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FAIR LABOR ASSOCIATION WELCOMES
RELEASE OF DEPT. OF LABOR’S WAGE STUDYMarch 3, 2000 - The Fair Labor Association (FLA) today welcomed the release of a study by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs on "Wages, Benefits, Poverty Line and Meeting Workers’ Needs in the Apparel and Footwear Industries of Selected Countries."
The Department’s study was requested by the FLA as part of its members' ongoing effort to address questions critical to the elimination of sweatshop practices. The report focuses on the apparel and footwear industries in 36 countries, including the United States, and addresses issues related to the minimum wage, the prevailing or average wage, non-wage benefits, measures of workers’ basic needs and the extent to which wages meet such needs.
Sam Brown, Executive Director of the FLA said, "The Department’s study marks the first time such comprehensive data has been compiled in one document. All participants in the FLA are committed to insuring fair treatment of workers, and this study provides us with valuable information with which to continue assessing the adequacy of wages and working conditions in manufacturing facilities here and abroad." Mr. Brown added, "The Department’s findings will be particularly useful information to put in the hands of monitors, including community organizations, as they begin the task of assessing corporate compliance with FLA standards."
The FLA believes that this study, and other efforts like it, will significantly advance public understanding of the global apparel and footwear industries. The FLA's Code of Conduct recognizes the importance of ensuring that wages meet employees' basic needs and requires employers to pay as a floor, at least, the minimum wage required by local law or the prevailing industry wage, whichever is higher, as well as to provide all legally mandated benefits. Building on the Labor Department's study, the FLA will continue to conduct research on the issue of wage levels and the needs of workers, in support of its members' commitment to ensure equitable pay and to respect the rights of employees to bargain collectively. This report is a very useful starting point for further research on these issues by academics, non-governmental organizations and others
Eleven prominent companies representing over $30 billion of manufacturing in the apparel and footwear industries have committed to abide by the FLA’s Code of Conduct and to have their factories independently monitored. The 134 member colleges and universities affiliated with the FLA have also agreed to abide by the Code and the requirements of the FLA, including independent monitoring of their licensees. In the coming months, the FLA will certify monitors and undertake the first independent monitoring of manufacturing facilities.