22 Amendments of Sajjad KARIM related to 2016/2140(INI)
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Supports the Commission’'s examination of a possible EU-wide initiative on the garment sector-voluntary initiatives and strict codes of conduct shall be its key principles ; notes, in addition, that the current multiplication of existing initiatives at local regional and global levels could result in an unpredictable environment for companies; stresses furthermore that coordination, sharing information and exchange of best practices may contribute to increasing efficiency of private and public value chain initiatives and achieve positive results on sustainable development;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas economic development should go hand-in-hand with social justiceprogress; whereas the complexity and fragmentation of global value chains (GVCs) underline the need for complementary policies and flanking measures to avoid, address and mitigate their potential adverse impacts and to ensure victims of human rights violations have an effective access to remedy;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses the need for a unified approach to the collection of data on social, environmental and labour performance and for standardised methodology for measuring the impact of garment value chains on sustainable development in particular, to be applied along the whole supply chain; points out that the industry- driven Higg Index covers all key impact areas;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. highlights the important role of garment sector as a driver of labour- intensive development for emerging economies, especially Asia's emerging markets;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
C b. whereas strong performance of garment exports, especially in China, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Cambodia is set to continue;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas most human labour-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 widespreaseveral tragic events and labour rights violations ranging from poverty wages, wage theft, unsafe workplaces, and sexual harassment, to precarious work;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas a number of promising initiatives led by the private sector, such as codes of conduct, labels, self-assessments and social audits, have not proven to be at all effectivecontributed positively to improving supply chain standards over the last 20 years in terms of increasing workers’ rights in the garment supply chain;
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls for the gender aspect to be taken into account in the EU garment initiative. and for specific measures on women's empowerment in particular; points out that global garment industry labour force is highly feminised - about 85% of workers employed in this sector are women who often face difficult working conditions and low salaries;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas women’s rights are a constitutive part of human rights; whereas gender equality falls within the scope of the chapters of trade agreements on sustainable development; whereas the specific impact of trade and investment agreements affects women and men differently owing to structural gender inequalities, and whereas sustainable and inclusive development, growth and trade agreements must includeshould respect human rights, including from a gender perspective;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas an estimated 60-70 % of employees in the ready-made garment sector are young, mostly low-skilled female workers; many are just children, whereas low wages, coupled with low if any social protection make these women particularly vulnerable to exploitation; whereas a gender perspective and specific measures on women's empowerment is largely missing in the ongoing sustainability initiatives;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
I a. whereas employment of women in the garment sector in developing countries contributes significantly to the household income and poverty reduction;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the garment sector is the sector which has the most sustainability initiatives in progress; whereas few existing initiatives reach the scale needed to make a significant impact;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls for the Commission to be committed to promoting binding and non- negotiable human rights and social and environmental clauses in the negotiation of international agreements; regrets that current human rights clauses in free trade agreements and other economic partnership agreements are usually not respected;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. AcknowledgWelcomes the increasing attention given to promoting good working conditions through global supply chains following the Rana Plaza factory collapse, the introduction of the draft French law on mandatory due diligence, the UK anti- slavery bill, and the statement made by President Juncker at the G7 Summit in favour of ‘urgent action’ to improve responsibility in global supply chains; acknowledges the Commission’s commitment towards responsible management of supply chains, including in the garment sector, as outlined in the Communication entitled ‘Trade for All’; welcomes the green card initiative in which eight Member States have called for a duty of care by EU-based companies towards individuals and communities whose human rights and local environment are affected by the companies’ activities;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission to present a legislative proposals on bindingoosting industry capacity to implement due diligence obligations for supply chains in the garment sector aligned with OECD guidelines 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, child labor, 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 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Calls on the Commission to reinforce corporate social responsibility initiatives and due diligence across the production chain with a focus on upholding human rights and their social, labour and environmental aspects;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Stresses the importance of implementation, enforcement or transposition of already existing legislation at regional, national and international levels;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6 b. Points out that coordination, sharing information and exchange of best practices may contribute to increasing efficiency of private and public value chain initiatives and achieve positive results on sustainable development;
Amendment 136 #
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 equalitywomen empowerment a central focus of its flagship legislative initiative;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Emphasises the need to enhance codes of conduct, labels and fair trade schemes, and of ensuring alignment with international standards such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, UN Global Compact, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the upcoming OECD due diligence guidance for the garment and footwear sector;
Amendment 162 #
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 mandatoryn effective reporting system and due diligence for EU companies that outsource their production to third countries; believes that responsibility should extend throughout the entire supply chain, 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 and supply chain transparency and traceability;