'No Sweat' saga continues

Catholic New Times, Dec 14, 2003 by Kevin Spurgaitis

With corporate accountability reportedly lax in a globalized economy, more and more Canadian secondary school students are checking their clothing labels and raising questions--and demanding answers.

An increasing number of Ontario students and teachers are forming committees and lobbying their school boards to develop a "No Sweat" purchasing policy--one that permits the board to terminate existing relationships with uniform suppliers if work violations are unearthed. They are pushing for more assertive language in contracts requiring full public disclosure, agreement to independent monitoring and unswerving adherence to International Labour Standards.

But enforcement is the thing. The problem of third party investigations of factories, has created a cul-de-sac in negotiations with some school boards. Who is the third party? Who does the work? How do cash-strapped Catholic School boards get uniform suppliers to adhere to the tenets of No Sweat policies?

"It was asked why students are picking on uniform suppliers, but it is all they know. This is what they and their parents spend their money on," says Tony Muhitch, a teacher at St. Elizabeth High School in Thornhill, Ont., and coordinator of the school's Social Justice Council.

In October 2002, his group circulated a school-wide petition for a No Sweat purchasing policy, and rallied other schools to endorse it. After an extensive review of their proposal, the York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB) is expected to fasten a policy to be voted on in December. Their lobby follows a succession of spirited, yet "toothless" purchasing agreements drafted by other Ontario boards this past year.

Students and teachers want all board suppliers and subcontractors to eliminate any use of forced labour, child labour, harassment or abuse, discrimination, as well as contravention of applicable laws and industry standards on working hours. They want companies to enforce the freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively, provide fair wages and compensation, observe health and safety and regard women's reproductive rights.

The proposed policy stipulates the compliance of companies, public reporting of plant locations and practices, independent verification, as well as corrective action or termination protocols. Contractually, the school board would be allowed to terminate its relationship with any supplier that conducts its business in violation of the policy.

"Companies cannot be exempt from scrutiny," Muhitch says. "We can't have a moral policy without any guts."

The retail of school uniforms, alone, is a mammoth enterprise globally. It is a multi-million dollar practice in Canada, especially in Ontario, and continues to expand every year as institutions, both Catholic and public, secondary and now primary, adopt dress codes. School boards reportedly receive a small percentage from uniform sales. R.J. McCarthy Ltd., the market leader, has almost exclusively procured and delivered uniforms to Catholic school systems across Canada since 1956. It maintains its manufacturers in Canada, the United States, China, Mexico, parts of Europe and Egypt, abide by International Labour Standards. Full public disclosure of their plant locations is not necessary, McCarthy says.

Still, the notion of No Sweat policies is unanimously accepted by schools boards, including the YCDSB. However, some officials say they do not want to merely "hoist a flag." Jack Cronin, Associate Director of YCDSB, questions the cost of third person monitoring of manufacturers. The manufacturers' word may be on paper, claiming to be 'above board,' and meeting school boards' criteria. They may agree to independent audits. However, Cronin asks, "Where does the school board's responsibility start and stop?"

He maintains there is a learning curve for boards--one impeding the swift passage of a policy students would like. "(Policies) require a degree of monitoring and supervision, or else it doesn't make any difference. Unless we have some accountability features in policies, then why are we doing this?"

Grassroots student bodies in Ontario have joined a carefully woven network of NGOs, labour unions and human rights advocacy groups, called The Ethical Trading Action Group (ETAG), The organization, headed by Maquila Solidarity Network (MSN), proposed an amendment to the federal Textile Labelling Act earlier this year. It requires apparel companies to disclose their manufacturing sites in a publicly accessible, federal government, online database.

In February, then Industry Minister Allan Rock was deluged with tens of thousands of clipped clothing labels and petitions containing 20,000 signatures, all endorsing changes to disclosure rules. Submissions included those from Ontario students. However, Industry Canada's Competition Bureau provided a negative assessment of the proposed regulations, in an 89-page report. In November, ETAG was invited back to once again participate in round table discussions with the federal government. They submitted a 26-page brief entitled, Transparency and Disclosure: New Regulatory Tools to Challenge Sweatshop Abuses, which was endorsed by all ETAG member groups as well as 14 other civil society organizations.