Joint solutions to address short-term contracts
The use of short-term contracts is common in the Cambodian textile industry. H&M wants the use of illegal short-term contracts to end, but we need to find solutions on an industry level. To be able to support the Cambodian textile industry to move away from the use of illegal short-term contracts, several stakeholders must work together. It requires joint efforts – from local and global trade unions, suppliers, organisations, brands and the Cambodian government.
In Cambodia, there is an ongoing, constructive dialogue aiming for long-term change in the entire industry. We are happy to be part of this dialogue, involving industry stakeholders such as suppliers and the global trade union IndustriALL.
We have also invited the organisations Fair Action and CENTRAL to a meeting together with other stakeholders in Cambodia to jointly discuss ways forward in adressing the illegal use of short-term contracts, but they have unfortunately not yet accepted the invitation. This is unfortunate, as it is an opportunity for everyone involved to discuss a reality that is far more complex than what you see at a first glance. A quick-fix is unfortunately not possible.
From H&M’s point of view, the illegal use of short-term contracts is a violation of our code of conduct (Sustainability Commitment). We support the legal use of employment contracts and require that the suppliers we work with follow national legislation and implement awards from Arbitration Council Foundation. Since 2015 – to further improve the protection of the employees at the suppliers – we require that workers employed for more than two years should have a contract valid for an unlimited time. In addition, we are also working together with a labour rights organisation and a global union to train local trade unions in national law and the importance of permanent employment contracts, to ensure that the conversion towards legal contract forms are anchored with worker representatives as well as the employers.