Union General Meeting (27th Feb 2007)
Sweatshops and Ethical Merchandise
Proposed by: Saffron Palmer
Seconded by: Karen Lynch, Sophie Cartwright, Richard Byrne-Smith and RIc Lander
This union notes:
(i) That child labour, poverty wages, poor health and safety, forced overtime, sexual abuse and violent harassment, especially against trade unionists, have been revealed by reporters, trade unions and Government investigators to be common features of sweatshop labour.
(ii) That many famous high street brands, including Nike, Gap, Adidas, Arcadia Group (includes Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge and Burton) and Reebok, have been exposed as sweatshop employers.
(iii) That the average wage for a Nike worker in Vietnam is $47 a month, while Phil Knight, Nike Chief Executive, possesses personal wealth of $12.3 billion.
(iv) That as of October 2006, Battersea and Wandsworth Trades Council’s ‘Ethical Threads’ brand and ‘Epona Sports’ are credible alternatives to such suppliers.
(v) That the KFAT and GMB trade unions have found factories in the UK where workers are employed for as little as £80 a week in sweatshop conditions.
(vi) That as a matter of welfare, students are not immune from work place exploitation.
This union further notes:
(i) Union Code part 6.4
We will actively promote NUS “Sound Ethical Choice” products and will purchase, where practicable, from suppliers graded highly by the NUSSL Environment and Ethics Committee.
(ii) Union Code part 6.15 regarding Union support of Fair Trade products.
This union believes:
(i) That workers in sweatshops must be free to organise their own independent trade unions, since codes of conduct mean little unless the workers themselves can enforce decent working practices.
(ii) That workers in every country should have positive legal rights including the right to join a trade union of their choice and to take industrial action.
This union further believes:
(i) That students have a right to work in safe and fair conditions, free from exploitation.
(ii) That students should be able to expect that the Union imposes the same standards on its own merchandise.
This union resolves:
(i) That the Union Executive, including the Services & Finance Officer, and the Environment & Ethics Officers, should investigate the origins of University clothing and if necessary launch a campaign to ensure that merchandise is purchased from a supplier where employees receive a living wage, work in safe and healthy conditions and are free to join an independent union.
(ii) That the Union Executive, including the Services & Finance Officer and the Environment & Ethics Officers should investigate the origins of clothing purchased by the Union and if necessary change suppliers to ensure that the workers involved in their production receive a living wage, work in safe and healthy conditions and are free to join an independent union.
(iii) That Union Executive, including Societies & Communications Officer, the Environment & Ethics Officers and AU President should ensure that JCRCs and HCSA merchandise reps, societies and AU clubs are well informed between years of clothing suppliers whose workers receive a living wage, work in safe and healthy conditions and are free to join an independent union.
(iv) That the union should purchase all merchandise from suppliers recommended by the People and Planet Ethical Merchandise Guide (available at: www-users-york.ac.uk/~socs203/resources/eth_merch_guide.html).
