Compliances Issues - Presentation

8/6/2019 Compliances Issues - Presentation

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Although the Uruguay round addressed

the issue of Technical Barriers to Trade

by introducing the Agreement on TBT,

but still it provides sufficient room to

impose quality standards, both product

specific and process specific.

FTB

SOCIAL COMPLIANCE ISSUES


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. Foreign Buyers provide theircode of conduct and the local Textile Industryhas to make compliance of their standards. The auditors deputed by the foreign

buyers verify the implementation status to qualify trade relationships. Mostly the

issues are derived from local and international Labor Laws Health and Safety

Standards and Environment Standards viz.

1. Child Labor 8. Disciplinary practices2. Forced & bonded labour. 9. Harassment and abuse

3. Health & Safety 10. Trans-shipments quota

verifications

4. Collective bargaining 11. Security concerns

5. Compensation and benefits 12. Custom compliance

6. Working hours. 13. Drug interdiction

7. Discrimination 14. Country of origin

Thus, slowly and steadily compulsion is taking form of business advantage.


FTB


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For social compliance the buyers under compulsion

from the pressure groups in their society asked the

supplier company in the developing as well as under

developed countries to comply with following law :-

Local Laws :

oLocal labour law.

oLocal Factory act.oLocal Environment Standards


FTB


4/17

Internationalinstrument:a. ILO conventions 29 and 105 (forced & bonded labour)

b. ILO conventions 87 (Freedom of Association)

c. ILO convention 98 (Right to collective Bargaining)

d. ILO conventions 100 and 111 (Equal remuneration for male and

female workers for works of equal value: Discrimination.

e. ILO convention 135 (workers representatives convention)

f. ILO convention 138 Recommendation 146 (Minimum Age

Recommendation)

g. ILO convention 59 (Vocational Rehabilitation &Employment/Disabled persons.

h. ILO convention 177 (Home work)

i. Universal Declaration of Human Rights

j. The United National Convention on the Rights of the Child.


FTB


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Product and process Standards: refer to the quality andspecification of a particular product and also processes.

Social Accountability: pertains to the responsibility of

manufacturers and industrialists to provide due social

protection to the workers including hygiene protection at the

work place, proper working environment etc.

Environment:- probably the broadest area imposing

restrictions on processes and certain intermediate processing

products which are detrimental to the overall environment.

Therefore, slowly and steadily compulsion is

taking form of business advantage.


FTB


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Problems of Value Added Textile Sector :

The problems of Value Added Textiles Sector

especially the (Knit & Woven) and Garment Export Industry

are little different from the industries which cater to home

market, they need to have separate labour laws as practicedby countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka who are very

strong in garment export. Thus they propose to amend the

following laws:

Condition of employment ordinance (the contract workers

to be incorporated) wages ordinance.Definition of contract workers to be incorporated and

different treatment of contract labour to be incorporated.


FTB


7/17

They have proposed amendment in theclause of condition of employment act/wages act and

to incorporate appropriate definition of contract work

men engaged on club salary basis as under :-

1. The said provision is requested to be added as

them (ii) in section (4) sub section (n) of proposed

condition of Employment Ordinance 2002 as

under : Contract basis individually or through acontractor on the basis of club salary which includes

all benefits accruable to him as defined in the wages

ordinance 2002.


FTB


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The second change is connected with

daily, weekly hours and overtime. In section:14, the

No. of daily working hours be increased to 12 instead

of 9 and weekly hours be increased to 72 instead of

60. However, overtime hours will be calculated on

weekly basis after completion of 48 hours of regular

work/week The above change is being requested to

make overtime hours more flexible/day/week to

enable employee to earn more and also to meet the

compliance conditionality of the buyers.


FTB


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Section: 12 regarding weekly holiday. Thecondition that every establishment shall remain entirely closed

for one day/week be replaced with one day leave per week to

every worker, for the industry running round the clock

continuously. Sub section:4 of section:12 be made non

applicable to club salary contract/piece rate workers as

suggested above.

The spread over hours be also increased to 12 in

both winter and summer case of adult workmen in section:17.

Section:13: Sub section:4 women workers be

allowed to work up to 10 p.m. on two shift basis with opening

of establishment from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. provided transport

facility for out going at 10 p.m. is made available to all womenworkers.


FTB


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Conclusions :

y The subject ofNon-Tariff Barriers currently appears

to have no clear cut demarcation and there exist a lot of

grey areas.

y The agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade

(T.B.T.) in WTO clearly says that market access can or

should only be restricted through imposition of standards

based on scientific findings and rationale. Practically the

developed countries are at freedom to immediately imposetrade restrictions even to investigate a particular case or an

export consignment.


FTB


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y Over the past few years numerous measures have

been adopted by the developed countries that have put

extra pressure on the firms in under- developed

countries to comply with environment & health

standards.

y There is need to develop awareness amongst all

the stakeholders about the Social Health - Safety

and Environment related issues, the local &

international laws and a commitment to comply with

required standards.


FTB

Conclusions ( cont..):


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y The Government Deptts/Ministries/Institution have to

synergies their thinking policies & action plans to meet the up

coming global requirements and develop clearly spelled out

laws facilitating industry to become compliant to W.T.O./ILOregulations on one hand & remain as competitive global

player on the other.

y Establishment of regulatory and institutional infrastructure

for the protection of environment in the country is a step in the

right direction but an integrated approach with concrete

development programme is needed.


FTB



13/17

y The industry mostly exists as SMEs and is likely to face

difficulties in complying with social and environment

regulations. These SMEs are not in a position to comply with

any of the present local Social Environmental Laws, because of

their existing contractual system of production to achieve productivity levels. Similarly the processing industry also is

unable to meet the high cost of water treatment plants.

y The Provincial Government and City Govt. should take

initiative to develop Wastewater Treatment Plants oncooperative basis or alternatively can recover the cost over a

certain period of time from the industry. The treated water should

not be used for agriculture and not thrown in the usual disposal

mullahs.


FTB



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Recommendations:

1. The Industrial Relation Ordinance Factories Act

Condition of Employment Act etc. be amended by Ministry of

Labour & Manpower in consultation with the select

Committee representing Textile Sub-Sector in synergy withfuture trading environment.

2. The regulations concerning environment effluent

disposal laws and relevant procedures for industry need to bestandardized. Federal Environment Division should take

initiative & standardize regulations in consultation with

Provincial Governments and Stake-holders on environment.


FTB


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3. An awareness campaign be launched at

Federal & Provincial level to develop awareness on

Compliance of Social Health Safety and

Environment Standards amongst the Stake-holders.

4. Pakistan Compliance Initiative as a

body needs patronage & Support by Federal &

Provincial Governments to develop awareness andbuild a credible programme for verifying the integrity

of the supply chain in Pakistan in line with globally

recognized standards.


FTB

Recommendations ( cont.):


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5. Government functionaries (Labour Environment

Health etc.) should be educated to understand the future rules

for trade and their role should be re-defined to synergies with

the national approach of industrialization and export

promotion rather than restrictive archaic & regulative.

6. The processing industry needs to be facilitated by

development of concrete Environment Compliance

Programmes as the industry mostly exists as SMEs and likely

to face difficulties in complying with environment

regulations. The reasons include lack of awareness, lack of

compliance capacity due to limited managerial capability,

lack of technical know how and most importantly limited

financial resources.


FTB



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7. The Provincial Government and City

Govt. should take initiative to develop

Wastewater Treatment Plants on cooperativebasis or alternatively can recover the cost over a

certain period of time from the industry. The

treated water should be sued for agriculture and

not thrown in the usual disposal nullahs.


FTB


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Compliances Issues - Presentation