> ICFTU On Line > 215/981009/ND > > Restructurings at Levi's: trade unions want global discussion > > Brussels, 13 October 1998 (ICFTU on-line): "Levi Strauss is applying a > profoundly anti-union strategy. It announces to the world that it is > pro-worker, but its real attitude is totally out of sync with the > quality image it seeks to put across. It was quick to adopt a code of > conduct committing it to minimum employee relations standards, but this > has remained a dead letter". Meeting this week in Berlin, the Executive > Committee of the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' > Federation (ITGLWF), an ICFTU affiliate, denounced the hypocrisies of > the world's number one jeans manufacturer which on 29 September last > announced its intention to close four European plants (3 in Belgium and > one in France) with 1461 workers in all." After the discussion we have > just had with the American delegates, we are convinced of the need to > broaden the discussion to the world level. A letter was sent this > Thursday morning to the Levi's head office in which we invite group CEO > Bob Haas to meet us. For Patrick Itschert, the Secretary General of the > European trade union federation for the sector, the explanations that > Levi's has been putting forward for several months now in order to > justify the major restructurings (11 plants closed in the United States, > and two other American units facing the same fate) do not hold water. > If the brand has lost its appeal among young consumers, the real reason > is its desire to maximize profits at all costs. "The Belgian and French > sites threatened with closure are profitable. But the group's purported > over-capacities are due - as if by accident - to growing activities > outside the European Union. Levi's is running its business on a > sub-contracting and joint venture basis. In Turkey, for example, it has > signed a contract with an exclusive sub-contractor and a plant has been > set up. This plant employed 150 workers in August 1997, a number soon > to be tripled. My deep conviction is that this is disguised delocation, > which has been on the drawing board for a long time". > > Nor, Patrick Itschert continues, does Levi's respect ILO conventions 87, > 98 and 135 on trade union freedom and the freedom of collective > bargaining. "In Hungary, management has prevented workers from setting > up trade unions. We fought for two years and, finally, given the size > of the movement, it had to give way". These practices will hardly > surprise American delegates meeting in Berlin this week for the ITGLWF > Executive Committee. The federation has therefore decided to step up > pressure on central group management to respect its commitments (its > code of conduct) and labour standards. > > As to the fate of the 1461 Belgian and French workers, the Levi's > European works' council meeting of 5 October ended with the decision to > give workers' representatives two months in which to come up with > counter-proposals based on experts' reports. But the > unrepresentativeness of this Levi's committee makes the forthcoming > discussions very problematic and is stoking trade union wrath: > "Management has manoeuvred cleverly" Patrick Itschert says, "putting the > trade unionists delegated by European production units representing more > than 3,000 workers into a minority against a mass of employee > "representatives" who are in fact commercial unit executives sent by > Levi's management. For example, the Finnish delegate representing 7 > people has as much say as the French delegate speaking for 530 people > under threat of redundancy at the "La Bassée" plant. When negotiating > the setting up of the council, we asked for proportion representation, > but Levi's said no. > > The directive on European works councils which the European Council of > Ministers adopted in 1994 is intended to enable workers from so-called > "Community-sized" enterprises to be better informed and consulted about > their groups' activities, prospects, structure, economic and financial > situation and likely development, in short, everything that could affect > workers. This legislation applies to enterprises with at least 1,000 > workers in the 18 signatory states, and at least 150 in two or more of > these countries. Right now, some 450 European works' councils are > already up and running. The directive is due for reassessment by > European social partners in a few months' time. These works' councils > can have a major impact on industrial relations and contribute to > greater transparency in the way multinationals operate. Information and > consultation can be no more than stages on the path of negotiation. > Everything depends on the goodwill of corporate head offices. As is > demonstrated by the negative examples of the recent closure of Renault > Vilvoorde and those announced by Levi's today. > > Contact: ICFTU Press, Tel. 32.2.224.02.12 (Brussels). For further > information, please visit our internet site (Http://www.icftu.org). > > >
