BESTSELLER provided a response to BHRRC on 22/05/24 in relation to allegations of freedom of association violations at its supplier factory SAPL in Karnataka, India. On 28/05/24, BHRRC asked BESTSELLER for additional information on the following points:

• SAPL’s management has also repeatedly resisted GLU’s attempts to be recognised as the collective bargaining agent in the factory, despite GLU demonstrating in a letter dated 07/09/2022 that it met the required membership threshold for mandatory recognition
• SAPL’s management has repeatedly denied GLU’s request that it meet its legal obligation to recognise “protected workmen” status for its representatives, which would protect them from dismissal and discrimination
• Brands have not sufficiently supported the union’s call for recognition and have instead relied upon the status quo of a worker committee structure in the factory
• Brands have fallen back on legal minimum standards (e.g. in relation the threshold for mandatory union recognition), rather than taking proactive steps to protect freedom of association, as their codes of conduct require

BESTSELLER provided additional information on 14/06/24.

Please find below our response to our latest communications.

We have reviewed the points raised and would like to address them as follows:

1. Union Busting Allegations and Right to Response:
   • We acknowledge the allegations related to union busting at SAPL. However, we have engaged in bilateral meetings between GLU and SAPL to address these concerns.
   • A Corrective Action Plan (CAP) was prepared and shared with GLU in March 2023. We are pleased to report that all agreed-upon CAP measures have been successfully implemented by the supplier. While GLU acknowledged receipt of our investigation results and the CAP, they did not respond to our request to provide feedback.

2. Union Membership and Collective Bargaining:

3. Protected Workmen Status (PWS):

• • We fully recognise and support the rights of the trade union representatives as protected workmen and require our suppliers to uphold office bearers’ rights.
  • We have formally communicated our concern regarding SAPL's failure to recognise PWS to SAPL's management team.
  • SAPL and GLU are currently engaged in a legal conciliation process to resolve this issue, and we have communicated to both parties that we will monitor the implementation of the outcome of these proceedings in due course.