APPROACH TO MANGO s SUPPLY CHAIN IN TURKEY

Transcription

1 APPROACH TO MANGO s SUPPLY CHAIN IN TURKEY March 27th t 30th, 2017, Istanbul Víctr Garrid Stmayr Internatinal Secretariat f CCOO-Industry In Charge f Internatinal Framewrk Agreements and Crprate Scial Respnsibility

2 Index 1. Backgrund, bjectives and rganisatin f trip. 2. Abut the cuntry and its current plitical situatin The Referendum f April 16, The ecnmic situatin in Turkey, the textile sectr. 4. Turkey s basic labur legislatin. 5. Wrk characteristics f the visited factries. 6. Wrking cnditins Hiring Wrktime Remuneratin. 7. Trade unin activity Trade Unin activity in the factries. 8. Current situatin f the Syrian refugee crisis in Turkey, hw it affects the Industry Situatin f Syrian refugees in the sectr s factries Situatin f Syrians in visited factries. 9. Meeting with Red Crescent/Red Crss. 10. Trade unin evaluatin and cnclusins.

3 1.- Backgrund, bjectives and rganisatin f trip. Turkey is the secnd-mst imprtant cuntry in Mang s glbal prductin chain, bth quantitatively and qualitatively. As a cuntry lcated clse t Spain, in 2015 Mang had 257 Turkish factries and wrkshps in its supply chain, with arund 23,000 wrkers. Turkey accunts fr 24% f the factries that wrk fr Mang in the wrld. This was the first trade unin visit, rganised as part f the jint wrk between CCOO-Industry and Mang, t its supply chain in Turkey. Mang s CSR Department and CCOO-Industry designed a wrk plan aimed, in additin t the custmary matters regarding labur relatins in its supply chain, at ther matters f cncern in this cuntry, such as the situatin f Syrian refugees, smething that requires particular attentin at this time. The trade unin delegatin was led by Víctr Garrid, wh belngs t CCOO-Industry s Internatinal Secretariat and is in charge therein f Internatinal Framewrk Agreements (IFA) as well as crprate scial respnsibility (CSR) practices in ur field. The cmpany was represented by Beatriz Bay, wh versees Mang s CSR area. We negtiated visits t 3 factries in Istanbul, t hld in each f them an interview with the cmpany management and then individual meetings with wrkers selected during the factry visits. The bjective was t thereby establish a new trade unin apprach t the textile and clthing sectr in a cuntry that, fr the last tw years, has been the bject f trade unin attentin n the part f IndustriALL Glbal Unin and CCOO-Industry in relatin t Inditex s supply chain. We als prepared a meeting with the Glbal Red Crescent NGO, aimed particularly at examining its wrk with the Syrian refugees in Istanbul. 2.- Abut the cuntry and its current plitical situatin. Turkey has been a histrical crssrads between eastern and western cultures and civilisatins, exerting great influence in the area between the Eurpean Unin t the west and Central Asia t the east, Russia t the nrth and the Middle East t the suth. Its strategic imprtance is grwing due t its lcatin between Eurpe and Asia and being surrunded by three seas (Marmara, Black and Mediterranean). It is divided gegraphically int seven regins and administratively int 81 prvinces, while 99% f its ppulatin is Muslim. It brders several cuntries in the regin: Gergia, Armenia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece, Syria and Iraq; its capital Ankara has 4.3 millin inhabitants ut f the apprximately 80 millin living in the cuntry. Its mst imprtant city is Istanbul (frmer Cnstantinple) with arund 13.5 millin inhabitants. The fficial language is Turkish and its currency is the Turkish lira 1. The cuntry is fficially called the Demcratic Republic f Turkey, with the Natinal Assembly f Turkey hlding legislative pwer. Its plitical system was established in 1923 under the leadership f 1 On January 1, 2005, the Turkish lira was replaced by the new Turkish lira, eliminating 6 zers frm the natinal currency. Starting January 1, 2009, the cuntry s currency was again called the Turkish lira.

4 Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the mst utstanding member f the Turkish Natinal Mvement, after the fall f the Ottman Empire and the Occupatin f Cnstantinple as a result f the First Wrld War. The years between the 1960s and 1980 were particularly marked by perids f plitical unrest, resulting in a series f military cups. The liberalisatin f the Turkish ecnmy initiated in the 1980s changed the cuntry s utlk, with successive perids f high grwth and crisis in the fllwing decade. The attempted cup d état n July 15, 2016, threatened fr a few hurs the authrity f Recep Tayyip Erdgan, wh has gverned Turkey since 2002 with an irn grip, facing up n ccasins t the military, plitical rivals and the press. Recep Tayyip Erdgan has been president f Turkey since August 2014, after serving as prime minister frm March 2003 t August 2014 and mayr f Istanbul ( ). In 1998, he was frbidden frm hlding any pst in the public administratin and was sentenced t ten mnths in prisn accused f religius intlerance due t reading a pem The Referendum f April 16, 2017 A referendum was held n April 16, 2017, t grant mre pwer t the current president Erdgan, which he ended up winning with a small margin f vtes (51.3%). This clse victry in the referendum reflects a declining trend, but establishes presidential rule in Turkey while cndemning half f the cuntry s ppulatin t marginatin and silence. Erdgan has als regained his membership f the Justice and Develpment Party (AKP), the Islamist party that he funded and presided until He subsequently had t leave the party in August 2014 when he was elected as the cuntry s president, since Turkey s previus cnstitutin did nt permit the head f state t be a party member. The cnstitutinal refrm prmted by the AKP, which has gverned Turkey fr fifteen years, eliminates this clause and authrises the head f state t be a party member. On May 21 this year, the AKP held a cngress in Ankara with 1,470 delegates and clse t 60,000 in attendance. The cngress chse the members f the Central Executive Cmmittee and Central Disciplinary Cmmittee. Erdgan, with nly 56 vtes against him, has als regained the party leadership, taking ver frm Prime Minister Binali Yildirim. The annulment f the cnstitutinal clause preventing his party membership is ne f the refrm s few pints t be applied immediately. Mst f the changes, such as handing ver executive pwer t the president, will take effect nly after the upcming presidential electins in 2019 and may mark a turning pint in the cuntry s histry. This regressin seems t be almst unrepairable in a plitical system heading twards abslutism, with unprecedented pwer in the hands f a single persn nly cmparable t the times f Atatürk. The president will hld all executive authrity withut parliamentary cntrl, with a weakened judiciary and the perspective f perpetuating himself in pwer. 2 The pem cmpared the msques minarets t baynets and their dmes t helmets, after the minus phrase: Demcracy is nly a train we take until we reach ur destinatin, an attack against Turkey s secular and demcratic principles accrding t the curt (which we might nw view as premnitry).

5 3.- Current ecnmic situatin, the textile sectr. During the 1980s, Turkey began implementing a series f refrms aimed at transfrming the ecnmy f an islated state system int a market-based mdel supprted by the private sectr. This led t rapid grwth as well as times f severe recessin, with 3 financial crises in 1994, 1999 and The resulting average GDP grwth f 4% per year frm 1981 t 2002, alng with the lack f additinal refrms in additin t large, increasing public-sectr deficits and generalised crruptin, led t high inflatin. The crises and initiated refrms gradually reduced inflatin t a single digit. The GDP grwth averaged 7.4% frm 2002 t 2007, making Turkey ne f the wrld s fastest-grwing ecnmies during that time. A series f large-scale privatisatins, the stability resulting frm Turkey beginning t negtiate its membership f the EU 3, strng and stable grwth, as well as structural changes in banking and telecmmunicatins all helped t increase freign investment. Chrnic inflatin has been cntrlled in recent years and a new mnetary plicy has been implemented t cnslidate ecnmic refrms and eliminate any traces f the ld system. Hwever, ecnmic indicatrs are nw beginning t send ut warnings abut the feasibility f a plitical prject aimed at lasting until 2029 and in which inflatin (11.3%) has reached a decade-lng high, with 20% yuth unemplyment in a cuntry in which half f its inhabitants are under the age f The situatin in the textile sectr. The textile sectr has a lng histry in Turkey. It started with Turkish cttn; the first textile factry was established in 1850, with a clthing industry gradually emerging. Frm 1980 t 1990, grwth in the textile and clthing industry made the cuntry an exprter f manufactured prducts, with annual grwth f 20.5%. In the last 25 years, the clthing industry has experienced cnstant grwth, gradually gaining grund cmpared t ther sectrs. The key t this success was chain integratin, in which cmpanies prducing fibre and yarn invested in large capital prjects and jined fabric prcessrs. Due t the large availability f raw materials (especially cttn), with lw labur csts, as well its prximity t large Eurpean cnsumer markets, the textile and clthing industry greatly increased its exprts frm 777 millin dllars in 1980 t 9.9 billin dllars in This year, due t an earthquake, ecnmic difficulties and currency fluctuatins, Turkey has experienced an imprtant decrease in ttal exprts fr the first time in thirty years. Hwever, the textile and clthing sectr recvered frm 2000 t 2007, with its exprts increasing mre than 100%. Prductin in the textile and garment sectr decreased again in 2008 and 2009 as a result f the wrldwide ecnmic crisis. Nnetheless, these sectrs have greatly recvered since Turkey has cmmitted itself in recent years t develping a highly cmpetitive glbal textile industry, currently being the sixth wrldwide prducer f fabrics and garments, with 4.6% market share 4. 3 Turkey began negtiating its full membership f the Eurpean Unin in 2005, after having been an assciate member since 1963 and reached a custms unin agreement in It increased its industrial prductin aimed at exprts, while benefitting frm freign investment frm the EU. Turkey is a funding member f the OECD and the Grup f 20 (industrialised and emerging cuntries). 4 China cntinues t dminate textile and clthing exprts, accunting fr 41% f wrldwide sales. In the Eurpean Unin as a whle, Turkey is in sixth place amng the main suppliers f fashin items, behind China, Germany, Italy, France and Bangladesh. In the first six mnths f

6 The sectr s freign sales amunt t apprximately 18.7% f the cuntry s ttal exprts, accrding t data frm the Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜIK, in Turkish), althugh it is lsing grund t ther sectrs, such as the car industry, which nw leads Turkey s freign sales. Mst state cmpanies have been privatised and the private sectr nw dminates the industry. It has reached favurable trade agreements with the Eurpean Unin. Mst exprts g t Germany (21.4%), fllwed by Spain and the United Kingdm. Eurpean fast fashin has made the mst f these advantages, making Turkey ne f its nearby supply hubs. Turkey s cmpetitiveness in salary csts cmpared t ther glbal supply centres has decreased in recent years due t the increase in wages. The cuntry s minimum wage increased by 30% in 2016, surpassing mst f the ther cuntries included in multinatinal cmpanies prductin chains. An interesting cmparisn is with Bulgaria, an EU member whse minimum wage is almst 50% f Turkey s. Hwever, salary csts are nt the nly cmpetitiveness factr and, s far, there has been n decrease in its prductin fr glbal brands. The textile and clthing industry is mainly made up f small and medium-size businesses, with the three visited factries being a gd example f sectrial diversity, divided int three main prductin grups: 1. Firstly, large prducers, with the mst advanced technlgy, which have ften established hldings encmpassing several factries. 2. Then family cmpanies with small and medium-sized factries, whse machinery is becming bslete. 3. A third grup is made up f cmpanies with small investments in lms that, accrding t Turkish experts, will have t lk fr ther alternatives in the shrt term. Abut a millin peple wrk in the sectr s frmal ecnmy, withut cunting the imprtant number f peple that wrk withut a cntract in Turkey s strng undergrund ecnmy, which may even duble this figure. SMEs accunt fr 99% f factries and 78% f all emplyees; 95% have frm 1 t 9 wrkers. 4.- Turkey s basic labur legislatin. Labur relatins are based n the fllwing basic regulatins: 1982 Turkish Cnstitutin, with sme later mdificatins. Overtime regulatins, included in the Labur Law (Official Gazette f April 6, 2004). Law 6331 f June 20, 2012, regulating Health and Safety in the wrkplace 5, which was frmerly gverned by different regulatins, including the Penal Cde. 2016, Eurpean purchases frm Turkey s textile and ftwear industry amunted t 7,148.1 millin eurs, 6.9% mre than the same perid last year. 5 Frm 2001 t 2011, there were mre than 800,000 labur accidents and 7,000 prfessinal illnesses in Turkey, with a ttal f 12,500 wrkplace deaths accrding t fficial figures.

7 The minimum wage is established by the Gvernment 6 (Labur Law 4857, Article 39). The fllwing are sme f the mst imprtant rules: Fifteen is the minimum wrking age; under-18s cannt d dangerus r night wrk, neither can they wrk vertime. All wrkplaces must have a representative elected by the wrkers, as well as a health and safety cmmittee. Over-15s are free t jin a trade unin. The maximum weekly wrking hurs is 48. Maximum annual vertime is 270 hurs, which are paid 1.5 times the nrmal wrking rate. There must be at least ne day f weekly rest. The grss minimum wage established by the Gvernment fr 2017 is 1,777.5 Turkish liras ( at the current rate) Characteristics f the visited cmpanies. 100% f the factries are Turkish wned. Tw f them wrk fr exprts, abut 80% f their prductin is fr different glbal brands: Spanish nes such as Mang, Inditex, El Crte Inglés, and thers, mainly Eurpean and American (such as M&S, Spirit, H&M, Next, etc.). 20% f ne factry s prductin is fr Turkey s dmestic market, fr the IC Waikiki brand; anther factry has its wn brand, with arund 70% f its prductin fr the dmestic market. In the case f Mang s brands, prductin in tw f these factries amunted t arund 10% and in the ther, frm 50% t 60% f the ttal. Tw factries subcntract sme f their prcesses, which are audited by Mang; the third subcntracted during prductin peaks t factries registered fr such wrk. The technlgy used is mainly Chinese and Japanese. Wrkers sewing at the factry visited 6 It is published at with clarificatins at payrll-basics-in-turkey1/, as the fficial media utlet. 7 1= TRY 3.96 (Turkish lira). All figures are expressed in eurs hencefrth fr ease f understanding.

8 Tw f them finish the prducts with materials and accessries prvided by the brands; the ther nly des sewing wrk. One f the visited factries is a hlding that includes anther 4 larger factries. It has 170 wrkers, in cntrast t the ther tw factries we visited that have between 35 and 56 wrkers. One factry planned t increase its wrkfrce. Wmen accunt fr between 60 and 65% f wrkers. In all cases, the factry wrkers have a lw cultural level. Staff turnver is high as a result f the lack f wrkers in the jb market, especially during prductin peaks. Wrkers als change cmpany in search f better wrking cnditins, which bliges many cmpanies t be cnstantly lking fr persnnel. This situatin is resulting in a phenmenn that exists in ther cuntries such as India: the appearance f agents r intermediaries that manage this activity fr many factries in Istanbul. Factry wrkers are fairly yung: the average age ranges frm 25 t 30 in almst all cases. All factries have apprenticeships, ranging frm 2 t 4 years in the visited factries. Absenteeism ranged frm 10 t 15%. Tw f the factries prvided transprt fr their wrkers in vans driven by a cmpany wrker, wh was paid a small bnus withut any pre-established criterin: 9 in ne case and 63 per mnth in anther. Cmpanies prvide fd fr all their wrkers, with dining rms in the three visited factries. During Ramadan, they give their wrkers a basket with fdstuffs (flur, etc.). The law requires the presence f a dctr r nurses in wrkplaces with mre than 100 wrkers, as we saw in ne f the visited factries, which fulfilled this requirement. There are n emplyers assciatins. Small cmpanies deal directly with the supplier r intermediary, wh is the ne that deals with the brands. We nly detected Syrian wrkers in ne f the factries; their situatin is discussed later n. 6.- Wrking cnditins Hiring: Turkish legislatin establishes a system f a ne-year cntract, which is fllwed by a permanent ne, which we saw was the case f mst wrkers in the visited factries. There are als wrkers that nly have ne-day cntracts, with the cmpany paying the crrespnding amunt f Scial Security cntributins, as in the case f wrkers with cntracts fr mre than ne year r permanent nes, as established by law. A year ag, a system was created t regulate such wrkers, accrding t which the cmpany pays minimum S.S. cntributins f 5.05 per day. A peculiar agent-based hiring system is becming cmmn, having nly previusly been seen in India. This may have a significant impact n wrking cnditins in the future, mainly affecting the fllwing grups: Wmen, usually because their husbands d nt want them t wrk mre days and prefer them t stay at hme t d the husewrk, wh nly use it t supplement their incme.

9 Pensiners wh cannt live n their pensin and use it t supplement their incme 8. In sme cases, they wrk n a daily basis in different factries. Immigrants, mst f whm are illegal. This hiring is carried ut by agents, wh functin like ur temprary emplyment agencies. They are the nes that cntact and prvide wrkers, accrding t a cmpany s needs, and they receive a small cmmissin per persn (between 1.30 and 2.60) as a frm f irregular prvisin f wrkers Wrktime: The nrmal wrkday is 9 hurs, five days a week frm Mnday t Friday, ttalling 45 hurs per week. There is a 45- t 60-minute break fr lunch and nrmally tw 5-minute tea breaks; there is mre free time n Fridays fr prayer. There is nrmally 2 hurs f vertime per day at least 2 days per week, as well as sme Saturdays (nrmally tw per mnth in ne f the factries we visited), accrding t prductin peaks. This is a matter f cncern, as in almst all the cuntries we have visited, due t the amunt f vertime, its cntrl and its remuneratin system. All factries apparently cmply with the regulatin f nt exceeding 270 hurs per year. Overtime is paid separately in cash (in all the visited factries and, accrding t the wrkers we interviewed, in mst cmpanies and factries in Istanbul), withut any recrd in the payslips, while the minimum wage is paid by bank transfer. Neither the interviewed wrkers nr the wrkers representatives mentined this as a prblem. Therefre, wrkers nrmally wrk 55 hurs per week when they d nt wrk n Saturday, and arund 63 hurs per week when they d. They have 14 days hliday, which is increased by 1 day per year up t a maximum f 21 days. There are als 23 public hlidays accrding t law Remuneratin: Remuneratin starts frm the minimum wage, which is established each year by the Gvernment, as mentined abve. The grss minimum wage fr 2017 is 1, Turkish liras ( ), which amunts t a net wage f 1, Turkish liras ( ), plus a small bnus that is paid accrding t a system established by the Gvernment, based n each wrker s family and persnal situatin, called minimum benefit. This system ranges frm fr single wrkers withut children t fr wrkers with 5 dependent children. This minimum wage is paid directly by bank transfer, with the crrespnding Scial Security deductins in the fficial payslip that are applied t each wrker as fllws: Scial Security: 14%. Unemplyment: 1%. 8 In Turkey, wrkers are entitled t a pensin (accrding t the new legislatin that came int frce in July this year) after having wrked fr 7,000 days, 35 years, cmpared t 3,600 days previusly. Under the new law, pensiners can receive their pensin and still wrk n a daily basis while paying S.S. cntributins, but this is nt cmplied with. Hwever, this is the reasn given by wrkers and emplyers t cntinue wrking n a daily basis, being paid in cash and withut paying S.S. cntributins.

10 Incme tax: 15% Stamp r registratin tax: 7.59%. Any ther type f remuneratin exceeding this minimum, resulting frm vertime r small bnuses linked t superir categries r wrk, is paid separately in cash withut any cntrl r deductins. We nly bserved a bnus in the largest factry that we visited, which was paid twice a year and amunted t a third f the net salary. There were n bnuses in the ther factries. There may be a small incentive, which we nly bserved in ne f the factries, where we were tld that it is a frequent custm cnsisting f a prize paid t the 3 best emplyees f the mnth. It is paid in gld cins with a real value f 60.60, and In several factries we saw that, fr the same type f wrk, there are wrkers whse remuneratin is established directly accrding t the number f days wrked, with the Law establishing a grss minimum salary f per day. This is nrmally the case f wmen and unqualified male wrkers, attaining a maximum f fr mre qualified and experienced wrkers. In all cases, the amunt exceeding the minimum is paid in cash. The remuneratin f administrative r technical wrkers ranges frm 568 t 1,010 per mnth, reaching in sme cases, we were tld, the 1,767 paid t the prductin directr. We fund apprentices in all the factries we visited, ranging frm 1 t 4 persns, wh were all 17-year-lds that wrked 3 days a week with a salary f , a third f the minimum wage established by law. In these cases, Scial Security cntributins are paid by the Ministry f Educatin and the cmpany must certify the number f days wrked. 7.- Trade unin activity.- Wrkers sewing in small factries visited Regarding the representatin f wrkers, delegates r cmmittees, it is necessary t indicate the legal requirement f the situatin f vilatin f Human Rights, such as the right t freedm f

11 pinin r expressin r the right f affiliatin, which is ccurring In Turkey fr a lng time seriusly aggravated after the failed and cntrversial cup. Accrding t figures handled by internatinal rganizatins, mre than 125,000 civil servants were arbitrarily dismissed, wh were als deprived f any scial benefits, including access t the retirement pensin, and their passprts were withdrawn. Prevents them frm lking fr wrk in any ther cuntry. In shrt, they are cndemned t the mst pure stracism, ecnmic, scial and plitical. In additin t the mass layffs, hundreds f citizens, many f them trade uninists, are arrested and imprisned fllwing legal prceedings lacking the minimum guarantees f a state gverned by the rule f law Trade unin activity in the factries.- Trade unin membership is very limited in this sectr. Nne f the visited factries has an rganised trade unin r specific initiatives t get ne. Knwledge f the trade unins existence and wrk in the cuntry is practically nn-existent n the part f this industry s wrkers. Only ne f the wrkers we interviewed tld us that he had had experience with trade unins; in anther factry, he participated in an attempt t frm a trade unin and was fired. In relatin t wrkers representatin (delegates r cmmittees), it shuld be nted that this is a legal requirement, which was cmplied with in all the visited factries, althugh nne f them represented the wrkers frmally r in trade unin terms. In many case, the wrkers we interviewed were unaware even f their existence. The designatin f wrkers representatives des nt result frm an effective electin prcess, with candidates that are presented t the wrkers, with prpsals in relatin t cllective and individual rights, withut a clear prcedure t chse frm amng the candidates with demcratic guarantees. The designatin f representatives is nrmally called by the cmpany, which ends up deciding wh the representatives will be. The wrkers representatives in the visited factries slve sme prblems that arise between the cmpany and the wrkers, such as requests fr advance payments, transprt prblems. 8.- Current situatin f the Syrian refugee crisis in Turkey, hw it affects the Industry.- Syria nw leads the UN s classificatin as the main cuntry f rigin f refugees, vertaking Afghanistan, which had led the wrld ranking fr mre than three decades. Syrian refugees, alng with Afghans and Smalians, accunt fr mre than half f the wrld s refugees. Hundreds f thusands f peple have died trying t reach ur cntinent and escape frm the war engulfing the Middle East, many while attempting t crss the Mediterranean t seek refuge in Eurpe. The fighting that began in Syria in March 2011 has becme the largest humanitarian crisis in Eurpe since the Secnd Wrld War.

12 This has caused, accrding t data frm the United Natins High Cmmissiner fr Refugees (UNHCR), clse t 12 millin displaced peple, almst half a millin deaths and a ttal f arund five millin that have left Syria; many f them have fled refugee camps lcated in territries threatened by the war r by the rule f the Islamic State, all f which has been met with passiveness n the part f the Eurpean Unin. There are currently mre than 75,000 Syrians trapped in dreadful cnditins n the brder between Syria and Jrdan. It is likely that the cnflict in Syria, including the recent attacks in Alepp, will frce mre peple t try t flee the cuntry. The UNHCR estimates that at least 1.2 millin refugees thrughut the wrld will need t be resettled in 2017, 40% f which are Syrians. The five cuntries brdering Syria (Iraq, Israel, Jrdan, Lebann and Turkey), far frm expediting resettlement prcedures fr thse fleeing frm the cnflict, have clsed their brders and reduced the pssibility f exercising the right t request asylum. The largest number f such refugees are in five cuntries: Turkey, Lebann, Jrdan, Iraq and Egypt, distributed as fllws: Accrding t the UNHCR, there are almst three millin displaced Syrians living in Turkey, which is the largest hst cuntry. Sme estimates speak abut 4 millin. Clse t 2.6 millin live in urban areas. Lebann has taken in arund 1.2 millin Syrians since the cnflict brke ut and has becme the cuntry with the highest rati f refugees per inhabitant (183 fr every 1,000 residents). Jrdan has mre than 700,000 Syrians, which amunts t apprximately 10% f its ppulatin. Iraq, where there are already 3.1 millin internally displaced peple, has clse t 250,000. Egypt has arund 150,000 Syrian refugees. It shuld be nted that 93% f Syrian refugees living in urban areas in Jrdan live belw the pverty threshld, the same as 70% f Syrian refugees in Lebann, 65% in Egypt and 37% in Iraq. Meanwhile, the Eurpean Cmmissin is reluctant t admit the need fr prviding shelter fr a tenth part f this figure amng its mre than 500 millin inhabitants (althugh it had prmised t distribute 160,000 amng its member states). Sme time ag it signed a cntrversial agreement with Turkey, a pact f shame, t stp the flw f migrants entering mainly via Greece and Italy. The agreement has certainly reduced the number f deaths in the Aegean Sea, effectively trapping refugees in the afrementined cuntries. Hwever, it has nly wrsened the crisis therein and revealed a lack f slidarity amng the cuntries f the Eurpean Unin. In additin, we can nt frget that frm CCOO we have been denuncing the EU-Turkey Agreement and the suspensin f negtiatins fr Turkey's accessin t the Eurpean Unin as lng as there is n guarantee f respect fr Human Rights and the cnditins f a State f Law Situatin f Syrian refugees in the sectr s factries.-

13 Many Syrians wrk in industrial sectrs, particularly in the textile and clthing sectr. Mst d s in the undergrund ecnmy. It is very difficult t btain wrk with a cntract, nt nly fr them but als fr all parties invlved in the labur relatinship, including the internatinal brands that purchase frm them, wh find it hard t deal with this situatin. The fllwing prblems exist: Bureaucratic prblems n the part f the gvernment in relatin t lng r permanent cntracts: up t nw, yu must live at least 5 years in the cuntry befre yu can regularise yur situatin 9. On the part f the wrkers themselves: they d nt want t regularise a situatin that may make it difficult fr them t return t their cuntry, r may make it easier fr them t be detected and thereby deprted. All f this is made wrse by many Turkish cmpanies, wh benefit frm using this undergrund labur, which is ften mre qualified and cheaper, with daily cntracts during prductin peaks r withut cntracts Situatin f Syrians in the visited factries: We nly detected Syrian wrkers in ne factry. It is wrth including their situatin in this sectin. The regularisatin prcess starts with refugee centres that are funded by the factries suppliers, the intermediaries that wrk with internatinal brands and the factries themselves. Sme brands carry ut audits here, as is the case f Mang r Inditex, and if they detect the presence f wrkers that are Syrian refugees, they infrm them that they need a wrk permit. Hwever, althugh internatinal brands are strict in this regard, the same is nt true f the Turkish ministry. When this situatin is detected, the brands recrd it as a critical pint in their audits and initiate their regularisatin prcess, by means f NGOs that are hired t deal with the cuntless prblems invlved. When refugees arrive in Turkey, they are registered in a city and given an identificatin, which pses serius prblems when they are registered in ne city and wrk in anther. In the case f the wrkers we detected in the visited factry, the prcedure is advancing if they registered in Istanbul (they need a registratin card and an ID card) but NOT if they did s in ther cities. The cmpanies, bliged by the large internatinal brands fr which they wrk, require the nrmalisatin and regularisatin f these wrkers, which is carried ut by a Refugee Supprt Centre, a NGO that directs and cntrls the entire prcedure. They prvide Syrian refugees with tw dcuments: 1. A dcument certifying that they are prcessing their situatin. 2. Anther dcument indicating that the NGO has paid t carry ut the fficial prcedure, as we will see later. 9 This situatin may change if Erdgan wins the next legislative electins; he is said t want t regularise Syrian immigrants in less time.

14 What happens frm the time they escape frm their cuntry until they apply fr wrk in a factry?: The factry infrms the prcessing rganisatin that it is undertaking the prcedure. The afrementined NGO certifies that the prcedure is being prcessed r has finalised. They need tax identificatin t have the basic salary paid int the bank, and this is cntrlled by the State. The rest f the salary, r any vertime, is paid in cash (as in the case f the ther wrkers) and is nt taxed. The supplier pays the rganisatin 556 per persn fr carrying ut this prcedure. In the case f this cmpany, there are 8 peple invlved ( 4,448). Depending n the city r regin where the fficial prcedure is carried ut, there are different csts invlved: Istanbul = 141 Other cities = 202 The prcessing rganisatin (NGO) receives 10% f the ttal cst. This prcedure takes 1 year and frm then n, it csts per year t renew the dcumentatin ( fr the renewal and 16 fr registratin), which increases 5% per year until they btain citizenship after 5 years, if there are n changes in the legislatin n the part f the State What is the situatin in this factry?: There are 2 wrkers that are Syrian refugees, wh are regularising their situatin and will therefre receive a permanent cntract. The cmpany cnsiders them t be highly qualified and has a lt f interest in their regularisatin, especially, they say, in view f the difficulties in finding stable qualified labur. Anther 6 are beginning the prcedure t als receive a permanent cntract, but they still d nt have the pssibility f frmalising their situatin by means f a nrmal cntract In ur interviews with several refugee wrkers, we bserved that: They are irregularly emplyed by many factries. They wrk fr 6 mnths with a permit and then they receive the necessary tax number t wrk legally, withut which they cannt have a bank accunt and legally receive a salary (in fact, the minimum wage). They are regularising their situatin. The peple we interviewed were frm Syria s secnd city Alepp, fleeing frm the war. They had been in Turkey fr abut three years. They had wrked in all type f activities, always in the undergrund ecnmy: cleaning shes, street selling, cnstructin, wrking in cld-strage rms, etc. In many cases, they were nt paid at the end f the day and had n identificatin.

15 They like the textile sectr because the wrking cnditins are better. They wrk fr the same time and mney as the ther wrkers. Sme tld us that they wuld like t return t Syria because life is difficult in Istanbul and that is where their rts are. Others cmmented that they wuld prefer t stay in Istanbul because they have lst everything they had in Alepp, their families, hmes, etc. They have a gd relatinship with the ther wrkers, which was cnfirmed by the Turkish wrkers when asked abut them. They d nt have a trade unin and d nt expect any help frm such. 9.- Meeting with the Red Crescent/Red Crss.- During ur trip, we visited ne f the Red Crescent s 8 centres in Turkey, which participates in a prgramme in crdinatin with the Red Crss Cperatin Prgramme t take in and integrate Syrian immigrants. In Nvember 2012, they launched an internatinal call due t the humanitarian crisis taking place in Syria, with the supprt f their Internatinal Federatin. They wrk with funds frm the Eurpean Unin that are extended every tw years. They als receive supprt frm internatinal brands, as is the case f the Spanish cmpany Mang. The persns in charge f this activity, as part f the Red Crss and Red Crescent Mvement s Cperatin Prgramme, explained that it was created n March 25, 2016, within the Department f Migratin and Refugees t administer and cllabrate with natinal cmpanies. This enables carrying ut prjects aimed at the beneficiaries needs in crdinatin with assciated institutins, ranging frm fd aid t welfare and psych-scial services, which they are giving t Syrian immigrants under temprary prtectin status. It relatin t their activities, it is wrth highlighting that: They have 8 active cmmunity centres that have reached 83,085 peple in their field f activity. Just in the centre we visited in Istanbul, they have helped 7,100 peple with whm they have carried ut 45,000 specific activities. With Mang, they carry ut this fllw-up in the city f Ankara. They have a subsistence supprt prgramme that has reached 6,730 peple. Their Vlunteer, Yuth and Children s Prgramme has reached 19,656 children and adlescents. They have cntacted 26,625 peple in their Prtectin activities. The cmmunity centres are cperating with lcal and natinal partners. They rganise training prgrammes and wrkshps in rder t imprve their abilities and give them mre ptins and pssibilities f wrking, such as sewing wrkshps, etc. Their psych-scial and health services reached 25,244 peple, prmting adaptatin and scial chesin between bth cmmunities, with specific activities fr mixing Turks and Syrians, t make them feel integrated r in the prcess f such. After 6 mnths in Turkey, they may be cnsidered citizens. 4,830 peple benefitted frm harmnisatin by means f lcal cmmunity, scial and cultural activities.

16 10.- Trade Unin evaluatin and cnclusins.- Turkey is first in the ranking f cuntries supplying the Eurpean Unin in the clthing sectr, with evident merits due t its prximity and the quality f its prductin. In the case f the Spanish brand Mang, it is the secnd prducer in rder f imprtance within its glbal supply chain after China. This reality reflects the evident trade unin interest in Turkey, a cuntry with great industrial and plitical difficulties and cmplexities, as well as trade unin and labur nes, fr the applicatin f the standards in the Cdes f Cnducts f the sectr s multinatinals and their mnitring. Als fr lcal and glbal trade unin crdinatin in this regard. We have cnfirmed this in ur visit, with new lines f wrk, applicatin and bjectives f trade unin wrk, which reaffirms the imprtance f this cuntry, as previusly bserved when we visited factries in the supply chains f ther Spanish multinatinals in the sectr. T that end, we wuld like t highlight sme elements f great interest frm a trade unin perspective, and which affect bth Mang s prductin chain and ther cmpanies in the Spanish and Eurpean clthing sectr, as detailed belw: 1) The labur and scial situatin f Syrian refugees in the cuntry. 2) The precarius hiring f three grups mentined abve: wmen (in a clear situatin f male chauvinistic cntrl), pensiners (whse pensi0n is nt sufficient) and immigrant refugees. 3) Hiring n a daily basis, daily wrkers withut a cntract, which may becme mre cmplicated with the appearance f agents, as in the case f India. 4) Cash payments f any amunt abve the cuntry s legal minimum wages, including vertime, which makes the usual prblems f the undergrund ecnmy even wrse. Our main trade unin wrk here will be reinfrcing ur relatinship and cllabratin with lcal and internatinal trade unins. The bjective is t pen mre and mre drs in rder t implement these tasks, nt nly in the present but als as a future challenge. Als with the multinatinals that manufacture in the cuntry, as is the case f Mang. With its suppliers t develp the applicatin f the cmmitments acquired in the cmpany s Cde f Cnduct, with the gal f ensuring the fulfilment f what is stipulated therein t guarantee wrkers rights thrughut its supply chain in Turkey. All these matters must sn be made binding by means f strnger cmmitments between the Spanish cmpany Mang and Spanish and internatinal trade unins. This shuld becme a new reference pint in the sectr, and may be a new pprtunity fr prmting lcal trade unin participatin in all the prductin chains f the clthing industry s main brands, particularly Spanish nes, with the clear bjective f fighting fr decent wrk wrldwide. April 2017 Internatinal Secretariat f CCOO-Industry In Charge f Internatinal Framewrk Agreements and CSR