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Forced to resign from union
Hera Tekstil, part of the Roteks Group, is a factory producing for H&M, Lindex and Inditex. In June 2011 the Teksif workers union started an organising campaign, which led to the recruitment of sufficient members for the trade union to register at the factory. Subsequently, workers were intimidated, forced to resign from the union and remaining unionised workers were dismissed. CCC communicated with key buyers and a Spanish trade union federation on follow up.
€4.7 million in overdue wages
Garment company Hey Tekstil did not pay its employees from November 2011 to February 2012, then fired them without notice and failed to pay them the severance payments required by law. The workers organised actions and picket lines for months to get what is owed to them by the company. A web appeal and solidarity actions targeting Esprit have been set up to support them.
Pressure on unionised workers
The Turkish union Deri-Is asked the Clean Clothes Campaign for support in a case of dismissal of four union members and intimidation of union members at the Ismaco factory. The Clean Clothes Campaign engaged with the Dutch owner and Italian buyers, and worked closely with Italian trade unions.
A battle won
Four dismissed union members from the Ismaco factory are fighting their cases in court. They were unlawfully fired by the management of the factory because of their membership of the Turkish union Deri-Teks (Deri-Is).
Background on Hey Tekstil, Turkey
Li & Fung, one of the largest apparel sourcing companies in the world, is refusing to pay 2.038 Hey Tekstil workers in Turkey 4.7 million EUR of overdue wages, severance, and notification payments. The conflict began in February 2012 when the last 420 of 3.000 workers from the Turkish apparel company Hey Tekstil Sanayi ve Ticaret L.Ş. were fired from the company’s Istanbul factory without notice. The workers got organized and decided to take action. At the time of the closure, workers were producing clothes for such brands as Esprit and Disney, which placed their orders through Li & Fung. For the last two years, Li & Fung had 80-90% of the production at Hey Tekstil factories, according to former Hey Tekstil representatives.
Hong Kong company Li & Fung refuses to pay workers
We urge you to support 420 struggling workers in Turkey who have been staging a picket line in front of Li & Fung for three months. These workers were employed by a company called Hey Tekstil. From November 2011 to February 2012, the company did not pay them for their last three months of work, fired them without notice, and subsequently failed to pay them their legally-mandated severance and notification payments.
Hey Tekstil campaign in Turkish
This is the text of the urgent appeal and the background information, in Turkish
Day 230 in the picket line: Esprit involved in Hey Tekstil severance case
Hong Kong-based brand Esprit was a big buyer from the Hey Tekstil factory in the months before closure last February. An estimated 80-90% of the clothes made at Hey Tekstil in Turkey were for Esprit. Sacked workers are still waiting for back wages in the picket line in Istanbul.
Esprit and Li&Fung target of international street actions
An international call for action from the Clean Clothes Campaign last week led to protests in cities around the world. In Istanbul, Chiang Mai and Hong Kong workers protested against the failure of Esprit and its agent Li&Fung to pay €4.7 million Euro owed to more than 2000 people who became jobless after the factory closed. 'These actions are only the beginning of our campaign to make Esprit and Li & Fung pay up,' says Ineke Zeldenrust, International Coordinator at Clean Clothes Campaign.
Trade Union Harassment Continues at Prada Supplier
It is with great regret that the Clean Clothes Campaign is reopening the campaign to demand justice for workers at the DESA leather factory in Duzce, Turkey.
We welcome our 17th local CCC: Turkey!
CCC is pleased to announce that we now have our 17th European platform in Turkey. CCC Turkey is a platform of trade unions and worker rights groups.
Stitched Up
New report released by Clean Clothes Campaign shows that garment workers in Eastern Europe and Turkey are paid poverty wages and many have to work second or third jobs to be able to live.
Mulberry slammed for worker exploitation at Turkish factory
Turkish workers and activists globally are launching a series of protests against handbag brand Mulberry for failing to protect the rights of workers in its Izmir supplier factory. More than 15 store actions are planned to take place across Europe and the US this Wednesday and Thursday.
Turkish workers win case targeting handbag producer Mulberry
Turkish workers for the handbag brand Mulberry, and activists globally who supported their cause, are hailing a 'tremendous victory' after winning a campaign to uphold human rights in their factory.
CCC statement on the use of Syrian workers in high street supply chains
Clean Clothes Campaign welcomes the attention received by the recent BBC Panorama investigation into the exploitation of Syrian refugees, including children, within the supply chains of major European clothing retailers. We are calling on the Turkish government, the European Union and all major clothing brands to make sure adequate protections are in place that guarantee full respect of the rights of Syrian workers that will continue to be employed in the production of our clothing.
Nordic fashion brands need to tackle abuse of Syrian refugees in Turkish garment factories
Thousands of Syrian refugees work long hours in Turkey’s apparel factories in unhealthy conditions with salaries below the minimum wage. Despite Turkey being an important sourcing market for the Nordic brands H&M, KappAhl, Lindex, Gina Tricot and Varner (BikBok, Cubus, Carlings et al), the companies are not doing enough to prevent discrimination of Syrians in their supply chains, according to a report by Fair Action and Future in our hands.
Zara, Next, Mango Slammed for Leaving Workers Without Wages in Turkish Factory
Workers at the Bravo Tekstil factory complex in Istanbul, Turkey are demanding their back wages and severance after working without payment for three months followed by the sudden shutdown of their factory. As the factory was producing for the apparel brand giants Zara, Next, and Mango, Clean Clothes Campaign supports the workers’ demand that these brands take responsibility and pay up.
Faded denim look comes at a steep price
Clean Clothes Campaign Turkey investigated the Turkish denim industry's use of Potassium Permanganate. Research revealed that workers use it in spray form to create the faded look in denim. The workers reported suffering skin and respiratory problems.
How Inditex usurps the word ‘Respect’
The fashion giant Inditex, which owns the brand Zara, presents itself as a transparent company that attaches the utmost importance to the people who produce its clothes. Exclusive investigation into the conditions in which one of its iconic hoodies was produced reveals what goes on behind the scenes: meagre wages, excessive hours, precarious contracts. The workers pay the price for the huge pressure to drive down prices that Inditex exerts on its suppliers in order to boost its handsome profits.
Apparel brands must ensure workers in Turkey are paid and kept safe
The devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria last month affected a region in Turkey with a large amount of textile and garment production. International brands sourcing from the area, together with factory owners and the Turkish government, must ensure that workers don't face additional financial hardship on top of the suffering inflicted by the earthquake. We call upon brands and retailers to pay their suppliers on time; to ensure workers receive their full, regular wages (or severance in the case of layoffs); and to make sure factories are not reopened until they are verified as safe.
Factories and brands disregarded workers’ rights in the wake of Türkiye’s 2023 earthquake
Interviews with 100+ workers shows that garment factories and their buyers left workers to fend for themselves after the devastating earthquake that hit Türkiye in February 2023. As most of them were not paid in full in the aftermath of the earthquake, workers had to return to their jobs out of financial necessity without having a safe place to live and before the factories they worked in had undergone any structural safety inspections.
Levi’s breaks promise to workers in union busting struggle at Turkish garment factory
Workers at a Levi’s supplier in Türkiyehave faced harassment, attacks, arrests, and dismissal for exercising their right to chose their own union representation. Despite committing to the union that it would pressure the factory management to rehire unlawfully terminated union members, four months since the start of the conflict, Levi’s is still producing clothes at the factory and has stopped communicating with the union and labour rights advocates supporting them.
Trail of broken promises: Levi’s denies justice to unlawfully fired workers in Türkiye
After a serious instance of union busting at the Levi’s supply factory Özak Tekstil in Şanlıurfa, Türkiye, late in 2023, Levi’s made promises to uphold workers’ rights to freedom of association that the company failed to live up to in subsequent months. In response tonew research into the violations by the Worker Rights Consortium published earlier today, Clean Clothes Campaign renews its call on Levi’s to live up to its earlier promises and protect its workers’ right to organise freely.
Bleaching chemicals used on jeans have devastating effects on workers and environment
A new report published today by Clean Clothes Campaign Turkey reveals the harmful effects of potassium permanganate (PP) bleaching of jeans on worker health and the environment. The report, which covers 44 brands, focuses on the impact of PP chemical use on worker health and environmental pollution in the Ergene Basin, which is now unsuitable for agricultural purposes.
Turkey Factsheet 2014
Factsheet explaining the garment industry in Turkey