Friday, November 25, 2022

Workers in Canadian Tire's supply chain not paid 'living wages,' union complains

United Steelworkers union alleges thousands in Bangladeshi factories who make clothes for the retailer aren't paid enough

Author of the article: Naimul Karim
Publishing date: Nov 22, 2022 
A Canadian Tire sign at a store in Toronto. 
PHOTO BY BRENT LEWIN/BLOOMBERG

One of North America’s largest unions has filed a complaint with the Canadian government against Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. alleging that thousands of workers in Bangladeshi factories who make clothes for the retailer are not paid a living wage.

The United Steelworkers union (USW), which has at least 225,000 members in Canada, filed the complaint to the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE), a government ombudsman that reviews human rights abuses by Canadian companies that work abroad.

“You will have seen some Canadian Tire ads saying ‘We all play for Canada,’ we just think that playing for Canada also means being concerned about workers overseas,” Doug Olthuis, head of global affairs at USW’s Canadian office, said. “The concerns shouldn’t end at Canadian borders; the concerns should spread through the entire supply chain.”

Canadian Tire said it ensures its suppliers comply with all local laws.

“As part of our activities to ensure compliance, Canadian Tire Corp. regularly tracks wage rates and works with reputable third parties to audit factories that manufacture our owned brand products,” the company said in a statement.

But Bangladeshi union representatives said thousands of the country’s workers who make clothes for most of the world’s leading brands have had to cut down on food as the price of essentials rises globally due to inflation.

The South Asian nation, whose economy heavily depends on its garment industry, has made strides to ensure worker safety since the collapse of the Rana Plaza clothing factory in 2013 that killed more than 1,000 workers, unions said. But they said the country’s minimum wage for garment workers — about $104 per month — isn’t enough to support families.

Canadian Tire subsidiary Mark’s manufactures garments in Bangladesh for the Denver Hayes, Dakota, WindRiver and Helly Hansen labels. 
PHOTO BY HANDOUT/MARK'S

“Canadian companies say that they respect human rights. Living wages is one of the pillars of human rights,” said Kalpona Akter, who heads the Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity, a workers’ rights organization based in Dhaka, the country’s capital. “If they are not paying a living wage, how are they respecting human rights? We want Canadian Tire to ensure that workers in their supply chain are paid a living wage.”

Bangladeshi garment workers who work eight hours a day, six days a week, should be paid four to five times more than they currently are to earn a “living wage,” he added.

The president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, the country’s largest group of garment factory owners, said clothing workers are better paid than workers in other sectors, and they are trying to find ways to increase that pay.

“The buyers (brands) keep talking about ethical living wages or fair minimum wages, but they keep squeezing the price and giving us much lower prices,” Faruque Hasan said. “I believe they should pay higher prices, which will help us to pay higher salaries.”

If they are not paying a living wage, how are they respecting human rights?
KALPONA AKTER

The USW filed the complaint on Monday evening. CORE will now have to evaluate whether the complaint meets its “admissibility criteria,” Olthuis at the USW said. If it does, the ombudsman will conduct its own investigation.

The union hopes CORE recommends that Canadian Tire — whose subsidiary Mark’s manufactures garments in Bangladesh for the Denver Hayes, Dakota, WindRiver and Helly Hansen labels — pay higher wages. It also hopes Canadian Tire will sit down with workers’ representatives in Bangladesh to figure out a way to make sure more money gets through to the workers.


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CORE wasn’t immediately available for a response.

Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest garment exporter after China, and Olthuis said the USW initially wanted to file complaints against multiple Canadian companies that manufacture clothes there, but would have had to file separate complaints to CORE for each company.

He said the USW decided to file a complaint against Canadian Tire because it believes the retailer has the capacity to make changes.

“We have to start somewhere,” he said. “We believe there are mechanisms where Canadian Tire can make a difference.”

Olthuis said that based on USW’s investigation, Canadian Tire sources its products from at least 30 factories in Bangladesh.

The country, which has about 165 million people, employs about four million workers, mostly women, in the garment sector.

Bangladesh garment exports to Canada grew by $1 billion, a 133 per cent increase, in the last decade, according to government data. The country is the second largest source of garment imports into Canada after China.

• Email: nkarim@postmedia.com | Twitter: naimonthefield

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