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In Myanmar, VAUDE has two Taiwanese production partners operating in three factories. One of these manufactuers is since 2019 the North Shore Group (NSG) with two production facilities…

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The last audit at the affected factory was conducted by SMART/MADE in October 202. Sunsequently, a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) was developed. SMART staff visited the factory two more times in March 2023 to ensure the recommended measures were implemented. Overall, the factory has implemented 137 out of the 192 requested improvement measures from the Coorective Action Plan (CAP); work is currently ongoing on the remaining ones.

The relevant article from Myanmar Labour News was sent to us by FW in August 2023. Parts of the complaints descried in the articles were already known to us since January 2023, and we were in communication with the NSG management to address them.

Here is our response to each complaint:

• Complaint: Workers subjected to physical and verbal abuse

This complaint was received via the FW complaint hotline in January 2023. The two supervisors implicated in these accusations no longer work in the factory.

Additionally, in September, a ‘Supervisory Skill and Applied Labour Law Training’ was conducted in collaboration with SMART to train supervisors. In November 2023, a ‘Social Dialogue and Effective Grievance Mechanism Training’ was also conducted in collaboration with SMART.

• Complaint: Workers did not receive sick pay

This issue was identified during an audit in October 2022 and was subsequently included in the Coorective Action Plan as one of the issues to be addressed.

Subsequently, the factory management committed to continuing to pay wages in the event of illness, if a medical certificate is provided issued by a Medical Officer. This measure has been implemented and is regularly followed up.

• Complaint: Workers compelled to perform cleaning duties

This complaint was not confirmed for us. There were no complaints, and it was not addressed in the audit. In response to our inquiry in August 2023, the factory management stated that seamstresses only need to clean their own workstations, and there are not enough cleaning staff members.

• Complaints: Workers not allowed to leave the premises during sickness or emergency, lack of emergency medicines, and workers not receiving rightful wages upon termination

These complaints were not confirmed for us. There were no complaints about these accusations, and they were not reported in the audits by the workers. They were also not confirmed upon inquiry by the FW complaint handler.

We take each complaint seriously and address every case reported through the FW complaint hotline of our SMART partners.

In the past, there have been recurring complaints in the two factories of the North Shore Group. Despite repeated and urgent requests to the factory management to implement all necessary measures, we have unfortunately observed a lack of commitment to fully enforce them. Some of the planned improvement measures have not yet been implemented at the management, despite our extensive efforts. This does not align with our strict requirements for ensuring due diligence on the part of our manufacturers. Therefore, at the end of 2023, we decided to terminate our collaboration and undertake a responsible disengagement as recommended by FW with the North Shore Group…

[The full response is attached]