Activities of Arne LIETZ related to 2016/2140(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
EU flagship initiative on the garment sector (debate) DE
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the EU flagship initiative on the garment sector PDF (417 KB) DOC (97 KB)
Amendments (56)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 b (new)
Citation 6 b (new)
- having regard to the programmes funded by the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women focused on addressing harassment and violence against women in the garment industry6b _________________ 6bhttp://www.unwomen.org/en/trust- funds/un-trust-fund-to-end-violence- against-women
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
- having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child6a _________________ 6a https://www.unicef.org/crc/
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 18 a (new)
Citation 18 a (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 14 December 2016 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of a Protocol to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement establishing a partnership between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Uzbekistan, of the other part, amending the Agreement in order to extend the provisions of the Agreement to bilateral trade in textiles, taking account of the expiry of the bilateral textiles Agreement18a , _________________ 18a Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0490.
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that the garment industry is one of the most precarious for workers both within and outside Europe; calls on the flagship initiative, therefore, to put ratification and implementation of ILO conventions and the Decent Work Agenda at its core, with particular focus on those most vulnerable to exploitation, especially children; in this sense, considers it vital to guarantee the ratification and implementation of ILO conventions 182 on worst forms of child labour and 138 on the minimum age for admission to employment and work; calls on the Commission to learn from the experience of the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) and The Global Alliance to Eradicate Forced Labour, Modern Slavery, Human Trafficking and Child Labour;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 c (new)
Citation 6 c (new)
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 20 d (new)
Citation 20 d (new)
- having regard to the Bangladesh Sustainability Compact20d _________________ 20d http://www.ilo.org/global/docs/WCMS_40 8025/lang--en/index.htm
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 20 c (new)
Citation 20 c (new)
- having regard to the Bangladesh Accord20c _________________ 20c http://bangladeshaccord.org/
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)
Citation 9 a (new)
- having regard to the EU's GSP+ scheme9a , _________________ 9a http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2015 /august/tradoc_153732.pdf
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 b (new)
Citation 9 b (new)
- having regard to the Public Procurement Directive of 26 February 20149b _________________ 9bhttp://eur- lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/24/oj
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that voluntary initiatives are not adequately addressing issues such as health and safety, wages, social security and working time; therefore believes that any initiative should go beyond compliance and responsible management supply chains and support the capacities of public authorities including the strengthening of labour administration and labour inspection systems as well as ensuring that national laws and regulations are in conformity with ILO Core Conventions. Action undertaken should also strengthen Minimum Wage setting mechanisms in accordance with relevant ILO conventions
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 20 a (new)
Citation 20 a (new)
- having regard to the German Partnership for Sustainable Textiles20a , _________________ 20a https://www.textilbuendnis.com/en/
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 20 b (new)
Citation 20 b (new)
- having regard to the Dutch Agreement of the Sustainable Garment and Textile20b , _________________ 20b https://www.ser.nl/en/publications/publica tions/2016/agreement-sustainable- garment-textile.aspx
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. whereas victims of the three most deadly incidents in the garment sectors (Rana Plaza, Tazreen and Ali Enterprises) have or are in the process to receive compensation for the loss of income; whereas this is in line with ILO Convention 121 and is the result of unprecedented cooperation between brand, trade unions, civil society, governments and the ILO; whereas given the widespread violation of key human rights, actual remedy remains rare;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
A b. whereas victims of human rights abuses involving European companies face multiple obstacles to access judicial remedies; including procedural obstacles on admissibility and disclosure of evidence, often prohibitive litigation costs, absence of clear liability standards for corporate involvement in human rights abuses, and lack of clarity on the application of EU rules of private international law in transnational civil litigation;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas Article 207 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) requiredemands the EU’'s policies, including trade,trade policy to be baseduilt on the principles and objectives of the EU’s external actionEU's external policies and objectives a, concretely those of development cooperation stated in Article 208 TFEU; whereas Article 21 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) reaffirms that the EU’'s external actions will be guided by the principles of democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for human dignity, the principles of equality and solidarity, and compliance with the UN Charter and international law;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Encourages the EU initiative to promote skills training which contributes to economic and social development and women’s empowerment, since women represent a large share of the workforce in the global supply chain of the garment sector; therefore believes that the initiative should actively promote non- discrimination and gender equality including remuneration along the lines provided for by ILO conventions 100 and 111;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas most human rights violations in the garment sector are labour- rights related and include the denial of workers fundamental right to join or form a union of their choosing and bargain collectively in good faith; whereas this has led to widespread labour rights violations ranging from poverty wages, child labour, forced labour, arbitrary dismissals, wage theft, unsafe workplaces, violence against women and sexual harassment, to precarious work conditions;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Urges the Commission to present, as soon as possible, the EU flagship initiative on responsible management of the supply chain in the garment sector, promised as part of the European Year for Development 2015, which should take into account existing national initiatives such as those in Germany or the Netherlands; believes the EU has the ability and duty to be a global supporter of supply chain responsibility in response to the tragic events like the Rana Plaza collapse, in Bangladesh, and unprecedented interest of EU citizens;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Believes that access to information in the garment sector is often the most important obstacle to tackling human and social and labour rights violations in the global supply chain and that a mandatory reporting system is needed which provides information linking all the actors within the value chain of a single product, from the production place to the retailers; considers that new EU legislation is necessary to create a legal obligation of due diligence for EU companies outsourcing production to third countries, including measures to secure traceability and transparency, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. Believes that any action resulting from the flagship initiative should help foster multi-stakeholder initiatives such as the ILO/IFC Better Work Programme which combines a tripartite approach with factory compliance and the creation of worker-management dialogue at national level or ACCORD, created in Bangladesh, which is legally binding, includes trade unions and foresees not only inspections of factories but also remediation;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas initiatives led by the private sector on a voluntary basis, such as codes of conduct, labels, self-assessments and social audits, have to be further enhanced and have not proven to be at all effectiveenough over the last 20 years in terms of increasing workers’ rights, consumer awareness and environmental safety in the garment supply chain;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that trade unions must be able to operate independently and freely to promote and protect workers’ rights, particularly health and safety, and that they are a necessary partner in social dialogue and collective bargaining; in this sense the actions resulting from the Garment Initiative should promote social dialogue and collective bargaining at all levels (local, national and international) paying special attention to the ratification and implementation of ILO conventions 87 and 98 on freedom of association and collective bargaining. Workers' representatives should be included in the due diligence process set-up at the company level;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
E a. whereas multistakeholder initiatives like the German Partnership for Sustainable Textiles or the Dutch Agreement on Sustainable Garment and Textile are bringing stakeholders like the industry, the trade unions, the government and the NGOs at one table; whereas the standards elaborated by the initiatives also reach out to environmental issues; whereas those initiatives have not yet entered the implementation phase, so concrete results are still outstanding; whereas such national initiatives are necessary due to a lack of an EU legislative initiative; whereas there is still a majority of Member States that don't have any initiative;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
E b. whereas the trend of the garment industry is still going towards fast fashion, which poses an enormous threat and pressure on garment workers in the producing countries;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E c (new)
Recital E c (new)
E c. whereas the German Ministry for Development Cooperation has set the goal, that by 2020 Germany will import 50% of its textiles only according to ecological and social criteria;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the specific characteristics of the garment sector value chains, such as geographically dispersed stages of the production process, low prices,different types of garment workers, low prices, high volumes short lead times, subcontracting and short-term buyer-supplier relationships are conducive to reducing visibility, traceability, and transparency over an enterprise’'s supply chain and to increasing the risks of human rights and labour abuses and of environmental damage; whereas transparency and traceability are is a prerequisites for a company’'s accountability and responsible consumption; whereas the consumer has the right to know where a piece of clothing was produced, and in which social and environmental conditions;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the specific characteristics of the garment sector value chains, such as geographically dispersed stages of the production process, low prices, short lead times, subcontracting and short-term buyer-supplier relationships are conducive to reducing visibility and transparency over an enterprise’s supply chain and to increasing the risks of human rights and labour abuses and of environmental damage already in the raw-material production; whereas transparency is a prerequisite for a company’s accountability and responsible consumption; whereas the consumer has the right to know where a piece of clothing was produced, and in which social and environmental conditions;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas women’'s rights are a constitutive part of human rights; whereas gender equality falls within the scope of the chapters of trade agreements on sTrade and Sustainable dDevelopment (TSD); whereas the specific impact of trade and investment agreements affects women and men differently owing to structural gender inequalities, and whereas sustainable and inclusive development, growth and trade agreements must include human rights, including from a gender perspective;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
H a. whereas in December 2016 many trade union activists have been arrested in Bangladesh followed by a protest for a living wage and better working conditions, whereas several hundreds of garment workers have been fired following the protests; whereas the right of association is still not respected in the producing countries;
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Emphasises the importance ofStress that independent labour inspections inare essential for early warning and prevention, yet notes that factors such as audit fatigue can undermine their effectiveness; believes that the ratification and implementation of ILO convention 181 is key to detect the abuses; recommends further research on ways of improving audits and inspections, such as sending different labour inspectors each time, which can lead to more stringent standards, especially in countries with corruption issues;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the garment sector is the sector which has the most sustainability initiatives in progress; whereas few existing initiatives reach the scale needed and need further actions to make a significant impact;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas in October 2015 the Commission released its new trade strategy ‘'Trade for All’', in which it sets out its aim to use trade agreements and preference programmes as levers to promote around the world, sustainable development, human rights, fair and ethical trade and improve the responsibility of the supply chains as a means of strengthening sustainable development, human rights and good governance in third countries;
Amendment 83 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Believes that responsibility should extend throughout the entire supply chain, and commends existing efforts to this effect; believes, however, that the EU is best placed to develop a common framework through legisRecommends that regulation con mandatory due diligence and supply chataining transparency; recommends that regulhese recommendations should come in addition to and in support of voluntary initiatives at national, European and international level, and that information gathered as a result of EU action should be publicly available.
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)
Recital K a (new)
K a. whereas the clothing and textile sector in Europe provides for 1.7 million workplaces and generates an output of EUR 166 million; whereas the EU imports about the world's total clothing production; whereas the manufacturing countries are mostly emerging economies;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K b (new)
Recital K b (new)
K b. whereas the garment industry in Eastern Europe, for example Poland, the Czech republic, Slovakia and Croatia, does not comply with ILO standards like a living wage or decent working conditions;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses that EU trade and investment policies are interlinked with social protection, gender equality, tax avoidance, SMEs, development, human rights and environmental policies; reiterates its call on the Commission and the Member States to guarantee policy coherence for development on business and human rights at all levels, in particular in relation to the Union’'s trade and investment policy;
Amendment 97 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Welcomes the existence of Sustainable Development Goal 12 on ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns and calls on the Commission to streamline it in all its initiatives regarding the garment sector; in this sense, and taking into account the experience of the "child labour free" label calls on the creation of a "fair working conditions" label which assures these working standards and whose access requirements are guaranteed to both multinational companies and SMEs;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Acknowledges the increasing attention given to promoting gooddecent working conditions through global supply chains following the Rana Plaza factory collapse, the introduction of the draft French law on mandatory due diligence, the UK anti- slavery bill, the Dutch Agreement on Sustainable Textile and Garment, the German Partnership for Sustainable Textiles, and the statement made by President Juncker at the G7 Summit in favour of ‘'urgent action’' to improve responsibility in global supply chains; acknowledges the Commission’'s commitment towards responsible management of supply chains, including in the garment sector, as outlined in the Communication entitled ‘'Trade for All’'; welcomes the green card initiative in which eight Member States have called for a duty of care by EU-based companies towards individuals and communities whose human rights and local environment are affected by the companies’' activities;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Supports the Commission's examination of a possible EU-wide initiative on the garment sector; notes, in addition, that the current multiplication of existing initiatives could result in an unpredictable environment for companies; believes that the proposal should address human rights related issues, promote the traceability and the transparency of value chains, enhance conscious consumption, focus on labour rights and gender equality;
Amendment 102 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 c (new)
Paragraph 10 c (new)
10c. Notes that the Everything But Arms (EBA) initiative has played an important role in the economic development of many countries related to the garment sector and has contributed to improving material conditions for millions of people, in particular women; is convinced, however, that without a sound conditionality in the area of human and labour rights, EBA and the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) risk exacerbating low standards in worker protection and undermining decent work; calls on the Commission to strengthen human rights, labour and environmental conventions under the GSP; stresses that countries that make good progress in social and labour standards should be rewarded by preserving full market access for their products;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Believes that the EU consumers have the right to be informed on conformity of garment industry products with sustainability and respect for human rights and environment; believes that EU legislative effort and initiative to this regard on garments should be made visible in the final product;
Amendment 106 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 d (new)
Paragraph 10 d (new)
10d. Encourages the European Commission to continue to include the ratification of core ILO standards, health and safety inspection and freedom of association in discussions with countries linked to the global supply chain on the garment sector on continued preferential trade;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission to present a legislative proposal on binding due diligence obligations for supply chains in the garment sector as soon as possible, aligned with the new OECD guidelines and internationally agreed standards on human rights and social and environmental standards; this proposal should focus on the core problems garment workers facon due diligence in the garment and foot- wear sector, the OECD guidelines for multinational companies, that are importing into the European Union, the ILO resolution on decent work in supply chains and internationally agreed standards on human rights and social and environmental standards; emphasises, that the new OECD guidelines should be the leading principle in the legislative proposal; stresses, that this legislative proposal should include core standards like (occupational health and safety, a living wage, freedom of association, and freedom of collective bargaining, prevention of sexual harassment and violence) and shouldt the workplace, eliminating forced and child labour; calls on the commission to further address the following matters: key criteria for sustainable production, transparency and traceability, including collection and transparent of data and tools for consumer information, due diligence checks and auditing, access to remedy;, gender equality, supply-chain due diligence reporting; awareness raising; notes, however, with concern that a lot more needs to be done and urges the Commission to take further actions which have a direct impact on workers’ lives in the European Union; encourages the Commission to acknowledge other national legislative proposals and initiatives with the same goal as the legislation, once they have been audited and have met the requirements of the European legislation;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Calls the Commission to introduce tariff preferences for proven sustainably produced textiles in the forthcoming reform of the GSP / GSP + rules; notes, that the goods would have to undergo a certification on their voluntary basis with regard to their sustainable production method, and corresponding proofs should be submitted during the import into the EU; encourages the Commission to support the efforts of the private sector to bring sustainability into the textile value chain in this way; urges the Commission to recognise established sustainability criteria and minimum requirements for the detection and certification systems on the basis of international conventions, such as the core labor standards of the International Labor Organization or the protection of biodiversity; calls on the Commission to promote the production of Fair Trade products through this instrument of tariff preferences;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Reiterates its call on the Commission to extend corporate social responsibility and binding due diligence initiatives beyond existing frameworks for the garment sector so as to ensure that the EU and its trading partners and operators live up to the obligation to respect both human rights and the highest social and environmental standards; urges the Commission to pay attention on remuneration and the working conditions in the garment sector in the Eastern Member States of the EU; urges the Eastern Member States to implement the ILO standards in the garment sector;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Urges the Commission to deliver on its objective to foster improvements in the ready-made garment sector, including through a strong gender focus; calls on the Commission to make gender equality a central focus of its flagship legislative initiative; calls for gender aspect to be mainstreamed in the EU garment initiative; therefore believes that the proposal should promote women empowerment, non-discrimination, gender equality and address the issue of harassments in workplaces as already envisaged by European and international commitments;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Commission to promote actively the use of ecological and sustainably managed raw materials like cotton and to promote enthusiastically the re-use and recycling of garments and textiles within the European Union through specific provisions in its flagship legislative initiative;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Urges the commission to invest in Research and Development (R&D) aiming at building a sustainable alternative sourcing of raw materials for the EU garment sector and the recycling process within the European Union; calls on the Commission to put in place additional resources in institutions in order to follow up on the flagship initiative;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission to put in place specific measures for small and medium-sized European enterprises to have access to toolsfinancial and policy tools with particular regard to their capacity to deliver on traceability and transparency, to invest in the sustainability and fairness of their supply chains by, inter-alia, supporting match- making business platforms to connect them with fair trade and ethical fashion importers and suppliers in the EU and in its partner countries;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Believes that it is crucial to ensure increased access to information on the conduct of enterprises; considers it fundamental to introduce a mandatory reporting system and due diligence for EU companies that outsource their production to third countriesgarment products entering the EU market ; believes that responsibility should extend throughout the entire supply chain, including sub- contractors in the formal and informal economy, and commends existing efforts to this effect; believes, however, that the EU is best placed to develop a common framework through legislation on mandatory transnational due diligence and supply chain transparency and traceability;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Stresses the need for collecting and publishing comprehensive data on corporate sustainability performance; in this context, the elaboration of common definitions and standards for the collection, comparison and assessment of statistical data notably on imports, and welcomes the holistic approach of the Higg Index in measuring enterprises’ environmental, social and labour impacts;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Calls on the Commission to develop a wide variety of monitoring systems in the EU garment sector using Key performance indicators – encompassing data collection using surveys, audits and data analysis techniques that can effectively measure performance and address their impacts on development, labour rights and human rights in the entire garment supply chain;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12 b. Urges the Commission to export the model of the Bangladesh Sustainability Compact into other producing countries like India or Pakistan;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission to present a comprehensive strategy on how development, aid for trade and public procurement policies can support a fairer and more sustainable garment supply chain, by promoting best practices and giving incentives to private sector actors that invest in the sustainability and fairness of their supply chains, from the fibre farmer to the final consumer; urges the Commission and the European Institutions to be a role model when it comes to public procurement of textile used in the institutions; calls on the Commission to create guidance for local authorities on social criteria in purchasing textiles following the 2014 Directive on Public Procurement and motivate them accordingly; encourages the Commission to propose a plan so that the majority of public procurement of garments in the EU by 2030 comes from sustainable sources;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. encourages the Commission to use the legislation to further implement and promote the SDGs;