamp out such disgraceful practises by their citizens.
The multi nationals probably just turn a blind eye as the Indian run business give them a cheap price for goods.
Seriously though this really sucks its not an astonishing situation.Not from where I come from any way where many sectors including the garment industry uses such deplorable methods. What is amazing is such mega established companies being a part of such harassment and abuse of human rights. Subhanallah! Hope this exposure brings about some kind of good..maybe just maybe!
Since there are not many other countrymen to exploit they can only look up to fellow Indians to comfort their itch to exploit...:)
It still amazes me that Indians have no problem exploiting other Indians.
competition
Greed.