Initiative seeks to protect workers

The TUC has joined forces with Leicester mayor Sir Peter Soulsby to call on major UK fashion retailers to attend a round table summit and sign a TUC agreement. If implemented, this would give greater employment protection and security to thousands of garment workers in the city.

The move follows recent media revelations about terms and conditions in the Leicester garment trade and speculation that working conditions in local factories have been a catalyst for the spike in COVID-19 cases in the city.

Unions and human rights campaigners have long been concerned about working conditions and poverty wages in the industry.

In an open letter to the chief executive officers (CEOs) of a number of fashion retailers, including Boohoo, Asos, Arcadia Group and TK Maxx, TUC Midlands regional secretary Lee Barron and Soulsby warned that many companies cannot show their products were not produced by exploited workers or victims of modern slavery.

They said auditing systems to ensure factories are complying with basic requirements of employment law had clearly not worked.

They invited the CEOs to attend a summit meeting in the city at the end of last month and to sign up to an agreement committing to only procure from UK manufacturers who agree to recognise a trade union.

They would also commit to allowing site access to union reps to recruit, recognise and represent members and provide appropriate training and facility time to union reps.

https://www.tuc.org.uk/news/sir-peter-soulsby-teams-tuc-demand-better-deal-leicester-garment-workers