Asos signs workers' rights deal

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Oct 3, 2017

Asos is strengthening its commitment to protect workers' rights across the supply chain by teaming up with IndustriALL, the world’s largest sectorial trade union organisation.

The organisations have signed a global framework agreement, marking the first time an e-commerce brand commits an agreement of this kind.

IndustriALL, which represents 50 million workers in 140 countries, will help Asos establish a framework for protecting the interests of factory workers producing its own-brand products in countries around the world.

The British e-commerce company has 612 Tier 1 factories in 25 countries, with over 88% of its suppliers located in Bulgaria, China, India, Romania, Turkey and the UK.

“This landmark global framework agreement is a signal of our intent to ensure that everyone working in our supply chain feels safe and respected by their employers and fellow workers. This can only be achieved if employees have the right to organise and bargain collectively, and the ability to ensure improved employment conditions are consistently implemented,” said Asos CEO Nick Beighton.

The partnership will focus on establishing common strategies on a country-by-country basis, developing methodologies to assess the impact of purchasing practices at worker level and implementing confidential worker hotlines.

Asos and IndustriALL will also combine their existing social initiatives such as Asos’ gender empowerment programme and IndustriALL’s worker rights training.

Valter Sanches, IndustriALL General Secretary, said: “This agreement provides mechanisms and standards to empower our unions to safeguard workers’ rights across Asos’s global supply chain. The [global framework agreement] deepens our relationship with Asos, and is an important step for supply chain industrial labour relations.”

The collaboration with IndustriALL expands Asos’s efforts to support factory workers across its supply chain. The online fashion company is a member of the Ethical Trade Initiative, participates in the Action, Collaboration and Transformation initiative and published a list of its Tier 1 global factories earlier this year to provide more transparency.