Marks & Spencer denies labour law abuse in Gurgaon supply factory

Talks to sort out the 10-day workers’ agitation at the Gurgaon apparel factory of Viva Global, a supplier to British retail outlet Marks & Spencer, got postponed today. Meanwhile, M&S denied accusations of violence and intimidation of workers by the factory management. Instead, it has said, the workers are being prevented by the union from coming for work.

Responding to queries from Business Standard, Krishan Hundal, Head of GM Technology at M&S, said allegations of non-payment of minimum wages or violence against workers were totally untrue.

“We strongly refute allegations against Viva Global that it has been involved in any form of intimidation. We have a petition that has been signed by over 80 workers at the factory, stating that union members are intimidating them and preventing them from working,” said Hundal.

He also denied the other charges by the union regarding non-payment of minimum wages. “The minimum wage for unskilled workers in India is Rs 4,215 per month. On average, unskilled workers at Viva Global earn Rs 4,600 and this does not include annual bonus, and other benefits. Wages have never been an issue at Viva Global; in fact, it is known to be one of the better payers in the region. There has been no excessive overtime at the factory since April,’’ he said.

The Garment and Allied Workers Union (Gawu) has accused M & S of colluding with Viva Global’s violation of labour laws for the past six years. “Had they acted in time, things would not have been so bad,” said Rajeev Singh of Gawu.

Hundal said M&S had not placed any orders with Viva Global since May, “for commercial reasons”, but “has been working to help Viva and the union resolve this dispute, which is what the vast majority of Viva employees want”.

The strike was triggered by an alleged attack on workers by goons on August 25, followed by abduction and torture of a worker the same day. Since then, workers have been outside the factory gate, demanding to be allowed in, even as M&S has said there was no lockout. Hundal refused to comment on the abduction, saying, “It is a matter for the police and therefore we cannot comment’’.

Hundal said M&S sources from over 800 textile factories around the world and 92 in India and wherever they identified problems, “We work hard with our partners to address them...we never tolerate abuse in our supply chain”.

M&S admitted, however, that it had detected some problems in working conditions during its regular audits in April, regarding holidays and overtime, air quality and drinking water. “Since then, we have been working closely with the factory – visiting it 18 times with one of our teams based there every week. The compliance issues have been addressed and some of our recommendations have been accepted — like hiring a senior HR (personnel) manager for better relationship with workers, installing of 11 air coolers and two desert water coolers, etc,’’ Hundal said..

Asked if M & S had cancelled agreements with suppliers after detecting non-compliance with labour laws, he said the company had a network of regional compliance managers and “it is their role to conduct audits and factory visits, including unannounced visits, and follow through with corrective actions”.