Interim Report of a complaint at a factory in India supplying Takko
On 25 October 2016, FWF received a complaint from an employee currently employed at the factory. The complainant claimed that overtime salaries were not paid correctly, that bonus payments are different for workers that have been with the factory for different lengths of time, and that the transport provided by the factory has changed its route. Workers are now dropped off 2 km away from their hometown.
FWF decided that the case is admissible on 28 October. Takko’s local audit team conducted an investigation on 11 November 2016. In addition, a FWF verification audit was conducted in February 2017.
Both the Takko investigation as well as the FWF verification audit confirmed that overtime hours are within legal limits and are always paid at double rate. The factory has a three-tiered model for bonuses that follows legislation and is understood by all workers. The investigation concluded that the factory had merged two bus routes, and that the larger bus could not travel down the narrow road to two workers’ homes. They are dropped off 500 m away, in a well-lit area.
FWF recommends remediation steps for the organisation of worker committees and the process for raising grievances with this committee. The bonus structure should be negotiated with worker representatives and the CBA adapted accordingly. FWF will verify progress on remediation steps at the next audit.
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Final report of a complaint at a factory in Tunisia supplying Bierbaum Proenen
On 28 February 2017, FWF received a complaint from a worker that is currently employed by the factory. The complainant claimed that the factory does not pay income taxes in accordance with the tax law. Three workers were asked by the Tunisian Tax Department of the Ministry of Finance to pay an additional 400 dinars over 2016. According to the complainant, factory management refused to discuss this with the workers at first.
FWF informed Bierbaum Proenen about the case who then contacted the supplier. Factory management claimed that they were receptive of the question and tried to resolve it to the best of their abilities. After Bierbaum Proenen had contacted factory management, a meeting was held between management and the Workers Council to discuss this issue. The FWF complaints handler and the FWF documents inspector contacted factory management to inform them about current obligations under Tunisian tax law. They also advised them to organise a meeting with the tax department of the Ministry of Finance, the chartered accountant, management and worker representatives, which management subsequently did.
After discussions between factory management, worker representation, the tax department of the Ministry of Finance and the accountant, it was concluded that taxes were not correctly calculated and paid between April and July 2016. The fact that the factory had not paid the correct amount of tax to the Tunisian Tax department was due to the fact that the Tunisian tax department had not yet updated the tax form for the workers who earned less than 5000 TND in 2015 and more than 5000 TND in 2016.
A training session with the accountant and the workers was organised. Factory management agreed to ensure that taxes were correctly paid.
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FINAL REPORT OF A COMPLAINT at A FACTORY IN VIETNAM SUPPLYING VAUDE
On 2 April 2017, FWF received a complaint from a worker that was employed by the factory until February 2017. The complaint is related to the unused annual leave payment for resigned workers. The complainant wished to complain on behalf of herself and one of her co-workers. Both employees resigned in February 2017, but according to the complainant the factory has not paid the unused annual leave of 2016. The complainant raised her question to her line leader and the line leader replied she did not have the unused annual leave payment in 2016 because she resigned. The complainant does not remember exactly the number of days for unused annual leave but stated she did not take any days leave in 2016.
FWF decided that the case is admissible on 4 April 2017. VAUDE informed the factory management directly and received a reply within one week. Factory management stated they paid unused annual leave on a yearly basis and not within 7 days after resignation according to law. Factory management sent several documents for review. Based on the reply of factory management, the complaint was found grounded. FWF’s complaints handler concluded the complainants have received VND 1.450,000 for the unused annual leave in 2016. FWF’s complaints handler spoke to the complainants again who also confirmed they received the payment.
However, from review attached documents and from the interview, it is noted that the complainants have received an amount lower than that in the payment record. FWF recommends VAUDE to ask the factory whether they can clarify the difference. FWF recommends the factory to pay the resigned workers directly, instead of through the factory line leader.
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Final report of a complaint at a factory in China supplying Haglofs and Kjus
On 20 September 2016, FWF received a complaint from a worker currently employed at the factory. The complainant claimed that the factory delays workers´payments quite often, with the longest delay being three months. Furthermore, workers have to work excessive overtime hours. The complainant said that altogether workers have had approximately 10 days off since the beginning of this year until now.
FWF notified Haglofs and Kjus. Haglofs and Kjus contacted the supplier and the factory sent payslips as evidence as to when wages were paid. The case was investigated through off-site worker interviews at the end of February and management interviews at the end of March. Management is committed to improving productivity to reduce workers’ excessive overtime hours and they were open to workers’ opinions on the overtime hours. If workers are not willing to do overtime, they will be free to decline. Mangement additionally confirmed that wages were delayed last year because of an internal management problem.
Member companies should offer reasonable lead times and change production planning to low season where possible. The factory will work on improving productivity and efficiency by better production planning. The case will be verified during an audit planned for spring 2017.
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Final report of a complaint at a factory in Turkey supplying Bierbaum-Proenen
On January 21, 2017, FWF received a complaint from a worker who was dismissed by the factory management. The complainant claimed that (s)he was dismissed by the factory management. The complainant refused to sign a resignation letter and claims that the factory owed her/him 25 days outstanding payment and compensation.
FWF informed Bierbaum-Proenen about the case, who contacted its supplier and got immediate feedback from the factory management. Social security declarations, pay slips and time record card concerning the complainant’s for the last 3 months as well as written warnings, defense statement or any other document which was given/received during his working period were requested from the factory management.
The factory management provided a document showing that the complainant signed the receipt of the payments in March 2017. Documents proved that outstanding wages are paid and the complainant withdrew her/his complaint.
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Final Report of a complaint at a factory in Tunisia supplying Bierbaum Proenen
On 28 February 2017, FWF received a complaint from a worker that is currently employed by the factory. The complainant claimed that the factory does not pay income taxes in accordance with the tax law. Three workers were asked by the Tunisian Tax Department of the Ministry of Finance to pay an additional 400 dinars over 2016.
FWF informed Bierbaum Proenen about the case who then contacted the supplier. Factory management confirmed that workers had approached them with this question. After Bierbaum Proenen had contacted factory management, a meeting was held between management and the Workers Council to discuss this issue. The FWF complaints handler and the FWF documents inspector contacted factory management to inform them about current obligations under Tunisian tax law. It was further suggested to find out more about whether the problem is due to tax calculation by the factory or the tax department.
Three workers complained because they needed a statement from the tax department about their annual income to obtain a loan. It is therefore highly likely that more workers will be affected. The FWF complaints handler requested a list of all the workers that could be affected.
After discussions between factory management, worker representation, the tax department of the Ministry of Finance and the accountant, it was concluded that taxes were not correctly calculated and paid. A training session with the accountant and the workers was organized. The accountant explained the new tax regulations to workers and management. Factory management agreed to ensure that taxes were correctly paid. It will monitor the situation.
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Final report of a complaint at a factory in India supplying Nudie Jeans, Manroof, Continental Clothing & Epona
On 2 February 2017, FWF received a complaint from a worker who is currently employed by the factory. The complainant claimed that a number of workers including himself/herself did not receive annual bonus payments during Diwali, and that 80 to 90 recently joined workers from Bihar stopped working in protest of delayed wage payments (around 31st January). Management informed workers that they will pay the full payment to their bank account once these have been set up. The complainant also shared that (s)he tried to address these issues with HR management, who refused to take it up and used abusive language.
FWF informed involved member brands about the case on 6 February 2017. Members contacted the suppliers and received some clarification. In addition, two FWF worker interviewers interviewed 18 workers outside the factory and, on 10 March, a FWF worker interviewer and document inspector discussed the findings with management and reviewed relevant documents.
In conclusion, no non-compliances related to bonus payments could be confirmed. Since FWF could not confirm the non-compliances that were raised in the complaint, no remediation points result from this complaint investigation. FWF recommends employing a Hindi speaking person in the HR department to reduce communication gaps.
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Initial report of a new complaint of a factory in vietnam supplying Vaude
On 2 April 2017, FWF received a complaint from a worker that was employed by the factory until February 2017. The complaint is related to the unused annual leave payment for resigned workers. The complainant wished to complain on behalf of herself and one of her co-workers. Both employees resigned in February 2017, but according to the complainant the factory has not paid the unused annual leave of 2016. The complainant raised her question to her line leader and the line leader replied she did not have the unused annual leave payment in 2016 because she resigned. The complainant does not remember exactly the number of days for unused annual leave but stated she did not take any days leave in 2016.
FWF decided that the case is admissible on 4 April 2017. The factory is an active supplier of VAUDE, a member of FWF. The authenticity of the complaint is still under investigation.
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Initial Report of A Complaint at a Factory in Vietnam Supplying Jack Wolfskin, Schöffel Sportbekleidung GmbH
On 12 March 2017, Fair Wear Foundation received a complaint from an employee that was employed at the factory until January 2017. The complainant called the helpline to inform FWF that she resigned but did not receive her year-end bonus and social insurance book. FWF’s complaints handler advised the employee to first talk to her HR manager. On 29 March the employee called again and stated she had found a new job. She received her last salary for eight working days in January on the 10th of February by bank transfer. She did not receive the year-end bonus or her social insurance. She did receive her social insurance book but the HR officer informed her that she cannot receive the unemployment allowance from the social department but he did not explain why.
FWF decided that the case is admissible on 29 March 2017. The factory is an active supplier of Jack Wolfskin and Schöffel, members of FWF. The authenticity of the complaint is still pending investigation.
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Final report of a complaint at a factory in Tunisia supplying Van Puijenbroek
On 11 March 2017, Fair Wear Foundation received a complaint from a worker that is currently employed by the factory. The complainant claimed that the salary of workers was being paid late, which resulted in difficulties for workers to make ends meet. Workers refused to work on the Saturday morning after payment was overdue. The manager had explained to the workers that he was faced with cash flow problems. Furthermore, the worker complained about excessive overtime taking place in the finishing and packaging department. Although the complainant was not affected by the overtime, the worker did wish to report it.
FWF informed Van Puijenbroek about the case. Van Puijenbroek contacted factory management who confirmed the late payment, claiming that it was partially due to the fact that a large order of Van Puijenbroek was of insufficient quality. Van Puijenbroek did not pay the invoice until repairs were made. After the complaint and discussion with factory manager, Van Puijenbroek decided to immediately pay for the order. After payment of Van Puijenbroek, salaries were paid to the workers. Since the findings were already part of the audit findings, Van Puijenbroek will continue to work on improvements with the factory, especially concerning (payment of) overtime hours. The worker withdrew the complaint during the investigation for personal reasons.
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