For over eight months, workers have protested in Istanbul in front of the Li&Fung, Hey Tekstil and other places. Hong Kong based Li&Fung, one of the world's largest garment trading companies, was sourcing almost all of the production at Hey Tekstil for one brand: Esprit. Over 2,000 workers have been fired over the last months. Collectively they are owed at least €4.7 million in unpaid salaries, legally-mandated severance and notification payments. Esprit and Li&Fung both have codes of conduct that state wages and benefits should be paid in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. However, wage violations at Hey Tekstil had been going on for many months prior to closure, and both companies clearly failed in their due diligence and in their obligation to mediate.
English: http://www.cleanclothes.org/urgent-actions/heytekstil-esprit
For more information, please contact the editor Jan Cremers, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) cbn-aias@uva.nl or the communications officer at the ETUI, Mariya Nikolova mnikolova@etui.org. For previous issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit http://www.etui.org/E-Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net.