Inditex's response to allegations of abuses in Myanmar garment factories - March 2023 Update
At Inditex, we are performing a continuous and reinforced due diligence process in factories working for us in Myanmar. As a result of this process and following our compliance system...we are implementing specific Corrective Action Plans to support factories in the managing of any type of improvement area identified.
Regarding your request about several articles published by Myanmar labour news with very serious accusations of child and forced labour in three specific factories, we must inform you that we have not detected such practices in those factories after opening internal investigations nor during our compliance process during the latest months.
In this sense, please kindly note that factory Jiashihao (Myanmar) Limited is under a Corrective Action Plan where we are paying special attention for instance to the correct application of voluntary overtime under our Code of Conduct criteria. In addition to this, please kindly be informed that after the publishing of the article in media last January 2023, an investigation was performed at Jiashihao (Myanmar) Limited without identifying any of the issues mentioned.
In the case of Myanmar Lucky Fortune Garment, we would like to inform you that in addition to our continuous monitoring of the working conditions at factory level through a Corrective Action Plan, two investigations were performed, on 24th January 2023 and 21st February 2023, just after receiving information published by media. Apart from documentation review; interviews to WCC (Workforce Coordination Committee) candidates, elected workers, workforce and management were performed. As a result a serious disciplinary issue between two workers was identified (one of them elected under the WCC) that ended in termination of their contracts.
Finally, in the case of Myanmar Jiale Fashion Garment, among others, this factory is currently a Corrective Action Plan, where we are covering the areas of regular employment, managing of voluntary overtime and its correct payment calculation. We expect the factory to improve with the development of this Plan. We keep monitoring very closely its evolution apart from the support to the social dialogue process among factory management, workers and their representative...
[The full response is attached]