Gender Based Violence in the Walmart Garment Supply Chain - WORKERS VOICES FROM THE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN : A Report to the ILO 2018
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Gender Based Violence in the
Walmart Garment Supply Chain
WORKERS VOICES FROM THE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN : A Report to the ILO 2018
Copyright Natalie Leifer for Asia Floor Wage Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA) was officially formed in 2006 and includes more than 76 organizations, including garment industry trade unions, NGOs, consumer groups and research institutes from more than 17 countries from across Asia, Europe and North America. The Center for Alliance of Labor & Human Rights (CENTRAL) is a local Cambodian NGO. The organization empowers Cambodian working people to demand transparent and accountable governance for labor and human rights through legal aid and other appropriate means. Global Labor Justice (GLJ) is a strategy hub supporting transnational collaboration among worker and migrant organizations to expand labor rights and new forms of bargaining on global value chains and international labor migration corridors. Sedane Labour Resource Centre/Lembaga Informasi Perburuhan Sedane (LIPS) is a non- governmental organization in labor studies. LIPS works to strengthen the labor movement by documenting knowledge through participatory research and developing methods of popular education in labor groups and unions. SLD is a Delhi-based labour rights organisation. SLD promotes equitable development by advocating for the social and economic well- being of workers, with a particular emphasis on women’s and migrants’ rights and cultural renewal among disenfranchised people. SLD works in the National Capital Region Territory, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In January 2018, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, This example shows how women in Sulatana’s This report provides an empirical account of para. 6; Appendix I, para. 11). Accordingly, the
Sulatana, a skilled garment worker with 10 position have no avenue for relief from ongoing the spectrum of gender based violence and Committee called for specific action to address
years of experience, was hired as a production- sexual harassment at work. When Sulatana risk factors for violence women workers face in the gender dimensions of violence (GB.328/
line manager by a Walmart garment supplier refused to spend time with the General Manager Walmart garment supply chains. Chapter 4 of this INS/17/5, Appendix I, para. 2) and an international
employing more than 1000 workers. In the weeks outside of working hours, she was fired in report presents new research on gender based standard that can respond to new challenges and
that followed, the General Manager of the factory retaliation. Neither factory human resources violence in Walmart garment supplier factories in risks of violence and harassment that arise from
made frequent advances. Sulatana recounted: nor the police provided viable pathways to Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Indonesia collected changing forms of work and technology (GB.328/
accountability. At the time of interview, nearly through interviews and focus group discussions INS/17/5, Appendix I, para. 18). The October
He flirted with me, he would touch me on the three weeks later, Sulatana was still searching for with 25 workers and trade union leaders 2016 Committee of Experts report also presents
shoulder or touch me on the head. I tried to a new job. organizing in Walmart supply chains between a detailed set of risk factors for violence and
ignore him. I thought if I showed no interest, February and May 2018. harassment in the world of work, including risk
he would stop. It didn’t work. On April 11, Sulatana’s experience of workplace violence factors associated with the nature and setting of
three days before Bengali New Year, the provides insight into the risk factors that leave Systematically documenting risk factors for work as well as the structure of the labour market
General Manager called me to his office and women workers in Walmart garment supply violence, this report presents new, in-depth (GB.328/INS/17/5, Appendix III). The Director-
asked me to go out with him on the holiday. I chains exposed to violence. Notably, Sulatana is a profiles of 4 Walmart supplier factories in General of the ILO emphasized the need for better
gently refused. The next day, the Production highly skilled garment worker who was employed Bangladesh and Cambodia completed between data on persistent violence and harassment in the
Manager approached me and asked, “What as a production line-manager. Although the February and May 2018. It also draws upon Asia world of work (GB.328/INS/17/5, para. 4).
is wrong with you? Why don’t you spend majority of workers in this factory are women, Floor Wage Alliance (2016) documentation of
Spectrum of gender based
some time with the boss?” I refused again and unlike Sulatana, most of them do not work in rights violations at work in Walmart garment
explained that I was spending the holiday with management positions. Instead, women workers global supply chains, compiled over four years of
violence
my five-year old son. are concentrated in operator roles, either as research (2012-2016) on Walmart supply chains in
button-machine operators, helpers or checkers Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Indonesia.
On April 17, 2018, the first working day after in the cutting department; or as line tailors and
the three-day New Year holiday, the Production helpers in the 900-person production department. ---------------------------------------------------------- According to the Committee of Experts convened
Manager approached Sulatana again: by the ILO in October 2016, “violence and
The gendered concentration of women workers As set out in Chapter 1 of this report, from May harassment” in the world of work includes
He pressured me to agree to the General as machine operators, checkers, and helpers in 28 to June 6, 2018, the International Labour a continuum of unacceptable behaviors and
Manager’s proposal. He offered me a salary this Walmart supplier factory are a microcosm Organization (ILO) will convene a Standard Setting practices that are likely to result in physical,
increase and a promotion if I agreed. When of gendered hiring practices in garment global Committee tasked with ending violence and psychological or sexual harm or suffering. Under
I did not, he threatened to fire me. I was production networks. According to the World harassment in the world of work. The proposed existing international legal standards, gender
anxious and afraid. I skipped work the next Bank, women comprise 80% of the garment ILO standard is a timely opportunity to reach an based violence includes (1) violence which
day. workforce in Bangladesh (2018). They rarely, expanded definition of gender based violence and is directed against a woman because she is a
however, hold management and supervisory establish a framework within which governments, woman; and (2) violence that affects women
On April 19, Sulatana went to the Ashulia police positions. employers, companies and unions can take action disproportionately. Forms of gender based
station to file a complaint. The police refused to tackle the problem. violence include acts that inflict physical harm,
to receive the complaint on the grounds that This report—including interviews with more than mental harm, sexual harm or suffering, threats of
Sulatana had no externally verifiable evidence. A 250 workers employed in 60 factories that supply In October 2016, an ILO Committee of Experts the any of these acts, coercion, and deprivations
few days later, on April 22, the General Manager to Walmart—documents the experiences of released a report framing the upcoming of liberty (CEDAW, General recommendation 19,
called Sulatana to his office and asked her to women garment workers at the base of Walmart deliberations. The Committee noted that article 1).
resign immediately. When Sulatana approached garment supply chains in Bangladesh, Cambodia, while violence can potentially affect everyone,
human resources at the factory, she was informed and Indonesia. Concentrated in short term, low- specific groups, including women workers, are Women garment workers may be targets of
that the General Manager’s decision was final. skill, and low-wage positions, they are at daily risk disproportionately impacted (GB.328/INS/17/5, violence on the basis of their gender, or because
of gender based violence and harassment at work.
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Table 1: Spectrum of gender based violence in Walmart garment supply chains they are perceived as less likely or able to production networks in general and the garment
resist. Comprising the majority of workers in global production network in particular. It outlines
Gendered aspects of violence, including: garment supply chains in Asia, women workers asymmetrical relationships of power between
1. Violence against a woman because she is a woman are also disproportionately impacted by forms brands and suppliers in garment supply chains,
2. Violence directed against a woman that affects women disproportionately due to of workplace violence perpetrated against both brand purchasing practices driven by fast fashion
(a) high concentration of women workers in risky production departments; and women and men. For women garment workers, trends and pressure to reduce costs, and the
(b) gendered barriers to seeking relief violence and harassment in the world of work corresponding proliferation of contract labour and
includes not only violence that takes place in subcontracting practices among supplier firms.
Forms of violence physical workplaces, but also during commutes These practices have a profound impact on the
and in employer provided housing. Violence Bangladeshi, Cambodian, and Indonesian garment
Acts that inflict • Slapping, gendered aspects 2(a) and (b) and harassment may be a one-off occurrence or production industries.
physical harm • Throwing heavy bundles of papers and clothes, gendered aspects 2(a) and (b) repeated (GB.328/INS/17/5, Appendix I, para.
• Overwork with low wages, resulting in fainting due to calorie deficit, high heat, 7-8). Labour practices in garment production factories
and poor air circulation, gendered aspect 2(a) have been described as operatory labour
• Long hours performing repetitive operator tasks, leading to chronic leg pain, Chapter 4 of this report provides examples and practices, referring to the role of workers as basic
ulcers, and other adverse health consequences, gendered aspect 2(a) cases of the spectrum of violence reported by operators. Operatory labour practices correspond
• Serious injury due to traffic accidents during commutes in large trucks without women garment workers in Walmart supply with particular working relationships (Table 2).
seatbelts and other safety systems chains in Bangladesh and Cambodia, including These labour and employment practices among
acts that inflict sexual harm and suffering; and garment suppliers expose workers to risk factors
Acts that inflict • General verbal abuse, including bullying and verbal public humiliation, gendered forms of violence characteristic of industrial for violence.
mental harm aspect 2(a) discipline practices, including physical violence,
• Verbal abuse linked to gender and sexuality, gendered aspect (1) verbal abuse, coercion, threats and retaliation, Chapter 5 of this report documents risk factors
• Verbal abuse targeting senior women workers so that they voluntary resign prior and routine deprivations of liberty including for violence documented in the Walmart
to receiving benefits associated with seniority, gendered aspect 2(a) forced overtime. garment supply chain, including use of short
term contracts, production targets, industrial
Risk factors for gender discipline practices, wage related rights abuses,
Acts that inflict • Sexual harassment, gendered aspect (1) excessive working hours, and unsafe workplaces.
based violence
sexual harm or Barriers to accountability—including unauthorized
suffering subcontracting, denial of freedom of association,
failure to require independent monitoring,
Coercion, threats, • Threats of retaliation for refusing sexual advances, gendered aspects 1, 2(a) and The experiences of gender based violence in and gendered cultures of impunity among
and retaliation (b) Walmart garment supply chains documented in perpetrators of violence, and prevent women
• Retaliation for reporting gendered violence and harassment, gendered aspects 1, this report are not isolated incidents. Rather, they from seeking accountability and relief.
2(a) and (b) reflect a convergence of risk factors for gender
• Blacklisting workers who report workplace violence, harassment, and other based violence in Walmart supplier factories that
rights violations, gendered aspect 2(a) leave women garment workers systematically
exposed to violence.
Deprivations of • Forced to work during legally mandated lunch hours, gendered aspect 2(a)
liberty • Prevented from taking bathroom breaks, gendered aspect 2(a) Risk factors in Walmart garment supply chains are
• Forced overtime, gendered aspect 2(a) a by-product of how Walmart and other multi-
• Prevented from using legally mandated leave entitlements, gendered aspect 2(a) national corporations do business. Chapter 2 of
this report provides a brief overview of global
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Table 2: Operatory labour practices, workforce demographics, and working conditions in garment As the only global tripartite institution, the ILO has 1.3. As presented in the Proposed Conclusions
production a unique role to play in not only advancing decent of Report V(2), standards on violence and
Authority work in supply chains, but also ensuring that harassment in the world of work should cover
Management • Hierarchical work relations supply chain governance addresses gender based situations, including “(a) in the workplace,
• Sweat shop disciplinary practices, including verbal, physical, and sexual violence. The proposed ILO standard on violence including public and private spaces where they
harassment and abuse in the world of work is a timely opportunity to are a place of work; (b) in places where the
define violence, including sexual harassment, and worker is paid or takes a rest break or a meal;
establish a framework within which governments, (c) when commuting to and from work; (d)
Union presence • Anti-union management practices
employers, companies, and unions can take during work-related trips or travel, training,
Workforce demographics
action to tackle the problem. Accordingly, these events or social activities; and (e) through work-
Education • Illiterate, low literacy and literate recommendations seek to inform emerging related communications enabled by information
Women • High %age of women migrant workers understanding of violence in the world of and communication technologies.”
• Concentration in low-skill departments and tasks work, identify specific risk factors for violence 1.4. The proposed situations should be
• Home-workers hired on piece rate in garment global production networks, and expanded to include the following situations:
ensure a duty among multi-national corporations
Employment conditions (MNCs) and their suppliers to obey national laws 1.4.1. employer-provided housing;
Wages and • Below or at minimum wage and piece rate payment and respect international standards pertaining 1.4.2. recruitment sites, including day-labor
incentives to realization of ILO fundamental principles and recruitment sites;
Overtime • High levels of forced overtime rights at work. 1.4.3. home-based work; and
Employment • Low employment security 1.4.4. export processing zones linked
security
Recommendations to ILO to global supply chains, including those
characterized by exemptions from labour
laws, taxes, and restrictions on union
ILO standards to address and production patterns while deflecting
accountability for how purchasing practices drive
1. Adopt an expansive definition of “worker”
and “workplace” to ensure that all workers,
activities and collective bargaining.
1.5. As presented in the Proposed Conclusions
violence against men and severe violations of rights at work. workplaces, and forms of work are included in
standards addressing workplace violence and
of Report V(2), “victims and perpetrators of
violence and harassment in the work of work
women in the world of work Following ILC deliberations on global supply chains
at the 105th Session (2016), the ILO Committee on
harassment.
1.1. As presented in the Proposed Conclusions
can be employers, workers and third parties,
including clients, customers, service providers,
Decent Work in Global Supply Chains submitted
How can standards on violence against men and a report with a resolution and conclusions for of Report V(2) on ending violence and users, patients, and the public.”
women in the world of work address gender adoption by the Conference (ILC105-PR14-1-En). harassment in the work of work, the term 1.6. The proposed definition of “victims and
based violence in garment global production The Committee noted the significance of the ILO “worker” should cover persons in the formal perpetrators” should be expanded to include
networks in Asia? in ensuring decent work in global supply chains: and informal economy, including “(i) persons in the following roles:
any employment or occupation, irrespective of
1.6.1. Multi-national corporations and
As detailed in this report, women workers With its mandate, experience and expertise in their contractual status; (ii) persons in training,
brands, suppliers, and labor contractors in
concentrated in low-wage employment at the the world of work, its normative approach to including interns and apprentices; (iii) laid-off
production, agricultural, food processing,
base of Walmart garment supply chains are at development and its tripartite structure, the ILO is and suspended workers; (iv) volunteers; and (v)
and other relevant contexts.
daily risk of violence. The structure of production uniquely positioned to address governance gaps jobseekers and job applicants.”
in global production networks (GPNs), involving 1.6.2. private employment agencies as
in global supply chains so that they can fulfill their 1.2. The proposed definition of worker should
several companies across multiple countries, defined under Article 1 of the ILO Private
potential as ladders for development (para. 7). explicitly include all migrant workers, regardless
allows brands and retailers to drive sourcing Employment Agencies Convention,
of their legal status in the place of employment.
1997 (No. 181), including any enterprise
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or person, independent of the public workers employed in situations that are not 2.4. Recognize and address discrimination 4. Ensure a duty among MNCs and their
authorities, which provides one or more protected by labour law and other social against women that intersects with other axes suppliers to obey national laws and respect
of the following labour market services: protection frameworks. of discrimination, including low economic international standards pertaining to realization
(a) services for matching offers of and 2.3.3. Prohibit unrealistic production resources, migrant status, race, ethnicity, caste, of ILO fundamental principles and rights at work.
applications for employment; (b) services demands and piece-rate targets that tribe, religion, and disability. 4.1. Noting the limits to jurisdiction under
for employing workers with a view to accelerate production rates, extend national legal regimes, the ILO should move
making them available to a third party (“user working hours, create high-stress working towards a binding legal convention regulating
3. Draw upon and strengthen definitions
enterprise”); (c) other services relating environments, and foster abuse. global supply chains.
and prohibitions addressing violence against
to job seeking, such as the provision of
2.3.4. Address concentration of women and women by the Committee on the Elimination 4.1.1. Standards under this convention
information, that do not aim to match
migrant workers in low-wage, contingent of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) must be at least as effective and
specific employment offers and applications.
work, especially in the lower tiers of the by applying these standards to gender based comprehensive as the UN Guiding Principle
supply chain. violence in the world of work. on Business and Human Rights and existing
2. Address risk factors for violence, including risk 2.3.5. Increase numbers of women in 3.1. The International Labour Conference OECD mechanisms, including the 2011 OECD
factors associated with the nature and setting of supervisory and managerial positions should adopt standards on violence and Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
work and the structure of the labour market. harassment in the world of work. These 4.1.2. The Convention should include the
2.3.6. Call for and implement living wage
2.1. Address risk factors for violence rooted in standards. standards should take the form of a Convention following components, among others:
the structure of the labour market. Consistent supplemented by a Recommendation. 4.1.2.1. Impose liability, sustainable
2.3.7. Protect the rights of home-based
with the Report of the Committee of Experts 3.2. Consistent with General Recommendation contracting, capitalization and/or other
workers.
convened by the ILO in October 2016, recognize No. 19 on violence against women, adopted requirements on lead firms.
gender based violence as a social rather than 2.3.8. Require multi-national corporations, by the Committee on the Elimination of 4.1.2.2. Establish regional and supply
an individual problem, requiring comprehensive employers, contractors, and states to Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), chain specific inspection mechanisms
responses that extend beyond specific events, maintain effective remedies and safe, fair ILO standards should include and address (1) with monitoring and enforcement
individual perpetrators, and victims/survivors and effective dispute resolution mechanisms “violence which is directed against a woman powers, including individual complaint
(No. 35, para. 9). in cases of violence and harassment, because she is a woman”; and (2) violence that mechanisms and field investigation
including:
2.2. Identify (1) garment and other global “affects women disproportionately” (article authority.
production networks and (2) migration corridors 2.3.8.1. complaint and investigation 1). For instance, as documented in this study,
mechanisms at the workplace level; 4.1.2.3. Require transparent and
as sectors and sites in which workers, including women workers at the base of garment global
traceable product and production
women and migrant workers, are more exposed 2.3.8.2. dispute resolution production networks are disproportionately
information.
to violence and harassment. Take corresponding mechanisms external to the workplace; impacted by gendered patterns of employment
measures to ensure these workers are that concentrate women in low-wage, 4.1.2.4. Address the special
2.3.8.3. access to courts or tribunals;
effectively protected. contingent employment. vulnerability of women and migrant
2.3.8.4. protection against workers on GVCs.
2.3. Acknowledge particular risk factors for 3.3. Consistent with General Recommendation
victimization of complainants,
violence in global production networks and take No. 19, the definition of violence should include 4.1.2.5. Limit the use of temporary,
witnesses and whistle-blowers; and
the followings measures to control these risks: acts that inflict physical harm, mental harm, outsourced, self-employed, or
2.3.8.5. legal, social, and sexual harm or suffering, threats of any of other forms of contract labor that
2.3.1. Address cultures of impunity for
administrative support measures for these acts, coercion, and deprivations of liberty sidestep employer liability for worker
violence in the workplace by prohibiting
complainants. (article 6). protection.
workplace retaliation and safeguarding
fundamental rights to freedom of 2.3.9. Provide workers with information
association and collective bargaining. and training on the identified hazards
and risks of violence and harassment and
2.3.2. Extend labour protections to
the associated prevention and protection
measures.
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5. Pursue a Recommendation on human rights of women should be urgently included 6.2. Research adverse impacts of purchasing association, collective bargaining, forced
due diligence that takes into account and builds in monitoring programmes to assess the practices upon: overtime, wage theft and forced labour.
upon existing due diligence provisions that spectrum of their clinical, social, and 6.2.1. Core labour standards for all 6.4. Research into the types of technical advice
are evolving under the United Nations Guiding personal risks. categories of workers across value chains. needed by OECD government participants taking
Principles on Business and Human Rights and 6.1.2. Research should include physical a multi-stakeholder approach to address risks of
6.2.2. Wages and benefits for all categories
the 2011 OECD Guidelines for Multinational harm, mental harm, sexual harm or adverse impacts associated with products.
of value chain workers. This research should
Enterprises. suffering, threats of any of these acts, aim to satisfy basic needs of workers and
5.1. Take the following complementary coercion, and deprivations of liberty. their families. 7. Organize a Tripartite Conference on the
measures to protect workers employed in global 6.1.3. Research should document (1) 6.2.3. Access to fundamental rights to food, adverse impact of contracting and purchasing
value chains: violence which is directed against a woman housing, and education for all categories of practices upon migrant workers’ rights. This
5.1.1. Recognize the right to living wage because she is a woman; and (2) violence value chain workers and their families. conference should focus on:
as a human right and establish living wage that affects women disproportionately due
6.3. Research the range of global actors 7.1. The intersection of migrant rights and ILO
criteria and mechanisms. to gendered patterns of employment that
that may have leverage over GVCs including initiatives to address violence against men and
concentrate women in low-wage, contingent
5.1.2. Promote sector-based and investors, hedge funds, pension funds and GVC women in the world of work and Decent Work
employment.
transnational collective bargaining and urge networks that define industry standards such as in Global Supply Chains.
countries to remove national legal barriers 6.1.4. Research should consider not only Free on Board (FOB) prices. 7.2. Protection of migrant rights as conferred
to these forms of collective action. the workplace, but also related situations
6.3.1. This line of research should include under the UN International Convention on
including training, recruitment and
5.1.3. Expand work towards the elimination investigation of the mechanisms deployed the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant
placement, commutes to and from work,
of forced labour, including promoting by authoritative actors within GVCs that Workers and Members of their Families.
and housing contexts where employers
ratification and implementation of the contribute to violations of fundamental
exhibit significant control over the daily lives
Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), principles and rights at work, including
of workers.
Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention but not limited to attacks on freedom of
1930 and accompanying Recommendation, 6.1.5. Require an urgent, epidemiological
2014. study into deaths and disabilities resulting
from conditions of work and life of garment
5.1.4. Continue programs to ensure social
workers. This information should be made
protection, fair wages, and health and safety
available publicly and to international
at every level of GVCs.
agencies.
6. Consistent with the Roadmap of the ILO
6.1.6. Research design and planning should
programme of action 2017-21 arising out of the
be sensitive to the barriers women face in
work of the 105th Session (2016) of the ILO on
discussing and reporting violence, including
decent work in global supply chains, knowledge
workplace retaliation, social stigma,
generation and dissemination of research to
and trauma associated with recounting
inform ILO global supply chain programming
situations of violence. Due to these factors,
should include gender based violence and risk
quantitative approaches to documenting
factors for gender based violence.
gender based violence risk underreporting
6.1. Research the spectrum of gender based and may not produce insight into the range
violence impacting women workers in garment of violence women face, associated risk
and other supply chains: factors, and barriers to reporting.
6.1.1. Since women represent the greatest
majority of garment workers, the situation
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CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 3: WALMART CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ........................................... 41
SPECTRUM OF GENDER BASED VIOLENCE ................................................................................... 5 INITIATIVES TO ADDRESS RISK FACTORS FOR GENDER BASED VIOLENCE IN GARMENT PRODUCTION ......... 41
RISK FACTORS FOR GENDER BASED VIOLENCE .............................................................................. 7 WAGE STANDARDS ............................................................................................................. 41
ILO STANDARDS TO ADDRESS VIOLENCE AGAINST MEN AND WOMEN IN THE WORLD OF WORK .............. 8 MANAGING RISK IN THE WALMART SUPPLY CHAIN .............................................................. 41
STANDARDS FOR SUPPLIERS ............................................................................................... 42
RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE ILO ...................................................................................... 9 WORKER HELPLINE ............................................................................................................ 44
AUDIT PROCESS ................................................................................................................. 44
FIGURES AND TABLES ........................................................................................................ 16
CHAPTER 4: SPECTRUM OF GENDER BASED VIOLENCE IN WALMART GARMENT SUPPLY
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS .................................................................................... 17 CHAINS ............................................................................................................................. 47
VIOLENCE AGAINST A WOMAN BECAUSE SHE IS A WOMAN ................................................ 47
METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................ 18 VIOLENCE THAT DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTS WOMEN .................................................. 47
RESEARCH QUESTIONS: .......................................................................................................... 19 ACTS THAT INFLICT SEXUAL HARM OR SUFFERING ............................................................... 47
RESEARCH PHASE I: PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF GENDER BASED VIOLENCE AND RISK FACTORS ............... 20 INDUSTRIAL DISCIPLINE PRACTICES ..................................................................................... 51
RESEARCH PHASE II: CASE AND CONTEXT STUDIES OF GENDER BASED VIOLENCE ................................. 20 Physical violence .......................................................................................................... 52
RESEARCH PHASE III: WALMART FACTORY PROFILES AND RISK FACTOR SURVEY DATA ............................ 21 Verbal abuse ................................................................................................................ 52
RESEARCH CHALLENGES .......................................................................................................... 23 Coercion, threats, and retaliation .................................................................................. 53
Deprivations of liberty .................................................................................................. 55
CHAPTER 1: GENDER BASED VIOLENCE IN THE WORLD OF WORK ..................................... 25
EMERGING ILO STANDARDS ON VIOLENCE AND HARASSMENT IN THE WORLD OF WORK ....................... 25 CHAPTER 5: RISK FACTORS FOR VIOLENCE IN THE WALMART SUPPLY CHAIN ..................... 57
VIOLENCE IN THE WORLD OF WORK, RELATED TRENDS AND FORMS ................................................. 26 WORKING CONDITIONS ..................................................................................................... 57
GENDER BASED VIOLENCE ....................................................................................................... 26 1. Short term contracts ............................................................................................... 57
2. Production targets .................................................................................................. 58
CHAPTER 2: GARMENT GLOBAL PRODUCTION .................................................................. 29 3. Failure to pay a living wage ..................................................................................... 59
GLOBAL PRODUCTION NETWORKS ............................................................................................ 29 4. Excessive hours of work and inadequate rest ........................................................... 63
GARMENT GLOBAL PRODUCTION NETWORKS .............................................................................. 29 5. Unsafe workplaces .................................................................................................. 65
STRUCTURE OF GARMENT VALUE CHAINS ............................................................................. 30 BARRIERS TO ACCOUNTABILITY ........................................................................................... 68
BRAND PURCHASING PRACTICES AND ACCELERATED WORK ...................................................... 31 1. Unauthorized subcontracting .................................................................................. 68
RELIANCE ON CONTRACT LABOUR ................................................................................. 32 2. Denial of freedom of association and collective bargaining ....................................... 68
SUBCONTRACTING .......................................................................................................... 32 3. Lack of independent monitoring .............................................................................. 70
GENDER BASED VIOLENCE IN THE GARMENT INDUSTRY ................................................................. 33
ASIAN GARMENT VALUE CHAINS ............................................................................................... 34 RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................................................... 72
BANGLADESH ................................................................................................ 35
Walmart in Bangladesh .................................................................................... 36 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................... 78
CAMBODIA ................................................................................................... 36
Walmart in Cambodia ...................................................................................... 38 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................ 79
INDONESIA ................................................................................................... 38
Walmart in Indonesia ...................................................................................... 39
16 17
FIGURES AND TABLES ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
AFWA Asia Floor Wage Alliance
Figures AFWA-C
AFWA-I
Asia Floor Wage Cambodia
Asia Floor Wage Indonesia
BGMEA Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association
Figure 1. Structure of garment supply chains BKMEA Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association Bangladesh Labour Act
Figure 2. Garment production hubs in Bangladesh BLA Bangladesh Labour Act
Figure 3. Garment production hubs in Cambodia BNPS Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha
CATU Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions
Figure 4. Garment production hubs in Indonesia
CBA Collective Bargaining Agent
Figure 5. Gendered production roles in Walmart supplier factories in Bangladesh and Cambodia CCAWDU Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union
Figure 6. Basic needs included in Asia Floor Wage calculations CCC Clean Clothes Campaign
Figure 7. Asia Floor Wage Alliance: financial dependents and worker responsibility CEDAW Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
CENTRAL Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights
DIFE Department of Inspection of Factory and Establishment
DIR Department of Industrial Relations
DoL Department of Labour
Tables EWAIRA
EPZ Export Processing Zones
EPZ Workers Association and Industrial Relations Act
FoA Freedom of Association
FGD Focus Group Disscussion
Table 1. Spectrum of violence in Walmart garment supply chains
GDP Gross Domestic Product
Table 2. Operatory labour practices, workforce demographics, and associated working conditions in GMAC Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia
the garment sector GPN Global Production Network
Table 3. Walmart supplier factories investigated between January and May 2018 GSC Generalized System of Preference
Table 4. Supplier factories in Cambodia investigated for this study that supplied garments to Walmart HRW Human Rights Watch
at the time of investigation ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Table 5. Risk factors identified by the ILO Expert Committee that expose garment workers to violence
ILC International Labour Conference
and harassment
ILO International Labour Organization
Table 6. Asia Floor Wage Figure in local currencies ILRF International Labour Rights Forum
MFA Multi–Fiber Agreement
MoLE Ministry of Labor and Employment
MLVT Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training
RMG Ready Made Garment
SLD Society for Labour and Development
TATA Textiles and Apparel Trade Agreement
TCLF Textile, Clothing, Leather and Footwear
TNC Transnational Corporation
TTP Textile and Textile Products
UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
WTO World Trade Organization
18 19
METHODOLOGY
This report is based upon six years of
documentation of gender based violence
and decent work violations in Walmart
Worker
garment supply chains by Asia Floor
Wage Alliance partners. It includes the
strategies
results of interviews and focus group
discussions with 250 workers employed
in 60 Walmart supplier factories across In Cambodia, the Cambodian Alliance
Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Indonesia.
of Trade Unions (CATU) regularly
Our most recent investigation of gender based
runs ‘know your rights’ trainings for
violence in Walmart garment supplier factories
was conducted between January 2018 and workers in garment and footwear
May 2018 in Dhaka, Bangladesh; Phnom Penh,
Cambodia; and West Java, Indonesia. This factories. Participants in CENTRAL’s
research phase sought to understand gender
based violence and associated risk factors and FGDs from Walmart suppliers all
to use this information to address gender based
reported that they did not know what
violence through an approach that incorporates
training on workplace violence as well as national forms of violence in the workplace
and international level advocacy.
were against the law. CATU’s trainings
Consistent with these objectives, this
aim to inform Cambodian garment
investigation employed qualitative
social science methodologies as well workers about their rights under the
as Participatory Action Research (PAR) Cambodian garment workers in a ‘know your rights’ training with the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions
Law, covering elements of the Criminal (CATU). The workers pictured are not from factories interviewed for this report.
approaches that emphasize community
participation and action to address Copyright 2018 Patrick Lee for Asia Floor Wage Alliance
Code, the Labour Law and the Law
barriers to accessing rights and
entitlements. on Trade Unions. Through organising
This report also revisits Asia Floor Wage Alliance
Field investigation of gender based violence in
and supporting garment workers and (2016) documentation of rights violations at
work in Walmart garment global supply chains,
Research questions:
Walmart factories in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and expanding their knowledge of their compiled through survey-based and case study
Indonesia was conducted by CATU and CENTRAL, This research seeks to answer three interrelated
rights under Cambodian law, CATU is research conducted between December 2012 and questions:
in Cambodia, Asia Floor Wage Alliance-Indonesia May 2016 in Dhaka, Gazipur and Narayan Ganj,
(AFWA-I), and Development Synergy Institute in helping to develop a new generation of Bangladesh; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; and Jakarta,
Bangladesh. Field research was coordinated by • What are the gendered forms of violence
Indonesia. and harassment women garment workers
the research team at the Society for Labour and union leadership in Cambodia.
Development (SLD), the current Secretariat for the experience in Walmart garment supply chains
Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA). in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Indonesia?20 21
• How does gender interact with risk factors includes workers from 5 supplier factories across and threats of firing among temporary women supplied garments to Walmart at the time of
for violence and harassment articulated by Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Indonesia. All focus workers that undermined reporting workplace investigation.
the ILO Experts Committee to expose women group discussions were conducted in person with abuses. Finally, by completing detailed “day in
Dhaka, Bangladesh
garment workers to this spectrum of gender full consent from workers. In order to protect the the life” accounts, researchers documented
• Bangladesh Factory 1, Ashulia, Savar, Dhaka,
based violence? identity of workers who participated in this study, deprivations of liberty including being forced to
employing approximately 1025 workers
• How have workers, trade unions, all individual names have been changed. work through legally mandated breaks, forced
overtime, and relocation of workers between • Bangladesh Factory 2, Ashulia, Savar, Dhaka,
organizations, and collectives taken effective
factories and buildings without prior consent. employing approximately 4850 workers
action to address gender based violence in
global production networks in Asia? Research phase II: Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Case and context studies of gender based
violence
Research phase III: • Cambo Handsome Ltd, Phnom Penh,
Research phase I: Walmart factory profiles and risk factor
survey data •
Cambodia, employing 6379 workers
Cambo Kotop Ltd., Phnom Penh, Cambodia,
Preliminary analysis of gender based In research phase two, researchers conducted employing 1900 workers
violenceand risk factors case and context studies to develop in depth
accounts of the forms of gender based violence In research phase three, AFWA partners
West Java, Indonesia
in the workplace and risk factors for violence completed factory profiles of five Walmart
In research phase one, researchers conducted • Indonesia Factory 1, Sukabumi, West Java,
identified in research phase one. factories. These factory profiles sought to provide
focus group discussions (FGDs) with women emplying approximately 1500 workers
a demographic snapshot of the Walmart garment
workers employed in Walmart garment supply
supply chain workforce that demonstrates the
chains, and trade union leaders engaged in Research phase two case studies included Table 3: Walmart supplier factories investigated
concentration of women workers in temporary,
organizing workers in Walmart supply chains. documentation of incidents of gender based low-wage production jobs within the garment
Focus group discussions sought to identify forms violence in the Walmart garment supply chain Factory name Date of Workers
supply chain. Factory profiles also sought to
of gender based violence in the workplace and experienced and recounted by individual interviewed
understand working conditions, presence of trade
risk factors for violence. In identifying forms of women workers, including case studies of sexual unions, and dispute resolution mechanisms. Berry Apparel May 2014 15
gender based violence, researchers used the harassment, persistent and ongoing verbal
Blossom Century May 2014 5
definition of gender based violence set out in harassment, retaliation for reporting sexual
General recommendation 19 adopted by the Cambo Handsome May 2014 10
violence, and barriers to seeking relief, including Due to concerns about retaliation among Asia
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination management and state inaction in response to Floor Wage Alliance partner unions, this report Dongdu Textile May 2014 4
against Women (CEDAW). Researchers used complaints. does not name the supplier factories profiled in Ghimli Cambodia May 2014 10
risk factors articulated in the October 2016 Bangladesh and Indonesia. Heart Enterprise April 2014 10
Conclusions by the Meeting of Experts on JK Forever April 2014 10
‘Violence against Women and Men in the World Research phase two context studies sought to
document working conditions that place women These factory profiles are contextualized by Makalot Garment May 2014 10
of Work’ as a benchmark for understanding risk
garment workers at routine risk of gender based survey-based and case study research on Miaw Shun May 2014 4
factors for violence in Walmart garment supply
chains. violence. For instance, researchers documented violations of international labour standards in New Mingda May 2014 10
extreme pressure to complete production targets Walmart garment production factories conducted Quicksew April 2014 10
where women face routine physical violence between December 2012 and May 2016 in Sing Han Lo May 2014 7
Phase one FGDs included 18 women workers including slapping and throwing large bundles Dhaka, Gazipur and Narayan Ganj, Bangladesh; Unipros May 2014 3
engaged in Walmart supply chains in Bangladesh, of clothes and smaller sharp projectiles such as Phnom Penh, Cambodia; and Jakarta, Indonesia.
Cambodia and Indonesia; and 7 trade union including scissors; and verbal abuse. Researchers This sample includes structured interviews with Table 4: Supplier factories in Cambodia
leaders engaged in organizing workers in also documented high levels of job insecurity 239 workers employed in 56 factories across investigated for this study that supplied garments
Walmart garment supply chains. This sample Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Indonesia that to Walmart at the time of investigation22 23
Research challenges Undisclosed suppliers
Documenting rights violations in Walmart
Stigma and retaliation associated factories is particularly challenging
because Walmart refuses to disclose
with reporting gender based basic information about its suppliers. In
violence a context where rampant rights abuse
are structurally embedded within supply
chains, the importance of full public
Stigma and risk of retaliation associated disclosure cannot be underestimated.
with gender based violence leads many
women workers to hide their experience
of violence. Therefore, it required significant
effort from researchers to identify potential
respondents. In order to navigate this challenge,
where possible, researchers worked in teams
including both male and female researchers. They
also sought partnerships with AFWA network
members in order to facilitate access to engage
with women workers. All interviewees were
assured that their identity and any identifying case
information would remain confidential.
Respondents who did engage with the research
team were, for the most part, particularly
unwilling to discuss instances of sexual violence.
Field researchers were trained not to persist
with lines of questioning if they recognized any
signs that the conversation might re-traumatize
survivors. Accordingly, while our research
The ladies’ apparel section in a Walmart
uncovered 3 cases of sexual violence, including
Supercentre in Sacramento, California.
rape, in Walmart supplier factories in Cambodia,
Copyright Natalie Leifer for Asia Floor Wage
these cases have not been included in our
Alliance
research findings.
Wal-Mart Supercenter in Albany, New York, by UpstateNYer
[CC BY-SA 3.0 from Wikimedia Commons24 25
CHAPTER 1:
Gender based violence in the world of work
Emerging ILO standards on As articulated by the Report following the 2016
Experts Meeting, a (an) effective instrument(s) will
violence and harassment in be both sufficiently focused and flexible enough
to address different socio-economic realities,
the world of work different types of enterprises, and different forms
of violence and harassment, as well as different
contexts. Such (an) instrument(s) should also be
At its 325th Session (October–November 2015), able to respond to the new challenges and risks
the Governing Body of the International Labour which might lead to violence and harassment
Office decided that in June 2018, the International in the world of work, such as those arising from
Labour Conference (ILC) will hold tripartite changing forms of work and technology (GB.328/
deliberations to develop standards to address INS/17/5, Appendix I, para. 18). In particular, the
violence and harassment in the world of work. The 2016 Experts Meeting Report points to the need
proposed ILO Convention and Recommendation to extend coverage of Occupational Health and
on violence in the world of work is a timely Safety (OHS) and other legal protections relevant
opportunity to adopt an inclusive definition of to violence and harassment in the world of work
violence and establish a framework within which to excluded workers, groups and sectors by
governments, employers, companies and unions identifying and closing gaps (GB.328/INS/17/5,
can take action to tackle the problem. Appendix I, para. 18).
The October 2016 report on the outcomes of Finally, the Director-General of the ILO
the Meeting of Experts on ‘Violence against emphasized the need for better data on persistent
Women and Men in the World of Work’ presents violence and harassment in the world of work
a detailed set of risk factors for violence in against workers and others (GB.328/INS/17/5,
the world of work that lends insight into the para. 4). Responding to this call, this research aims
conditions under which violence is more likely to contribute up-to-date evidence on persistent
to occur. These include risk factors associated gender based violence and harassment against
with the nature and setting of work as well as the women garment workers in Walmart supply
structure of the labour market. chains in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Indonesia,
many of whom are also migrant workers.
The Committee acknowledged that while violence
can potentially affect everyone, specific groups In addition to the October 2016 Meeting of
are disproportionately impacted (GB.328/ Experts Report, the International Labour Office
INS/17/5, para. 6). The 2016 Committee released Report V(1) setting out the law and
Report highlights that women workers may be practice in different countries, and questionnaire
particularly at risk (GB.328/INS/17/5, Appendix I, that was transmitted to member States in May
para. 11). Consistent with this acknowledgement, 2017. A total of 85 governments sent their replies
Workers of the garment industries in the Conclusions adopted by the Meeting call for to the Office, with 50 of them indicating that the
Bangladesh. The workers pictured are not specific action to address the gender dimensions most representative organizations of employers
from factories interviewed for this report. of violence (GB.328/INS/17/5, Appendix I, para. and workers had been consulted. The Report V(2)
2). and proposed Conclusions were prepared on the
By Ashiful Haque licensed under CC 2.0 basis of the replies received from governments
and organizations of employers and workers.26 27
Violence in the world of women’s increased participation in the labour
market, has in many cases been in non-standard
General recommendation No. 35 emphasizes
that gender based violence is a social rather than
axes of discrimination. These include: ethnicity/
race, indigenous or minority status, colour,
work, related trends and and precarious forms of employment, typified
by informal, low-paid and poorly protected
an individual problem, requiring comprehensive
responses that extend beyond specific events,
socioeconomic status and/or caste, language,
religion or belief, political opinion, national origin,
forms work. This makes women especially vulnerable
to physical, verbal and sexual harassment and
individual perpetrators, and victims/survivors
(para. 9). The Committee further underscores that
marital and/or maternal status, age, urban/
rural location, health status, disability, property
violence. (Pillinger 2017: ix-x). gender based violence against women is one of ownership, being lesbian, bisexual, transgender
According to the Committee of Experts convened the fundamental social, political, and economic or intersex, illiteracy, trafficking of women,
by the ILO in October 2016, “violence and
Gender based violence means by which the subordination of women with armed conflict, seeking asylum, being a refugee,
harassment” include a continuum of unacceptable respect to men is perpetuated (para. 10). internal displacement, statelessness, migration,
behaviors and practices that are likely to result in heading households, widowhood, living with HIV/
physical, psychological or sexual harm or suffering. The October 2016 report of the Committee of General recommendations No. 28 and No. 33— AIDS, deprivation of liberty, being in prostitution,
Experts on ‘Violence against women and men on the core obligation of States parties under geographical remoteness and stigmatisation of
Violence and harassment in the world of work in the world of work’ calls for specific action to article 2 of CEDAW and women’s access to justice, women fighting for their rights, including human
encompass violence in the public or private sector, address the gendered dimensions of violence respectively—confirms that discrimination rights defenders (No. 35, para. 12).
or in the formal or informal economy (GB.328/ (GB.328/INS/17/5, Appendix I, para. 2). against women is inextricably linked to other
INS/17/5, Appendix I, para. 4). Violence in the
world of work includes violence and harassment General recommendation No. 19 on violence
that take place not only in physical workplaces, against women, adopted by the Committee Indonesian women who protest rights violations they face in the garment industry, like many human rights
but also in a broader spectrum of sites that on the Elimination of Discrimination against defenders, are at risk of violent retaliation.
reflect the evolution of work contexts, including: Women (CEDAW) defines gender based violence
commuting, work-related social events, public as “violence which is directed against a woman
spaces, teleworking and, in some contexts, the because she is a woman or that affects women
home (GB.328/INS/17/5, para. 8). disproportionately’, and, as such, is a violation
of their human rights” (article 1). Forms of
Within these spaces, violence can be “horizontal gender based violence named by General
or vertical”; from sources internal to the recommendation No. 19 include acts that
workplace, or external sources such as clients, inflict physical harm, mental harm, sexual harm
other third parties, and public authorities. or suffering, threats of the any of these acts,
Violence and harassment may be a one-off coercion, and deprivations of liberty.
occurrence or repeated (GB.328/INS/17/5,
Appendix I, para. 7). As explained by General recommendation
No. 35 on gender based violence against
The continuum of violence described above women, released on July 14, 2017, for over
includes gender based violence (GB.328/ 25 years the practice of States parties and
INS/17/5, para. 7). It has been a consistent the opinions of jurists have endorsed the
recommendation on the part of national and Committee’s interpretation of gender based
global unions that gender based violence be given violence in recommendation No. 19. According
special attention in the proposed ILO standard, to recommendation No. 35, the prohibition of
since women are disproportionately affected gender based violence against women has evolved
by violence in the world of work (Pillinger 2017: into a principle of customary international law
xiii). Changing patterns of work, and particularly (paragraph 2).You can also read
