Several political groups in the European Parliament continue to urge the European Commission to support the textile industry in the poorest countries, which have been particularly hit hard by the Covid-19 crisis.
“European companies need to take up their responsibility”, warned Kathleen Van Brempt, S&D MEP, member of the International Trade Committee (INTA), on 21 April via Twitter: “to see that some of the leading clothing brands refuse to pay the orders that have already been manufactured is shocking”.
The same call was made by the Greens/EFA, where Saskia Bricmont, also an INTA MEP, stressed, in a press release published on 15 May, “the responsibility of European companies to ensure the social rights of workers here like there”.
Many European clothing brands have reportedly failed to honour payments to their suppliers or cancelled orders ready for delivery at the last minute. By doing so, they have deprived employers and workers, mostly women, of their income in Bangladesh, Burma, Indonesia and elsewhere, in the already critical context of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Several MEPs, but also Member States such as France and the Netherlands, called on the Commission to act to demand that European values, particularly in terms of sustainability and human rights, are respected throughout production chains, but also that a level playing field is guaranteed (see EUROPE 12480/14, 12476/14).
In recent weeks, NGOs and international organisations have also sounded the alarm about the situation of these workers. On 22 April, the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) signed a joint declaration aimed, among other things, at protecting the income, health and employment of garment workers and supporting their employers in surviving the Covid-19 crisis. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)