Activities of Jean LAMBERT related to 2016/2140(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
EU flagship initiative on the garment sector (debate)
Amendments (15)
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that the garment industry is one of the most precarious for workers both within and outside Europe; calls on the flagship initiative, therefore, to put ratification and implementation of ILO conventions, the ILO tripartite declaration of principles concerning multinational enterprises and social policy and the Decent Work Agenda at its core, with particular focus on those most vulnerable and exposed to exploitation;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that voluntary initiatives are not adequately addressing workers' protection, freedom of association and issues such as health and safety, wages, social security and working time;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Stresses that governments of the producing countries must be able to implement international standards and relevant legislation, as they are a necessary partner in social dialogue and improvement efforts to be pursued under the flagship initiative;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Encourages the EU initiative on the garment sector to promote skills training which contributes to economic and social development and women’s empowermentencourages all initiatives to focus on raising awareness of core labour rights and on training workers and employers about social dialogue and collective bargaining;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Underlines that the abovementioned initiative should contribute to the empowerment of women, who comprise the majority of the garment workforce and yet are overwhelmingly underrepresented in higher skilled and management positions; recognises that this would improve economic development and women's social empowerment, which would benefit the wider family and society;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. BelieveConsiders the current flagship initiative, as presented by the Commission, does not go far enough in improving the garment sector and notes that the preliminary findings of a Commission study on garment supply chains identified gender equality, workers' rights, environment and supply chain transparency as the main gaps; calls on the Commission to release as a matter of urgency the report it commissioned identifying gaps in current policy and to put forward concrete proposals to address these gaps;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that trade unindependent and representative workers’ organisations must be able to operate independently and freely to promote and protect workers’' rights, particularly health and safety, and that they are a necessary partner in social dialogue and collective bargaining;
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Believes health and safety protection for all workers should be ensured through international standards, national law implementation and collective bargaining, including at a factory- level, and through factory-level Occupational Safety and Health policies and action plans drawn up in writing, implemented and monitored with the involvement of workers;
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes that price is still the determining factor in the buying practices of brands and retailers, often at the expense of workers’' welfare and decent wages; calls for the EU to work with all relevant stakeholders to develop a fair and stable pricing mechanism which guarantees that a decent proportion of sales revenue is paid to the worker in the form of a living wage, and to raise consumer awareness of the potential consequences of a demand for ever-lower prices;
Amendment 75 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Emphasises the importance of independent labour inspections in early warning and prevention, as well as in enforcement of national rules and regulations of safety and health at the workplace, yet notes that factors such as audit fatigue can undermine their effectiveness; recommends further research on ways of improving audits and inspections, such as converging audit standards and methods and sending different labour inspectors each time, which can lead to more stringent standards, especially in countries with corruption issues;
Amendment 79 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Notes that since the rise of social auditing in the apparel and footwear supply chain more than twenty years ago, the number of social audit standards and methods has increased dramatically, some with only minor differences. With brands and retailers each applying their own slightly different standards, manufacturers are allocating valuable resources to manage a steady stream of audits; therefore recommends accelerating and supporting existing industry efforts to converge audit standards and methods in consultation with stakeholders;
Amendment 82 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Believes that responsibility should extend throughout the entire supply chain, including all 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 due diligence and supply chain transparency; recommends that regulation should come in addition to and in support of voluntary initiatives, and that information gathered as a result of EU action should be publicly available.; calls for a common framework for the collection of data on social, environmental and labour performance;
Amendment 91 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Recalls that traceability and transparency of the supply chain is key to achieving sustained change; calls for consumers to be provided with trustworthy and clear information about the extent to which workers' rights, in particular their right to free association, have been respected and about sustainability;
Amendment 98 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Congratulates the Commission on contributing to the Zero Vision Fund, and encourages continuing investment into improving workers' safety, however notes that the fund and the majority of existing initiatives do not adequately address the issue of fair wages, the right to organise or discrimination in the workplace;
Amendment 103 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 c (new)
Paragraph 10 c (new)
10c. Notes the particular situation of Export Processing Zones (EPZs) which, in some countries, are exempt from local labour laws, forbid union activity, and do not provide legal redress to workers which raises questions as to their compliance with ILO standards; calls for greater transparency in EPZs through monitoring and reporting;