A visit of CNV Internationaal to Vietnam
A delegation from CNV Internationaal visited Vietnam last week, visiting several garment factories and the Ministry of Labour. The focus of the visit was to exchange knowledge and strengthen cooperation with the trade union VGCL and other partners.
Daniëlle Woestenberg, president of CNV Internationaal, and secretary-treasurer Jan-Pieter Daems sat with the vice-minister of labour, the trade union president, factory presidents and the president of employers’ organization VCII to talk about several topics, like the new CSDDD-legislation.
During conversations with the Vietnamese trade union, plans were discussed that concern mutual learning and shared ambitions, like equal rights for women and the reduction of working hours among others.
Multi-company CBA's for garment factories
In recent years, CNV Internationaal has successfully developed training courses aimed at negotiating multi-company collective bargaining agreements. These CBAs are for several organisations that are active in a certain sector or region. This has led to concrete progress in the factories, such as
- Improved lunch provisions
- Reduced working hours and
- Better ventilation in hot factory buildings.
Visits to the factories revealed alarming working conditions, such as high temperatures, safety issues and noise.
The most important - and most difficult - point to negotiate is a living wage for garment workers. At the moment, workers do not earn enough to make a decent living.
Urgent need for brands to contribute given the new CSDDD
The visits to the garment factories highlighted the urgent need for brands to contribute to improved social dialogue and working conditions. This is especially important in the context of the new CSDDD, the EU directives that are going to require companies to carefully examine negative impacts on the environment and human rights, and to take appropriate measures to prevent, reduce and eliminate these negative impacts.
Profits in the current market are too low for factories to meet all sustainability requirements, let alone to finance the developments resulting from multi-company CBAs.
CNV Internationaal will continue to work for the participation of textile brands in MC-CBA processes.
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Publication date 27 03 2024
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