31 Amendments of Ignazio CORRAO related to 2016/2140(INI)
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
A b. whereas victims of human rights abuses involving European companies face multiple obstacles to access judicial remedies; including procedural obstacles on admissibility and disclosure of evidence, often prohibitive litigation costs, absence of clear liability standards for corporate involvement in human rights abuses, and lack of clarity on the application of EU rules of private international law in transnational civil litigation;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas the 'Realising Long-term Value for Companies and Investors' project being undertaken by the UN Principles for Responsible Investment and the UN Global Compact demonstrate that economy is compatible with, and mutually reinforcing to, principles of social justice, environmental sustainability and respect for human rights;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas most human rights violations in the garment sector are labour- rights related and include the denial of workers fundamental right to join or form a union of their choosing and bargain collectively in good faith; whereas this has led to widespread labour rights violations ranging from poverty wages, child labour, forced labour, arbitrary dismissals, wage theft, unsafe workplaces, violence against women and sexual harassment, to precarious work conditions;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas initiatives led by the private sector on a voluntary basis, such as codes of conduct, labels, self-assessments and social audits, have to be further enhanced and have not proven to be at all effectiveenough over the last 20 years in terms of increasing workers’ rights, consumer awareness and environmental safety in the garment supply chain;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
E b. whereas the trend of the garment industry is still going towards fast fashion, which poses an enormous threat and pressure on garment workers in the producing countries;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the specific characteristics of the garment sector value chains, such as geographically dispersed stages of the production process, low prices,different types of garment workers, low prices, high volumes short lead times, subcontracting and short-term buyer-supplier relationships are conducive to reducing visibility, traceability, and transparency over an enterprise’'s supply chain and to increasing the risks of human rights and labour abuses and of environmental damage; whereas transparency and traceability are is a prerequisites for a company’'s accountability and responsible consumption; whereas the consumer has the right to know where a piece of clothing was produced, and in which social and environmental conditions;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the specific characteristics of the garment sector value chains, such as geographically dispersed stages of the production process, low prices, short lead times, subcontracting and short-term buyer-supplier relationships are conducive to reducing visibility and transparency over an enterprise’s supply chain and to increasing the risks of human rights and labour abuses and of environmental damage already in the raw-material production; whereas transparency is a prerequisite for a company’s accountability and responsible consumption; whereas the consumer has the right to know where a piece of clothing was produced, and in which social and environmental conditions;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the specific characteristics of the garment sector value chains, such as geographically dispersed stages of the production process, low prices, short lead times, subcontracting and short-term buyer-supplier relationships are conducive to reducing visibility and transparency over an enterprise’'s supply chain and to increasing the risks of human rights and labour abuses and of environmental damage and of inadequate animal welfare; whereas transparency is a prerequisite for a company’'s accountability and responsible consumption; whereas the consumer has the right to know where a piece of clothing was produced, and in which social and environmental conditions;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
H a. whereas in December 2016 many trade union activists have been arrested in Bangladesh followed by a protest for a living wage and better working conditions, whereas several hundreds of garment workers have been fired following the protests; whereas the right of association is still not respected in the producing countries;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas in October 2015 the Commission released its new trade strategy ‘'Trade for All’', in which it sets out its aim to use trade agreements and preference programmes as levers to promote around the world, sustainable development, human rights, fair and ethical trade and improve the responsibility of the supply chains as a means of strengthening sustainable development, human rights and good governance in third countries;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)
Recital K a (new)
K a. whereas victims of human rights abuses involving European companies face multiple obstacles to access judicial remedies; including procedural obstacles on admissibility and disclosure of evidence, often prohibitive litigation costs, absence of clear liability standards for corporate involvement in human rights abuses, and lack of clarity on the application of EU rules of private international law in transnational civil litigation
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)
Recital K a (new)
K a. whereas the clothing and textile sector in Europe provides for 1.7 million workplaces and generates an output of EUR 166 million; whereas the EU imports about the world's total clothing production; whereas the manufacturing countries are mostly emerging economies;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K b (new)
Recital K b (new)
K b. whereas the garment industry in Eastern Europe, for example Poland, the Czech republic, Slovakia and Croatia, does not comply with ILO standards like a living wage or decent working conditions;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses that EU trade and investment policies are interlinked with social protection, gender equality, tax avoidance, SMEs, development, human rights and environmental policies; reiterates its call on the Commission and the Member States to guarantee policy coherence for development on business and human rights at all levels, in particular in relation to the Union’'s trade and investment policy;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Believes that the EU consumers have the right to be informed on conformity of garment industry products with sustainability and respect for human rights and environment; believes that EU legislative effort and initiative to this regard on garments should be made visible in the final product;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission to present ago beyond the presentation of a Staff Working Document and to present a comprehensive legislative proposal on binding due diligence obligations for supply chains in the garment sector aligned with the OECD guidelines on due diligence in the garment and foot-wear sector, the OECD guidelines for multinational companies, the ILO resolution on decent work in supply chains, and internationally agreed standards on human rights and social and environmental standards; this proposal should focus on the core problems garment workers face (occupational health and safety, a living wage, freedom of association, sexual harassment and violence) and should address the following matters: key criteria for sustainable production, transparency and traceability, including collection of data and tools for consumer information, due diligence checks and auditing, access to remedy; gender equality, supply-chain due diligence reporting; awareness raising; notes, however, with concern that a lot more needs to be done and urges the Commission to take further actions which have a direct impact on workers’' lives;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Calls the Commission to introduce tariff preferences for proven sustainably produced textiles in the forthcoming reform of the GSP / GSP + rules; notes, that the goods would have to undergo a certification on their voluntary basis with regard to their sustainable production method, and corresponding proofs should be submitted during the import into the EU; encourages the Commission to support the efforts of the private sector to bring sustainability into the textile value chain in this way; urges the Commission to recognise established sustainability criteria and minimum requirements for the detection and certification systems on the basis of international conventions, such as the core labor standards of the International Labor Organization or the protection of biodiversity; calls on the Commission to promote the production of Fair Trade products through this instrument of tariff preferences;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Reiterates its call on the Commission to extend corporate social responsibility and binding due diligence initiatives beyond existing frameworks for the garment sector so as to ensure that the EU and its trading partners and operators live up to the obligation to respect both human rights and the highest social and environmental standards; urges the Commission to pay attention on remuneration and the working conditions in the garment sector in the Eastern Member States of the EU; urges the Eastern Member States to implement the ILO standards in the garment sector;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Encourages the EU and its Member States to promote, through policy dialogue and capacity building, the take-up and effective enforcement of international labour standards and human rights by partner countries based on ILO Conventions and recommendations; stresses in this context that respecting the right to join and form a union and engage in collective bargaining is a key criterion for business accountability; deplores that Freedom of Association is often violated in many production places and encourages states to strengthen labour laws;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Urges the Commission to deliver on its objective to foster improvements in the ready-made garment sector, including through a strong gender focus; calls on the Commission to make gender equality a central focus of its flagship legislative initiative; calls for gender aspect to be mainstreamed in the EU garment initiative; therefore believes that the proposal should promote women empowerment, non-discrimination, gender equality and address the issue of harassments in workplaces as already envisaged by European and international commitments;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Urges the commission to invest in Research and Development (R&D) aiming at building a sustainable alternative sourcing of raw materials for the EU garment sector and the recycling process within the European Union; calls on the Commission to put in place additional resources in institutions in order to follow up on the flagship initiative;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Emphasises the need to enhance codes of conduct, labels and fair trade schemes, and of by ensuring alignment with international standards such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the upcoming OECD due diligence guidance for the garment and footwear sector;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission to put in place specific measures for small and medium-sized European enterprises to have access to tools to invest in the sustainability and fairness of their supply chains by, inter-alia, supporting match- making business platforms to connect them with responsible manufacturers, fair trade and ethical fashion importers and suppliers in the EU and in its partner countries;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission to put in place specific measures for small and medium-sized European enterprises to have access to toolsfinancial and policy tools with particular regard to their capacity to deliver on traceability and transparency, to invest in the sustainability and fairness of their supply chains by, inter-alia, supporting match- making business platforms to connect them with fair trade and ethical fashion importers and suppliers in the EU and in its partner countries;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Believes that it is crucial to ensure increased access to information on the conduct of enterprises; considers it fundamental to introduce a mandatory reporting system and due diligence for EU companies that outsource their production within the EU or to third countries; believes that responsibility should extend throughout the entire supply chain to include all facilities producing for the buyer, including sub- contractors in the formal and informal economy, and commends existing efforts to this effect; believes, however, that the EU is best placed to develop a common framework through legislation on mandatory transnational due diligence, remedy for victims , and supply chain transparency and traceability, while paying also attention to the protection of whistle-blowers;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Stresses the need for comprehensive data on corporate sustainability performance; in this context, the elaboration of common definitions and standards for the collection, comparison and assessment of statistical data notably onf general imports, ands welcomes the holistic approach of the Higg Index in measuring enterprises’ environmental, social and labour impactl as individual production locations, and requests the Commission to take an initiative to mandatory disclose the production locations;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Is convinced that public procurement is useful tool for the promotion of a responsible garment industry; Calls, in this regard, to the European institutions, including the European Parliament, to ensure that all their public procurement, including merchandising of the institutions and of political groups, in the case of the European Parliament, promote recycling and fair and sustainable garment supply chain;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. encourages the Commission to use the legislation to further implement and promote the SDGs;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Welcomes the approach of the Bangladesh Sustainability Compact; launched by the Commission together with Bangladesh and the ILO following the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013; stresses the importance of continuing to monitor the pact's objectives in order to improve workers' rights, as well as the need for more responsible management of supply chains at international level and asks the commission of a thorough evaluation of progress or lack thereof with eventual modifications to the trade regime if needed, especially in light of the reports of the ILO supervisory mechanisms; calls on the Commission to pursue similar programmes and measures with other garment producing EU trade partners such as Sri Lanka; suggest operationalising the EU garment initiative through a number of pilot projects focussing on key exporting countries to the EU ('hot spots');
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14 b. Reiterates its strong call for the systematic introduction of human rights binding clauses in all international agreements, including trade and investment agreements concluded and to be concluded between the EU and third countries; sees a need, moreover, for exante monitoring mechanisms before any framework agreement is concluded, and on which such conclusion is made conditional as a fundamental part of the agreement, and for expost monitoring mechanisms that enable tangible action to be taken in response to infringements of these clauses, such as appropriate sanctions as stipulated in the human rights clauses of the agreement, including the suspension of the agreement;
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)
Paragraph 14 c (new)
14 c. Invites the European Commission to undertake a thorough examination, in consultation with civil society, of existing barriers to justice in cases brought before Member State courts for alleged abuses to human rights committed by EU enterprises or within their supply chain in Third countries. This assessment should be geared towards identifying and promoting the adoption of effective measures that remove or alleviate these barriers;