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  • 7/30/2019 Actionaid Garment Workers Booklet

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    Productivityand workers rightsA booklet or workers in the global garment industry

    This booklet is or workers,

    trade unions and other

    labour organisations that

    have day-to-day contact with

    garment workers.

    Garment actories otenmake changes to the way

    their employees work inorder to save money and

    increase the amount o

    clothes they produce. Theseare called productivityschemes.

    Sometimes productivity

    schemes can be good or

    workers, as the money

    saved can be spent on better

    pay and conditions.

    But, all too oten, the changes

    are harmul or workers.

    People are laid o and lose

    their jobs, or have to work

    harder and longer hours.

    This booklet explains whatthese changes are, and what

    the dangers are or workers.

    It includes discussion points

    that can be used in workers

    education.

    It suggests questions that

    workers and their union

    representatives can ask

    managers when productivityschemes are introduced into

    the actory.

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    ActionAidProductivity and workers rights

    Garment workers in actories across the world

    make clothes that will be sold by companies in

    countries very ar away.

    The companies who sell the garments place

    their orders with actories like yours to produce

    their clothes. And they have a lot o power in

    their dealings with your employer.

    Every time a buyer company places an order

    with your employer, it strikes a deal over the

    price, delivery date and payment terms. These

    deals can have an enormous impact on whether

    or not your employer pays you a decent wage

    or asks or reasonable hours o work. They can

    aect how the production line runs, and the way

    that you are treated by your supervisors.

    Oten your

    employer has

    little choice

    but to accept

    the buyer

    companys

    terms, or the

    order will go toa actory that

    will accept the

    lower price.

    The drive to increase

    productivity

    Discussion pointWhat is it like, working on your line?

    Areyoupaidabonusforreachinga

    productiontarget?

    Orareyouexpectedtostaybehind

    tocompletethequotasetbyyour

    employer,withoutanyextrapayfor

    overtime?

    Ifso,whydoyouthinkyouremployer

    isdoingthis?

    1

    The buyer companies generally want to lower

    their costs. This means that sometimes they

    reduce the price they pay to your employer or

    the garments you make.

    Oten your employer has little choice but

    to accept the buyer companys terms, or the

    order will go to a actory that will accept the

    lower price.

    Your employers oten try and cope with this by

    reducing their costs wherever they can. They

    want to produce more clothes or less money.

    This is what productivity is all about.

    I you nd that changes are happening in your

    actory such as re-organisation o the shop

    foor, new machines being installed or new work

    processes being brought in they are probably

    being done to improve productivity.

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    Discussion pointDo any o these things happen at

    your place o work?

    Domanagerstimeworkerswitha

    stopwatch?

    Areworkersconstantlybeingchanged

    aroundontheline?

    Haveanychangesbeenmadetoyour

    workstation,suchastotheseat,bench

    ormachine?

    Aretherefewerbundleswaitingtobe

    workedonbyyourassemblyline?

    Areyouconstantlybeingurgedto

    producemore?

    Hasyourproductiontargetbeen

    increased?Ifso,howmanytimesin

    thelastyear?

    Iswhatyoumakemeasuredonan

    hourlyorweeklybasis?

    Haveyounoticedanyotherchangesto

    theworkprocessatyourfactory?

    ActionAidProductivity and workers rights

    Some changes may be very big, changing the

    whole way that the actory is operating, rom

    top to bottom.

    They may even aect the way that managers

    communicate with workers, by bringing in new

    systems or handling disputes.

    What is LEAN?LEANisperhapsthemostradicalwayof

    improvingproductivity.Itisbasedonasystem

    developedbythecarmanufacturerToyota.

    LEANfocusesoncontinuouslyimproving

    thewayafactoryworks,tomakeitever

    moreefcient.

    UnderLEAN,workersmaybeorganisedinto

    cells.Thesearegroupsofworkerstrainedin

    severalskillswhocanmakeawholeproduct.

    Cellshaveproductiontargetsforthewhole

    groupratherthanforindividuals.

    Thisisdifferentfromtheproductbeingmade

    onanassemblyline,whereworkerswith

    differentskillseachdoaparticulartask.

    LEANisintendedtochangethecultureofa

    factoryaswellasthephysicalwaythatthe

    factoryandworkstationsareorganised.

    LEAN is

    intended to

    change the

    culture o a

    actory as

    well as the

    physical

    way that theactory and

    workstations

    are organised.

    The drive to increase

    productivity continued

    2

    Inputswhat it costsyour actory

    in labour,machines,rent, etc

    Outputwhat youractory makes

    in value

    Productivity

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    ActionAidProductivity and workers rights

    Who wants higher

    productivity?

    3

    The companies argumentgoes like this: i you canproduce more clothes in less

    time, the actory can earnmore money, and thereore it

    can pay you more.

    This all sounds reasonable

    doesnt it?

    But there are dangers in this

    or the workers.

    I you are experiencing these kinds o changes

    in your workplace, your employer may be

    making them or his or her own reasons.

    Perhaps they think that the current ways o

    working are too slow, and lead to excessive

    overtime in your actory.

    These changes may also be asked or by thebuyer companies that place orders in your

    actory. In some cases, the buyers might be

    concerned about quality perhaps they are

    having to return too many aulty garments to your

    actory. Some may be concerned about your

    actory ailing to meet delivery dates. All these

    things can aect the buyer companys prots.

    Recently, some buyer companies have been

    trying to make sure workers get a higher wage.

    They claim that the best way to get higher wages

    is to make changes in the workplace to increase

    productivity.

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    ActionAidProductivity and workers rights

    The risks or workers

    4

    I workers dont come together and get involved

    when management brings in major changes at

    your workplace to increase productivity, you

    could end up:

    with job losses, leading to a smaller workorce

    with a aster pace o work

    with extra pay, but not in line with how

    much extra you are actually producing

    working in an unsae environment.

    So lets pause and think about this or a

    moment, as workers...

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    ActionAidProductivity and workers rights

    Calculating labour

    productivity

    5

    One o the arguments that buyers use in their

    negotiations with your actory management is

    that the labour productivity or line eciency

    in your actory is too low. What do they mean

    by this?

    In your actory, the workplace changes you

    identied earlier (see page 2) are usually carriedout by industrial engineers the so-called IE

    department. It is their job to maximise the number

    o garments produced in the time available.

    You will probably have seen a board hanging

    up at the end o your assembly line, monitoring

    your output against a target, usually on a daily

    and hourly basis.

    One o the tasks done by the IE department is

    to calculate the time taken to make a specic

    garment. This is usually called a SAM (Standard

    Allowed Minute), although some actories call

    this the Standard Minute Value (SMV).

    SAM (or SMV) means the time (in minutes)

    that it takes a worker to complete a specic

    operation or produce a specic garment. The

    SAM is oten calculated by using a stopwatch.

    Sometimes its done by looking at a special

    table o times that have already been calculated,

    or every task needed to make a garment.

    Once the buyer company and employer know

    how long it takes a worker to complete a

    specic operation, they can compare this with

    other actories, or with a special table o times,

    to see how productive workers are.

    Standard Allowed Minute/Standard Minute Value.What should it cover?

    SAM(orSMV)shouldcoverthetimetaken

    toperformanoperationatnormalor

    standardpace,plusanallowancefor

    relaxationandpossiblestoppages.It

    shouldalsoberatedtoallowworkersto

    earnanincentivebonus,iftheywork

    abovetheirexpectedperformance.

    Butbecareful.Sometimesthese

    calculationscanbedoneincorrectly.

    Workersshouldaskmanagementfor

    traininginthesemethodsofwork

    measurement,sothatyoucancheckthecalculationsdonebytheIEDepartment.

    Buyer companies and employers can also use

    SAMs to calculate how much it costs them

    to pay wages and benets or each minute

    worked. This is called the Labour Minute

    Value, that is to say, what the wage cost is or

    each minute it takes to make a garment.

    We have seen that buyer companies and

    employers can work out how long it takes to

    make a garment. This means that they should

    also be able to set realistic targets or workers.

    So now we need to ask: why is it that targets

    oten cannot be reached?

    Buyer

    companies and

    employers can

    also use SAMs

    to calculate

    how much it

    costs them to

    pay wages andbenets or

    each minute

    worked.

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    ActionAidProductivity and workers rights

    Usually, managers and the IE department say

    that targets cannot be reached because o

    labour ineciency. That is to say, they blame

    the workers or low productivity.

    But is this right?

    In act, when we look more closely at the

    causes o so-called labourineciency, we

    oten nd that its the ault o management, and

    not the workers.

    For example, problems in the actory might be

    caused by:

    a lack o proper training or workers

    atigue and lack o concentration among

    workers caused by excessive overtime

    an unrealistic incentive scheme where the

    production target at which a bonus can be

    earned is ar too high

    an unrealistic time being calculated to

    produce the garment properly.

    So really the correct term should bemanagement ineciency and not labour

    ineciency.

    This is an important distinction, especially when

    we come to discuss the payment o a living

    wage (see overlea).

    The correct

    term should be

    management

    ineciency

    and not labour

    ineciency.

    The myth o labour

    inefciency

    6

    Discussion pointWhat causes downtime in your

    actory?

    Lowlevelsofproductionfromanassembly

    linecanbecausedbyvariousfactors,

    suchas:

    machinebreakdown

    abuildupofunsewncomponents(the

    technicaltermisWorkinProgress,orWIP)

    components,suchasfabricorzips,

    notavailablewhenneeded

    ahighnumberofrejects/faulty

    garments,whichreducesproductivity

    worker(s)performingbelowstandard

    worker(s)absentfromtheline

    changesingarmentstyles

    powercuts.

    Whichfactor(s)is/arethebiggestcause

    ofdowntimeinyourfactory?

    Whodoyouthinkistoblameforthis

    downtime:managers;supervisors;

    workers;factorysuppliers;orsomeone

    else?

    Discussion pointWorkers and productivity

    Usually,productivityproblemsliein

    thehandsofmanagement.Sodoyou

    thinkworkersshouldbeinvolvedornot

    whenchangesarebroughtintoimprove

    productivity?

    Even imanagementineciency is the cause o

    excessive overtime, poor product quality and

    low wages, workers do need to be involved

    in improving productivity. Otherwise, the only

    ones to benet will be your employer and the

    companies that it sells clothes to.

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    ActionAidProductivity and workers rights

    In recent years, garment prices have generally

    been alling, both in the shops and at the actory

    gates. Yet the cost o living or workers who

    produce the garments has continued to rise.

    Trade unions and other labour organisations,

    in the producing countries and in the buyer

    countries, have stepped up their campaigning.They are putting pressure on the buyer

    companies to change the way they do business

    with the producer companies, reeing up money

    to pay workers like yourselves a living wage,

    to reduce the length o your working day and

    keep you ree rom harassment rom your

    supervisors.

    This pressure has made some buyer companies

    take action. Many have adopted codes o

    conduct, which say that workers who produce

    their goods should be paid a living wage,

    should not be orced to do overtime and should

    have other rights respected.

    However, the buyer companies are not giving

    a bigger share o their prots to your employer

    Labour productivity

    and the living wage

    7

    What is a living wage?

    Mostclothingworkersintheworldarepaidaminimumwage.Asyouknow,thisis

    nowherenearwhatyouandyourfamilyneedtoliveon.

    Youknowwhatlevelofwageisnecesarytocoverallyourbasicneeds,providesome

    moneytopayforadditionalitemsandevensavealittle.Thisiswhatwecallalivingwage.

    Theactuallevelofthelivingwagediffersfromcountrytocountry,becauselivingcosts

    varyacrosscountries.

    TherehavebeeneffortsrecentlytocalculatealivingwageforallworkersacrossAsiatheAsia Floor Wage.Tondoutmoreaboutthis,see:

    www.asiafoorwage.org

    so they can improve your pay and conditions o

    work. Instead, buyer companies are looking to

    their supplier actories, such as your employer,

    to improveproductivityas a way o nding extra

    money or the workers.

    But can eorts to raise productivity also benet

    workers?

    Logically, i your actory can make more

    garments in less time, it can make more money,

    as long as orders continue to come in. I this

    is done without increasing the pace o work,

    and without job losses, then it can be a positive

    thing or workers.

    But experience so ar o productivity schemes

    has been mixed:

    In China, some schemes have succeeded

    in bringing down working hours, while at the

    same time raising wages. However, this only

    ensured that the legal minimum wage was

    paid, and workers were still not paid or any

    aulty garments that were produced. Also, in

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    ActionAidProductivity and workers rights

    some cases, these schemes were short lived

    and the employer only took more work on,

    leading once again to excessive overtime.

    In Bangladesh, some productivity schemes

    have reduced the number o helpers on

    assembly lines. They have been retrained as

    machinists, thereby improving their skills andraising their wages through re-grading. This

    is a good thing. However, buyer companies

    have been able to claim that they are bringing

    about wage increases or the lowest paid

    workers, even though those same workers

    are still earning well below a living wage.

    Also, in China, one employer introduced a

    productivity bonus to try and retain more

    senior employees and reduce turnover.

    However, the company insisted on an

    unrealistic production target or these

    workers. When the worker representatives

    protested, the management did not change

    the targets. Eventually, many o the older

    workers quit their jobs at the actory, which

    deeated the point o the scheme.

    Where LEAN (see page 2) has been

    introduced, and workers are grouped in cells

    rather than on lines, workers are complainingthat they have been moved too close to the

    hazardous chemicals used in production.

    This is particularly prevalent

    in ootwear actories.

    I you have seen no benet or yoursel and your

    ellow workers rom productivity schemes, and

    in act you are working harder than ever, then

    you need to do something about it

    Key point:productivity

    schemes

    address

    management

    ineciencies.

    They should not

    be seen as away or buyer

    companies to

    deliver on their

    responsibility to

    ensure workers

    are paid a

    living wage.

    Labour productivity

    and the living wage continued

    8

    Discussion pointDoes higher productivity beneft

    workers?

    Thinkbacktoyouranswersintherst

    discussionactivity(onpageone).

    Nowconsiderthesequestions:

    Whenmanagementchangedtheway

    youwork,didyourwagesincrease?

    Diditleadtoareductionintheovertime

    youworked,atnolosstoyourtake-

    homepay?

    Wasthereareduction,orincrease,in

    thepaceofworkinthefactory,and

    specicallyontheassemblylinewhere

    youwork?

    Hastherebeenachangeintheway

    youaretreatedatyourworkplace,

    particularlybyyoursupervisors?

    Haveanyjobsbeenlostinthefactory

    asaresult,ordifferenttypesofcontract

    beenintroduced?

    Haveyouacquirednewskillsasa

    resultofthechanges?Ifso,hasthis

    ledtoanypayincreaseorregrading?

    Whenchangesareintroduced,isit

    usuallyonlyforaspecicgroupofworkers?

    Arealltheworkersusuallyinformed

    andinvolvedinthesechanges?

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    ActionAidProductivity and workers rights

    The act is that most labour productivity

    schemes aect pay and working conditions.

    So, you and your ellow workers should be

    involved in any changes to improve productivity.

    So what can

    workers do?

    9

    Questions to ask management

    1 How much money has the company saved as a result othis productivity schemes?

    2 What are the workers going to get or their contributionto this schemes?

    3 How many workers are working on the lines at present?

    4 Are any jobs going to be lost?

    5 I jobs are going to be lost, where will the workers be

    transerred to?

    6 Can you guarantee the transerred workers will not havetheir pay cut?

    7 What changes, i any, will be made to line targets?

    8 How can workers earnings refect any increase in productivity?Can we discuss bringing in a production bonus scheme or,

    i one already exists, how it can be improved?

    9 Can independent training in work study (SAMs) be providedto the workers and their representatives?

    For this, you need to prepare some questions

    or management.

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    ActionAidProductivity and workers rights

    Some productivity schemes try to involve

    workers by establishing worker committees.

    Both your employer, and the buyer companies,

    might think that these are a suitable substitute

    or a trade union.

    However, you need to be careul about these

    bodies. Worker committees oten representmanagements interests rather than workers,

    and some may not permit discussion on

    productivity.

    Remember the buying companys code o

    conduct should say that you have the right

    to join a union, o your own choice, or the

    purposes o bargaining with management.

    I you work in a actory where there is a worker

    committee rather than a trade union, there are

    some questions you might want to consider.

    So, i you are going to make any lasting

    progress, you need to organise into a trade

    union to negotiate and collectively bargain with

    your employer. In some countries, managers

    are obliged by law to respect and implement

    any agreement reached with the union through

    collective bargaining.

    Your representatives are also going to need

    training on these issues, since they can oten

    get quite complex.

    I you are

    going to make

    any lasting

    progress,

    you need to

    organise into

    a trade union

    to negotiateand collectively

    bargain with

    your employer.

    Why workers

    need a union

    Discussion pointWorker committees or trade unions?

    Whatsystemisthereinyourfactory

    forworkersandyourrepresentatives

    todiscussmattersrelatingtopayand

    productivitywithmanagement?

    Isthereaworkercommitteeinyour

    factory?Ifso,howwasitsetup?Was

    itdemocraticallyelectedbyworkers?

    Ordidmanagementnominatethe

    members?

    Whatissuesarediscussedinthe

    workercommittee?Doesitmeet

    regularlyandareminuteskept?Has

    itreachedanyagreementsonworkers

    payandconditions?Whatrightsdoyouhaveifmanagementrefusesto

    abidebytheagreements?

    Whatisthedifferencebetweena

    workercommitteeandatradeunion?

    Whichoneismorelikelytobringreal

    improvementstoworkerspayand

    conditionsofwork,andwhy?

    10

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    ActionAidProductivity and workers rights

    You also need to make sure that your employer

    does not bully or harass any workers who join

    or become active in the union. This is known

    as victimisation.

    All workers across the world have the right

    to join a trade union o their choice (called

    reedom o association), and to bargain

    collectively with their employer. These rights

    are included in many o the buyer companies

    codes o conduct.

    Ask your employer, and any representative

    rom companies that buy rom your actory,

    or a written non-victimisation guarantee.

    and no victimisation

    11

    A model non-victimisation guarantee

    (Name o company), in accordance with national and international

    law and the code o conduct o (name o buyer) governing reedom

    o association, hereby guarantees you, as an employee o this

    company, the right to join or orm a union o your choice or the

    purposes o bargaining collectively with (name o company) onwages and working conditions.

    (Name o company) will not discriminate against you, nor

    victimise you, or exercising this right. Furthermore, (name o

    company) will adopt a positive attitude towards any trade union

    organisers granted access or the purposes o talking about the

    benets o trade union membership.

    (Name o company) also undertakes to permit the ormation o

    an organising committee in the actory whose members shouldoperate without ear o hindrance, intererence or victimisation.

    Signed Signed

    ----------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------

    On behal o (name o buyer) On behal o (name o supplier)

    Ask your

    employer,

    and any

    representative

    rom companies

    that buy rom

    your actory, or

    a written non-victimisation

    guarantee.

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    ActionAidProductivity and workers rights

    Key points

    12

    Intodayscommercialworld,youremployerwillalwaysbe

    trying to cut costs. This may involve specifc schemes to

    improve productivity. Workers need to be ully involved in

    these schemes.

    Anyschemesdesignedtolowercostsshouldnotresultin

    workers losing out, such as job cuts, pay cuts, a aster pace

    o work, or longer overtime.

    Productivityschemesshouldnotbetheonlywaytomeet

    a buyers commitment to making sure the workers get a

    living wage, as set out in its code o conduct.

    Cost-cuttingschemesorefcienciesareanopportunityfor

    workers to sit down with the employer to negotiate better

    pay and conditions.

    Workersneedtorespondcollectivelytoproductivity

    schemes. A unionised workorce, involved in all aspects o

    workplace change, is the best way to deal with this.

    Workersfacedwithchangestoworkingpracticesshouldseek

    advice rom their local trade union.

    ChatawayHouse, LeachRoad,Chard,SomersetTA201FR

    [email protected]

    ActionAidisaregisteredcharityno.274467.Printed onrecycledpaper.

    www.actionaid.org.uk

    ActionAid,

    Publication date: 2012

    Author: Doug MillerEditor: Celia Mather

    ActionAid is a registered charity no 274467. Printed on recycled paper