Ethical Standards and Working Conditions in Wal-Mart's Supply Chain

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Appendix A: Factory ProfilesPetra Apparel FactoryWho owns it: Mr. Ahmed NuseriatWhat they produce: Blue jeans for women and childrenWho they produce for: Wal-Mart and Gloria VanderbiltAddress: Ad Dulayl Industrial Estate, Plot #25Zaqua, JordanNumber of workers: 850+Summary of Problems at the Factory:• forced and unpaid overtime• failure to pay the legally mandated premium for work• verbal harassment and abuseAverage rate of pay: $0.46/hourWork Schedule: 8am to 8pmReports/More Information about Factory:• National Labor Committee March 2006 Reporthttp://www.nlcnet.org/documents/Jordan_PDF_Web/32_Petra.pdf• Wal-Mart’s Standards for Suppliershttp://ilrf.org/projects/corporate/walmart/Supplier-Standards-2005.pdfCode of Conduct Violations: A report prepared by the National Labor Committee(www.nlcnet.org) on the working conditions of the factory revealed that Petra had violatedJordanian laws as well as the Wal-Mart Standards for Suppliers (March 2006).Working Hours: Twice a week the company forced workers to work mandatory all night (20 ½hour shifts) from 8am to 4:30am the following morning to meet production deadlines. It is notunusual for workers to spend 89 hours per week at the factory. They also received only one ortwo days off a month, even though they are supposed to have off every Friday.Abuse: Workers have reported verbal and physical abuse including beatings, slapping andpunching. They were routinely hit for making mistakes, for speaking during working hours, orfor taking too long in the bathroom.Pay: Workers are paid 21% below the legally-mandated minimum wage. They received $0.46an hour when they should have received $0.58 an hour. This means that sewers who take 27 anda half minutes to make a pair of jeans are paid only $0.21 per pair. Moreover, they are not paidthe 25 to 50% overtime premium for extra hours and the penalty for a taking a LEGAL sick dayis the loss of three days of wages. The lack of pay-slips or time-cards also makes it easier for thecompany to take advantage of workers because it makes it harder for them to keep track of theirhours worked.TOS Dominicana26
Who owns it: Hanesbrand Inc.What they produce: Fabrics primarily for t-shirtsWho they produce for: Wal-Mart is their largest client, but they also produce for Universitylogo goods maker Grupo M, and their own blank t-shirtsAddress: Textile FactoryDos Rios Industrial ParkBonoa, Dominican Republic (DR)Number of workers: 1,100 workers (one of largest textile manufacturers in the DR)Summary of Problems at the Factory:• unlawful coercion of workers to sign new employment contracts and complaintwaivers reducing workers employment rights and benefits• forced and unpaid overtime• verbal harassment and abuse• use of a range of illegal means to thwart workers’ efforts to exercise their right toassociation.Union Information: Workers have tried to join the Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Empresa deDos Rios/Hanesbrand, TOS Dominicana (Union of Workers of the Enterprise DosRios/Hanesbrand, TOS Dominicana) a local branch of the national union, the FederacionDominicana de Trabajadores de Zonas Francas or FEDOTRAZONAS (Dominican Federation ofFree Trade Zone Workers).Communication with Buyers: The Worker Rights Consortium notified Hanesbrand about theseissues and the violations were neither acknowledged nor addressed (as of their report on June 6,2007).Reports/More Information about Factory:• WRC Report on TOS Dominicanahttp://www.workersrights.org/Freports/TOSDominicana_Report_06-06-07.pdf• Wal-Mart Watch Articlehttp://walmartwatch.com/blog/archives/look_who_hanes_has_got_their_labor_rights_violations_on_now/• Hanesbrands Code of Conducthttp://www.hanesbrands.com/hbi/Resources/GlobalStandardsforSuppliers.pdfCode of Conduct Violations: In a series of investigations of the working conditions of thefactory on October 29-31, 2006, February 9-12, 17-19, and 26-28, 2007, and May 10-12, 2007,the Worker Rights Consortium (http://workersrights.org) found that Hanesbrand was in violationof Dominican and International laws.Working Hours: Article 147 of the Dominican Labor Code establishes that the regular workweek is to be eight hours per day and no more than forty-four hours per week. Article 203 of theLabor Code establishes that any work beyond this amount is to be compensated at a rate of 135%of normal pay and that overtime work is to be voluntary. However, TOS Dominicana makesemployees work a schedule which requires unpaid overtime. Workers are forced to work daily12 hour shifts (for four days straight) as a mandatory aspect of employment. In addition to27
Page 1 and 2: Ethical Standards and Working Condi
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTSEXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Page 5 and 6: INTRODUCTIONWal-Mart is currently t
Page 7 and 8: Number ofEthicalStandards StaffHow
Page 9 and 10: available to the public. Informatio
Page 11 and 12: SECTION 2: “VIOLATIONS WILL OCCUR
Page 13 and 14: meeting those goals. By avoiding de
Page 15 and 16: SECTION 3: “WAL-MART IS A RETAILE
Page 17 and 18: When it comes to product quality co
Page 19 and 20: (3) Wal-Mart needs to develop a rol
Page 21 and 22: and physical violence as the Philip
Page 23 and 24: CONCLUSIONWal-Mart has a commitment
Page 25: • Provide Restitution to Wal-Mart
Page 29 and 30: Chong Won Fashion, Inc.Who owns it:
Page 31 and 32: workers voted to unionize) through
Page 33 and 34: • Minimum Wages:Standard minimum
Page 35: Guy D. Bradford, Vice PresidentCorp

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