Day 1. April 2019 this year he officially started a project called ‘Filling the gap: achieving Living Wages through improved transparency’. The project is implemented by Novi sindikat in cooperation with the international network of NGOs and trade unions CCC, of which we have been a part for several years. The theme of the project is problematizing the link between demands for workers ‘ right to a decent wage in global textile supply chains. All activities can be followed on this page.
What is Clean Clothes?
Clean Clothes is a global network of associations, trade unions and individuals working to reduce disparities in working conditions globally. The focus of the Clean Clothes Campaign is workers in the least paid industries (textile, footwear production, recently toy production) in the countries where production is the most intensive, namely the so-called. third world countries, developing countries, mostly in Asia. By supporting workers who work in the most difficult conditions and earn the least, it is trying to raise the standard of all workers and prevent the global trend of relocation of industries that, using only poorly paid labor, are trying to make as much profit as possible. Clean Clothes operates through awareness campaigns in consumer countries. In this way, it seeks to put pressure on producers to improve working conditions and raise the price of Labour. This is done through various actions, including by calling for a boycott in the most severe cases. Trade unions active in companies that own factories or products through their partners and subcontractors based in these countries are also actively involved. Clean Clothes actively advocates freedom of association, decent wages, protection of Health and safety at work, and the right to access the courts and fair protection through judicial means.
How and why did Novi sindikat get involved in Clean Clothes?
Novi sindikat joined Clean Clothes some ten years ago when the campaign began to expand its focus to Eastern European countries. Unfortunately, in Croatia, the textile industry has almost disappeared, but it is alive in this area: Bulgaria and Romania are real El Dorado, there is something of it in Bosnia, Macedonia, Albania, in recent years the footwear industry has started to return to Serbia… wages are relatively low, and the situation is not great as we would expect. In Bulgaria, for example, there is a real problem with home-based workers, manufacturers have closed factories so that workers can carry their work home and thus bring down the price of Labor twice, if not more – things that are difficult to imagine in one European Union country.
Mainly, since the whole trade union work is based on the idea of solidarity, we immediately liked the idea, as well as the concept of supporting workers in productive countries through civil society. We immediately engaged in research on the state of the textile industry in Eastern Europe.
We are currently planning new activities in Macedonia and Bulgaria to strengthen the capacity of the campaign and to support workers as effectively as possible. Recently, as part of an international delegation, we went to determine the situation on the ground at an Italian footwear manufacturer with a factory in Serbia – it was a ban on trade union organization and really unacceptable working conditions in which workers were not allowed to go to the toilet during working hours. Our visit through the Italian Clean Clothes Campaign was followed by an invitation to talk from the central office. We are glad that our work has been recognized and that through the Clean Clothes Campaign we get the opportunity to promote the values of the labour movement.
Clean Clothes advocacy activities on a global scale: supply chains.
Global supply chains have been one of Clean Clothes ‘ most important topics for the past 15 years. Between the store in the Consumer country and the factory in Bangladesh there is a whole logistics chain, we realized that we can do a lot if we follow it. The idea of the Clean Clothes Campaign is to include in global collective agreements a minimum of rights for all workers participating in the supply chain. Clean Clothes cooperates with global unions (IndustriALL, UNI Global Union) in concluding such contracts. Several brands have already assembled them, but their implementation, according to experiences from India, is very difficult. However, things are moving.
This year, the International Labour Organization (ILO), after a conference to which representatives of the Clean Clothes Campaign were invited, issued for the first time a resolution encouraging employers to negotiate across borders. Globalization has so far been valid for all but workers and unions – while capital passes through borders without problems, for us they are closed. In prices on the Western market, there is room for better working conditions and higher wages in Croatia: the space for negotiating the price of Labor is closed when the management of the company agrees with the owners in Germany the minimum price of the product. The situation would be much different if it were negotiated directly with the owners in Germany.
Clean Clothes Campaign priority – living wage
Differences in working conditions on a global scale have already decreased – there are some indicators that indicate this. Before Clean Clothes began operating in Asia, there were countries where there was no defined minimum wage. While almost all countries today have a statutory minimum wage, specific campaigns are increasingly advocating for a living wage — a salary that ensures a dignified standard of living.
A decent wage is a human right guaranteed across Europe by constitutions and international documents (e.g. European Social Charter). A decent wage does not exist in practice, but rather a minimum wage – an administratively designated church-is used as a benchmark, which is more a protection to the employer from unfair competition than approaching a decent wage which, by definition, should be sufficient to support the entire family. On this issue, much has been done in Asia by the Clean Clothes Campaign and their member unions, which we should look to as a model. In Malaysia, the minimum wage currently covers 56% of a living wage, while in China, workers are very close to reaching the 50% mark. Croatia ranks relatively well in Eastern Europe with 38%, but the alarming fact is that the situation was drastically different 10 years ago. The topic of a living wage is a topic on which we have something to do in Croatia, starting with the development of a methodology that would allow living wage to be measured when it is already a category in the Constitution.
What can employers do to protect human and workers ‘ rights?
A decent wage is an area where the business sector can certainly make a direct impact. A major role in this issue in Asia was played by the multi-stakeholder coalition Asia Floor Wage, in which local authorities, trade unions and associations also participated employers – everyone realized that the situation is not good and that exploitation of workers leads nowhere. Synergy is the only solution and synergy always gives the result. No union can solve anything without an employer, and an employer without a government. Unfortunately, we have a broken relationship. At the Economic Social Council you can hear only dissonant tones-the government wants to implement some of its agenda, the unions want to increase the minimum wage, and the employer calls for competitiveness. But competition cannot be built in violation of one of the human rights.
Our cooperation should focus on discussing how to reach a living wage level, within what time frame, and what steps to take in the meantime—specifically, how to temporarily protect workers, facilitate their transfer, and ensure their welfare if certain production sectors must be closed. The government should consult with each other. The employer certainly has an interest in cooperating with trade unions (the organization that organizes its workers) and civil society associations dealing with the protection of human and workers ‘ rights. Increasingly serious companies are very concerned with the satisfaction of their workers. Who cares most about the company doing well? A man who works for a safe life. An employer’s good relationship with all stakeholders in the process can only add value. Today, labor rights are becoming the centerpiece of human rights.
