Ali Enterprises Factory Fire Affectees Association (AEFFAA) et al. /  RINA Services S.p.A. - Submitted on the 11th September 2018

FINAL STATEMENT

1. This Final Statement is issued by the Italian National Contact Point 1 (hereinafter also "NCP"), at the conclusion of the proceedings started with the specific instance submitted on the 11th September 2018 by Ali Enterprises Factory Fire Affectees Association (AEFFAA); National Trade Union Federation (NTUF); Pakistan Institute for Labour Education and Research (PILER); European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR); Stichting Schone Kleren Kampagne/Clean Clothes Campaign; Campagna Abiti Puliti and Movimento Consumatori (MC) (hereinafter also "the Complainants") versus RINA Services S.p.A. (hereinafter also “the Company”, or “RINA”).

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NCP’s recommendations to the Parties

47. On the30/07/2020 NCP sent the draft Final Statement to the NCP Committee for its opinion, on the 28th of August 2020 the NCP Committee expressed its favourable opinion on the draft Final Statement. One of the member of the NCP Committee, CGIL- the Italian General Confederation of Labour, asked to introduce the request to the parties to elaborate a Report after one year after the publication of the NCP Final Statement. It also asked the NCP to publish the Final Report of the Conciliator and its annexes. While the first request was accepted by the NCP, the second request, submitted to the Parties in line with the Guidelines, Part II, §36 of the Commentary to the procedure implementation, was not accepted by the Company. Therefore, the Report and its Annexes will not be published.

48. On the 24/09/2020, the Final Statement was transmitted to the Parties giving them the possibility to send their comments. The Parties submitted their comments to the draft Final Statement on the 14/10/2020 The NCP, taking into account the observations made by the Parties, adopted this Final Statement.

49. After careful consideration of the positions of the Parties, of the progress of the conciliation procedure in all its phases and of all its outcomes, taking into consideration the recommendations of the Conciliator, the NCP recommends that:

a. the Parties do not dissipate the commitment to dialogue and the goodwill shown in this procedure and continue to seek a shared solution of the case

b. the Company make a humanitarian gesture without any implication in terms of liability

c. the Company take action to show its sympathy for the tragic event;

d. the Company when operating in countries and sectors at risk, such as in the case of the textile sector in Pakistan, carry out a risk-based due diligence effective and adequate to the risks registered, as recommended by the OECD Guidelines;

e. the Company implement and enhance all the commitments announced in the above- mentioned letter from RINA’s CEO, including through proactive initiatives within SAI and SAAS, with the aim of improving the certification mechanism with particular attention to the criticalities of the textile sector and of high-risk countries;

f. the Complainants cooperate in good faith with the Company for the implementation of these recommendations;

g. the Complainants and the Company keep updated each other and the NCP on the implementation of the above recommendations.

The full text of the Final Statement issued 9 December 2020 is available here.