Menderes Tekstil

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What they produce

Bed linens for the home

Who owns in

Riza Akca; more information is available at www.menderes.com

Who they produce for

IKEA, Walmart, Carrefour, Horizante, Mothercare, Otto, Ibena, Tchibo, Sears, Target and Kohl's

Location

Denizili, Turkey

Number of workers

3,800 workers

Summary of Problems at the Factory

Unsafe working conditions that has resulted in the deaths of four workers.
Unfounded dismissals of workers connected with the labor union at the factory.
Denial of workers’ right to freedom of association
Harassment of workers, former workers, and their employed relatives

Union Information

In March 2008, workers began to affiliate with TEKSIF, the textile workers union in turkey which is affiliated with the international union ITGLWF.

Communication with Buyers:

Menderes' main international clients have known about the problems at the factory for months but the only actions they have taken is to deny the problems, conduct investigations while refusing to release the results, or promise to take action on the matter, only to drag their feet. In doing so, they are also not living up to their own ethical codes of conduct.

ILRF has been working with our European allies and the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) to support the factory workers and the union. The labor union TESKIF requested that ILRF get involved and work to specifically communicate with brands in the United States which include IKEA, Walmart, Target, and Kohl's. The CCC in Europe and its trade union partners approached Menderes' primary buyer IKEA multiple times over the last months, but the furniture giant has not taken sufficient measures to solve the problems. IKEA commissioned an audit into the labor conditions at Menderes Tekstil, and concluded that there are no major labor problems at the factory. Although the CCC was never given a chance to view the audit report, the campaign has in the past raised serious concerns about the use of industry-commissioned audit reports that often lead to biased conclusions.

Carrefour in France and Belgium and Otto, Ibena and Horizonte from Germany initially responded to appeals by the CCC and its union partners to take action on the case. The US-based companies Wal-Mart, Target and Kohl's were similarly approached by ILRF. All have dragged their feet for months now, promising measures that seem more aimed at buying time than at effectively dealing with the problems at their Turkish supplier. Target has been communicating directly with the union at the factory which is extremely important in making sure they have the necessary information to take further action. Wal-Mart and Target recently signed onto a letter with Carrefour and Mothercare but unfortunately the letter essentially suggests that the buyers support the factory's current handling of the situation.

The UK-based Mothercare household retailers have taken constructive steps in addressing the problems, but they are not acting with the level of urgency required.

Demands

Reinstate all workers who have been unfairly dismissed
Cease the anti-union campaign and provide workers with a guarantee that the company will respect their internationally recognized right to organize and bargain collectively.
Review the company’s management principles and adopt proper occupational health and safety, disciplinary and grievance handling mechanisms.
Sit down with Teksif to discuss a restructuring plan (including dismissals) based on fair and objective criteria.
Hold a multistakeholder meeting to discuss all the above.