18 April, 2012
The International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation (ITGLWF), the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF), and ICEM have written Peruvian President Ollanta Humala protesting a newly-imposed decree allowing non-traditional industrial producers to hire workers under short-term contracts to fill specific export orders.
Under Decree 22342 governing non-traditional exports, manufacturers such as garment companies now are allowed to hire precarious workers on short-term contracts to fill specific orders, meaning a worker employed this month to fill a production order for a multinational garment brand has no guarantee of working next month to fill a similar order for the same buyer.
The letter by the ICEM, ITGLWF and IMF calls the legislation “unconstitutional, in breach of international labour standards … totally out of date in today’s global markets and is just downright wrong.”
Said ITGLWF General Secretary Klaus Priegnitz, “This level of flexibility in a thriving industry is frankly obscene. In reality, the term ‘non-traditional’ is a complete misnomer.
“Thirty years ago, when orders were irregular and exporting companies were just finding their feet, ‘non-traditional’ might have been an apt description of the emerging garment export sector. But today, the situation could not be more different. The sector has grown exponentially as a result of the free trade agreement with the US, making textiles and clothing one of the most dynamic sectors of the economy.”
Priegnitz added: “The average wages of workers in the largest and most profitable textile companies in the sector are among the lowest in Peru. Wages are so low that workers and their families are often forced to live with relatives, and when they can’t work double shifts many have to supplement their income by working as street vendors.”
The companies in question are fully integrated operations that do everything from weaving to sewing to finishing. For the most part, the largest companies are the worst offenders, in some cases, employing 100% of the workforce on short-term contracts even though those workers perform permanent functions in the factory. Some workers have worked for the same employer for nearly 20 years on a succession of one- to six-month contracts.
Priegnitz said, “The decree and the way it is being applied represent a gross violation of the labour chapter of the Peru-US Free Trade Agreement and of codes of conduct of the major brands and retailers that drive the success of the country’s garment export industry. Peru is in danger of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.”
In the letter, the ICEM, the ITGWLF and the IMF call on Peru’s government to vigorously support a proposal to repeal Articles 32, 33 and 34 of Decree 22342, which is currently under consideration in the Congressional Labour Commission. For as long as the decree remains in force, the three organisation have also asked the government to monitor its application more closely, intervening in cases where it is being used inappropriately to convert fixed-term employment contracts to open-ended ones.