Swedish fashion brand H&M has signed a legally binding agreement with Eastman Exports Global Clothing, Tirupur one of its largest Indian clothing suppliers that pledge to end sexual violence and harassment against women on the factory floor.
The company was embroiled in a murder (farmland near her family home) of a young female worker by her supervisor last year. The supervisor has, reportedly, confessed to the murder and is awaiting trial.
Under the terms of the agreement, all workers, supervisors and executives will have to undergo gender-based violence training and the Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union (TTCU) will recruit and train female workers as ‘shopfloor monitors’ who will ensure women are protected from verbal harassment and sexual intimidation.
As a part of the agreement, Eastman Exports will amend its internal policies and procedures including to strengthen the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) and establish an independent grievance mechanism overseen by third-party experts.
The agreement also overhauls factory’s internal complaints committees (ICC), a mechanism required under Indian law in all workplaces, but which has failed for decades to protect women from violence (by males) at Natchi factories.
Women workers will now be able to report sexual harassment anonymously to an independent panel that will have the power to dismiss perpetrators and seek financial compensation for victims and their families.
As per a report of The Guardian, the legally binding agreement is only the second of its kind in the fashion industry, and the first time ever a brand has ever signed up to an initiative to tackle gender-based violence in Asia’s garment industry, where a workforce of mostly poor women make millions of tonnes of clothing for UK high streets every year.
Subhash Tiwari, Director at Eastman Exports, said, “It is our top priority to make sure that women on our shopfloors are safe and to do that women must be able to be seen and heard and feel empowered to report if something goes wrong. We will not allow any kind of infraction of the terms of this agreement. This is not just zero tolerance, what we want is a complete elimination of harassment and all forms of violence against our female employees.”
Thivya Rakini, State President, TTCU, said the agreement was a victory for women in the workplace.
The Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA) and the international labour rights group Global Labor Justice-International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF), also co-signatories to the agreement, said that this should be seen as a moment of change for the fashion industry.
Anannya Bhattacharjee, International Coordinator at AFWA, said “We are confident that this agreement can be a model for change across the global garment industry, where gender-based violence is endemic and still largely disregarded and ignored.”
The Guardian quoted a spokesperson of H&M, “H&M Group wants to do our utmost to contribute to systemic and positive change in the industry and have therefore signed an agreement to work together with industry stakeholders to address, prevent and remedy gender-based violence and sexual harassment,” We expect this agreement to contribute to a broader industry-wide initiative going forward.”
