Transparency is therefore important because when companies publish this information, they help NGOs, trade unions and local communities to defend human rights and environmental issues. This means that these stories have a chance to end up in the press. It gives otherwise invisible and silenced workers a platform to express themselves. Primark is now assisting the UK authorities in their investigation. Immigration authorities have visited TNS several times since mid-January. However, it is difficult to provide the right information on the employment of foreign workers to suppliers because UK law is complex in this area, says Henrietta Lake, Primark`s ethics adviser, and because illegal work issues are widespread. «We suspect that there will be many factories that unknowingly employ workers with high-quality falsified documents,» she says. It has been found that one of Primark`s UK suppliers employs illegal workers and pays less than the minimum wage. Authorities are investigating the incident, which occurred at the Manchester-based TNS knitwear factory. Primark must also explain itself to the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), the UK`s agency for improving working conditions in the supply chain, which Primark joined in 2006. Primark was hit by a secret BBC investigation in January that found that one of its UK supplier factories, TNS, employed illegal workers and paid some employees as little as £3.50 an hour, well below the legal minimum wage of £4.77 for 18-21 year olds and £5.73 for over-22s.
I also asked Lister, «You work with the developing world and accept the problems that exist, but you also benefit from them? Then you pay for the audits, which is probably a lot cheaper than paying for your own factory…? Primark also conducts energy audits in all its stores, checking how much energy each store consumes. The Value Retailer was even awarded the Carbon Trust Energy Standard 1 in 2014 to recognise its ongoing commitment to energy efficiency in its stores. Through its energy efficiency projects, Primark`s energy intensity, measured in kilowatt hours (kWh) per square foot, has been reduced by 11% since 2015. Primark has saved around 30 million kWh of energy through its bespoke software system called ERICC (Energy Reduction Information and Control Console). The ERIC system provides real-time information on the primary energy drivers in each store and indicates how a market should behave from an energy management perspective. «All Primark employees receive online training as part of their introduction to environment, health and safety,» Stewart adds. «This includes advice on environmental health and safety issues in the field, as well as waste and energy management.» Our research highlights several ethical issues with Primark, including environmental reporting, pollution and toxins, workers` rights, animal rights, animal testing, the use of controversial technologies, anti-social financing and the likely use of tax avoidance schemes. While Primark`s work shows that the retailer is committed to improving wages for its garment workers, the retailer appears stuck in strategy and research and has yet to start developing long-term building blocks for paying decent wages. «Brands should take wages out of the competition and start working together to pay a living wage,» says Tara Scally, coordinator of the Dutch Clean Clothes Campaign 11. Brands could also cooperate on other labour rights issues, such as supporting trade unions, setting up workers` committees, setting realistic workloads and working hours. Primark should be more transparent in its sustainability efforts.
Publicly showing their salary calculations would be a good start. Responding to the EIF report, Primark said: «We take very seriously the monitoring of standards that we expect from our suppliers` factories, and if any issues are discovered, whether through audits, third parties or workers, we will always investigate thoroughly. The retailer said it came from only three of the six plants named in the report. Of the other three factories mentioned in the report, one is no longer an approved supplier as of 2018 and the other two are no longer approved suppliers. «In any event, we do not tolerate unauthorized outsourcing and will fully investigate the allegations made in the report.» H&M and Nike said workers in their supply chains were all compensated in accordance with local legal wage requirements. Primark said it took the report`s findings seriously and would welcome evidence of wage issues at the factories of the suppliers mentioned in the report. Primark was rated poorly in the Tailored Wages UK 2019 report published by Labour Behind the Label. She claimed that Primark had provided no evidence that workers were paid a living wage, saying that «Primark should sign a legally binding and enforceable agreement with workers` representatives to deliver a living wage». The Value Retailer ensures that each supplier it works with carries out a full formal audit once a year, conducted by Primark`s own team or approved external auditors. These audits, which may or may not be announced in advance, include confidential interviews with employees. This is crucial in countries like India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, where women make up 80% of the workforce. Garment workers often face many problems such as sexual harassment, threats of violence and prejudice in the workplace.
In a factory environment where the management team is typically dominated by men, female workers may be forced to work overtime without pay to meet production targets, or denied maternity or sick leave. Without confidential interviews with employees, many of these workers who fear losing their jobs – usually their only source of income – may never share their actual work experiences with supplier customers. Overall, we believe Primark is «not good enough» based on our own research. Primark has implemented a number of initiatives to reduce waste and increase energy efficiency in its stores and factories, signed the Bangladesh Accord and the Cotton Pledge, and adopted the ETI Code of Conduct, all of which are commendable steps – but the brand still has a long way to go. Note that Good On You reviews take into account hundreds of issues and it is not possible to list all relevant issues in a summary of brand performance. You can find more information on our «How we evaluate» page and in our FAQ. More than half of EIF respondents work more overtime than the law allows in Sri Lanka, 46% earn less than minimum wage before overtime, while 37% work undocumented overtime without additional pay. In addition, Primark did not perform very well in the first Corporate Human Rights Benchmark 12, the first public ranking of companies` human rights performance. Primark`s parent company, Associated British Foods (ABF), is listed in the 20-29% range, alongside Next, Kering and TJX. The ranking awarded points to Primark for taking appropriate action against excessive overtime, forced labour and child labour, but did not award points to Primark for failing to take sufficient action against the alleged effects of these problems. According to the ranking, the vast majority of underperforming companies, including ABF, «are massively lagging behind, with all the dangers of human rights abuses by workers and communities that this entails.» For example, Primark seemed to understand what its main environmental impacts were, such as chemicals management, sustainable cotton, energy efficiency, transport and greenhouse gas emissions.
However, there were no quantified or dated environmental reduction targets to address these issues. In northern Sri Lanka, where the war between separatist Tamils and the Sri Lankan government continues, the decision to withdraw is increasingly economical. «The cost of smuggling into India is equivalent to £80,» said Meenakshi Ganguly of Human Rights Watch. «Travel often forces families to sell real estate or their wedding gold. They travel on illegal boats and most hope to head north to find work. They are trapped between a rock and a hard place. Despite all its initiatives aimed at modern slavery, Primark is still regularly accused of sourcing from sweatshops and forced labour camps. As early as 2014 and 2015, British shoppers reportedly found hand-sewn letters and labels into clothes asking for help drawing attention to the dire conditions workers have apparently had to endure. After Primark contacted shoppers who found the letters and labels and did its own research, Primark claimed the emergency calls were all part of an elaborate scam to tarnish its name. For example, Primark is working to improve its injury rate as part of its wider safety performance improvement programme, according to its 2016 Corporate Responsibility Report. The value retailer says it is looking for efforts in specific countries where national safety standards differ from its own standards, but does not detail the countries it is currently focusing on. However, Primark ensures that all employees complete an online health and safety literacy programme in their local language at a time and pace that suits them.
The program covers important topics that workers should be aware of, such as health and safety responsibilities, hazard identification, and manual handling.