ETHICS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Being a large company that is expanded worldwide has its benefits but it has also some issues, especially related to ethics.Most of the Zara stores and factories are company-owned. But, geographically it is almost impossible for the company to supervise all of these stores and factories, therefore often ethical issues concerning human rights, arise.
An example of this is the Brasil case in August 16, 2011. A Liga, a Brazilian TV show denounced Zara for Slave labor. Apparently, Bolivians were brought to Brasil illegally and they were locked in an apartment where they sowed clothes for 12-14 hours a day without food or warm water to shower. They were also payed extremely low wages (1 USD per finished dress, while the dress was sold for at least 70 USD). The Regional Superintendency of Labour and Employment of Sao Paolo, closed this factory on August 17, 2011.
"In a statement, Zara's representatives sad that the accusations of slave labour made against the retailer represent a 'serious breach in accordance with the Code of Conduct for External Manufactures and Workshops of Inditex.' They also countered that all the factories responsible for unauthorized outsourcing have been asked to regularize immediately the situation of the workers involved. 'The Inditex group, along with Brazil's Ministry of work, will strengthen the supervision of the production system of all its suppliers in the country to ensure that such cases do not occur again." (www.forbe.com).
Mostly, however, Zara has strong policies regarding its workers (at least the ones who work in store). A employee's information is strictly confidential and they are protected within the store: if one employee has a problem with someone outside, that person is banned from the store in which the employee works. Also, Usually Zara tends to start paying its workers above the minimal wage.
No comments:
Post a Comment