AN EXERCISE IN WORLDMAKING 2009 - ISS

44 EVA SABATE
provide workers with the mechanisms to monitor and enforce their
rights (ETUF-TCL, 2007). This represents an important improvement
with relation to the company’s first code of conduct addressed firstly in
this essay.
In the agreement, Inditex recognizes the ITGLWF as its global trade
union counterpart and acknowledges the central role of freedom of association
and the right to bargain collectively. The text describes this right
as indispensable to ensure the long-term observation and enforcement of
all other labour standards by the workers themselves. Moreover, according
to the document, the agreement should be applied to the complete
Inditex supply chain, including workplaces that are not represented by
any affiliate of the ITGLWF. This is of utmost importance to increase
local trade union recognition and provide workers with adequate mechanisms
to voice their concerns.
The implementation and monitoring of the agreement has been also
greatly improved within the IFA. According to Neil Kearney, ITGLWF’s
general secretary, ‘Irregular policing through snap-shot audits is replaced by constant
internal factory monitoring by those who know the enterprise best – managers
and workers’ (ETUF-TCL, 2007). Jointly, the two organizations undertake
to ensure the sustainable and long-term observance of the mentioned
labour standards through the Inditex supply chain keeping their developments
under review. With this aim, the IFA establishes an equal mixed
monitoring body with representantives from the company and the federation
that would meet once a year to review the application of the
agreement. Moreover, the company commits to provide ITGLWF with
relevant information on its supply chain situation.
According to the text, in the case that labour issues are detected within
the Inditex supply chain, the company and ITGLWF will cooperate in
finding solutions, including remediation action plans and collaborating
on training programs for the management and workers concerned. This
represents an important improvement in respect to the company code
procedures.
Although the agreement has a voluntary nature, it has already shown
remarkable effectiveness in the enforcement of the code of conduct.
Some of those cases took place even during the bargaining process between
the ITGLWF and the company, showing the significance of bilateral
negotiations and the implementation possibilities of such agreement.