Wal-Mart factory workers on strike!

Give 'em an inch, and they'll take a mile.

This is exactly what Wal-Mart did to the workers at Chong Won Fashion in Cavite, Philippines where Wal-Mart was given over 2 weeks and clear concrete information from well-respected NGOs to use their power to encourage factory management to clean up its act.  Unfortunately Wal-Mart continues to give mixed signals and in the end, it's the workers that have suffered.

Wal-Mart's code of conduct includes provisions on the following:

  • Freedom of Association
  • Bathroom breaks
  • Drinking water
  • Pay
  • Work Hours

Apparently it seems that Wal-Mart's code of conduct is nothing but a public relations tool as once again it has become clear that Wal-mart has no intentions of enforcing its code in any real way.  The Chong Won Fashion case is just one of many where Wal-Mart says all the right things and follows words with all the wrong actions. 

Workers at Chong Won Fashion are seeking your support to push Wal-Mart to take immediate action to enforce its code of conduct.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Chong Won workers want Wal-Mart to enforce its code of conduct.

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I am writing to you today with deep concern for the workers of the garment factory Chong Won Fashion in Cavite, Philippines. As you know, Wal-Mart has sourced from this factory for quite some time and has committed to maintaining its orders at the factory until there is a resolution to the ongoing freedom of association violations.

Together with International Labor Rights Fund and Maquila Solidarity Network, I expect Wal-Mart to follow up on its commitments already made, which include:

- Meeting with the local NGO Worker's Assistance Center (WAC) in Cavite, Philippines, as this is something Wal-Mart has already commited to.

- Facilitating dialogue between factory management and the union, leading to good-faith negotiations for a first collective bargaining agreement.

- Sending a clear message to management that Wal-Mart will not tolerate any further harassment, intimidation, or discrimination against workers because of their union membership or activities.

- Indicating to management that Wal-Mart will not tolerate any shifting or subcontracting of orders from Chong Won to other factories.

- Sharing and discussing Wal-Mart's factory audit findings with Chong Won management, other factory buyers, Worker's Assistance Center, and United Workers of Chong Won (the factory union); developing a corrective action plan; and working with other buyers, the supplier, and other stakeholders to implement the plan.

I look forward to learning how Wal-Mart has taken an active role to uphold its code of conduct at Chong Won Fashion.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
September 26, 2006


Background Information

More information available at www.LaborRights.org

Since 2004 the workers at Chong Won Fashion International in the Philippines have fought for the right to bargain with management and yet they have continued to be ignored and pushed to the side. The workers sought support from the International Labor Rights Fund and Maquila Solidarity Network. ILRF and MSN immediately contacted Wal-Mart as the primary buyer at the factory. MSN clearly stated what the expectations of Wal-Mart were which included meeting with the union leaders and a local NGO Worker's Assistance Center.

Unfortunately Wal-Mart continued to play its usual games where they say one thing and do the total opposite.

  • When Wal-Mart said it would talk to union leaders before they did an unannounced audit, they instead found 3 union leaders at the end of the audit visit and interviewed them while inside the factory.
  • The Wal-Mart auditor on at least 2 occasions even alluded to the idea that Wal-Mart might pull their orders out of the factory and later corrected herself (as ILRF and MSN are sure that only after MSN continued to bring this to Wal-Mart's attention, did Wal-Mart bother to correct this major communications problem).
  • The Wal-Mart auditor even stated that Wal-Mart wasn't responsible for what happens inside of the factory because they order through a middleman One-Step-Up.
  • Finally Wal-Mart claims to audit every single factory once a year where their private brands are being produced and yet Wal-Mart hadn't bothered to get the results of a recent audit done by Intertek in February 2006 at Chong Won. During this audit, workers reported concerns about the way that factory management was violating freedom of association.

In addition to clear violations of freedom of association, workers have alleged being forced to work 24 hours shifts and not being allowed to drink water or go to the bathroom. Unfortunately because the overwhelming majority of the audits done by Wal-Mart are announced, Chong Won management takes down the signs regarding bathroom usage and tells workers how to respond to the questions that Wal-Mart asks them.

On September 25, 2006, the United Workers of Chong Won declared a strike demanding that factory management immediately begin to negotiate with the trade union.