Charles Arthur, Leiter der Londoner Haiti Support Group schrieb diesen Brief am 30.Juni 2004 an Michael Kobori, den zuständigen der Firmenleitung von Levi Strauss für deren "Code of Conduct".

Anlass des Schreibens sind Vorfälle im Kontraktunternehmen Grupo M, das in der haitianischen CODEVI-Freihandelszone für Levi Strauss produziert. Kobori hatte im Mai 2004 einen Brief an die HSG geschrieben, worin er betont hatte, dass eine frühere Kritik der Gruppe, die Entlassung von 34 Mitgliedern der Sokowa-Gewerkschaft in Grupo M von Levi Strauss entsprechend seinem "Code of conduct" positiv für die Beschäftigten gelöst worden sei.

Seitdem aber, schreibt Charles Arthur, habe sich die Lage im Unternehmen ständig verschlechtert, sowohl was Einschüchterung als auch Arbeitsintensität betrifft. Deswegen kam es am 4.Juni 2004 zu einem einstündigen Warnstreik bei Grupo M - als Reaktion darauf rief die Geschäftsleitung die Armee, die die streikenden Arbeiter aus der Freihandelszone entfernen sollte. Als Reaktion darauf wiederum gab es am 7.Juni einen eintägigen Streik aller Beschäftigten - auf den die Firmenleitung von Grupo M am 11.Juni mit der Entlassung von 350 KollegInnen - etwa die Hälfte der Belegschaft - reagierte. Seitdem wurden weitere Beschäftigte entlassen, die Armee ist nach wie vor im Betrieb und die Geschäftsleitung weigert sich, mit der Gewerkschaft zu verhandeln, sondern will die Annahme neuer Arbeitsbedingungen von den restlichen Beschäftigten erpressen.

Nach dieser Schilderung fordert Arthur den Levi Strauss Vertreter auf, seinen Status als Hauptkunde von Grupo M auszunutzen - sowohl in der haitianischen CODEVI Zone, als auch in der benachbarten Dominikanischen Republik, wo Grupo M ebenfalls Fabriken betreibt - um die Umsetzung des "Code of Conduct" zu gewährleisten, dessen Verletzung dem Ansehen von Levi Strauss schade...

Grupo M: the violation of workers' rights in Haiti -an open letter to Levi Strauss & Co

June 30th, 2004

To: Michael Kobori, Director, Global Code of Conduct, Levi Strauss & Co. California, USA

Dear Mr Kobori,
The Haiti Support Group - an organisation of individuals based in the United Kingdom which has been working alongside grassroots organisations representing the Haitian majority since 1992 - is writing to you to express our very grave concerns regarding the behaviour of your supplier, Grupo M, at the Codevi free trade zone in Haiti.

As you know, we have for some years been active in support of Haitian workers' rights to organise and to bargain collectively. These rights are - we are very pleased to see - clearly enshrined as key employment standards in your company's 'Global Sourcing and Operating Guidelines'. We were greatly encouraged to receive your letter, dated May 5th 2004, in which you informed us that you had helped achieve a "positive resolution", following the arbitrary dismissal of 34 members of the Sokowa union at the beginning of March. You told us that in April your supplier at Codevi, Grupo M, had reinstated all the dismissed Sokowa union members, had enhanced the right of employee freedom of association, had begun to establish a dialogue with the Sokowa union leadership, and had agreed to the monitoring of labour relations by a team of independent observers.

However, since that letter, the situation has seriously deteriorated. During the month of May, the independent observers noted relentless increases in daily production quotas, the intimidation, provocation, and humiliation of workers by the factory management and, towards the end of the month, the establishment of a "climate of terror"on the factory floor. Mr Kobori, we are inclined to accept the veracity of these claims because two of the three-person monitoring team which made them had been selected by the Grupo M management itself! In response to the above deterioration, and specifically in response to Grupo M's failure to adhere to agreements reached in April, the Sokowa union organised a one-hour warning strike on June 4th. The following day, Fernando Capellan, the Grupo M CEO arrived at the Codevi free trade zone to tell workers that the plant would probably be shut down. That afternoon, after another dispute had developed when factory managers had forcibly removed the t-shirts and ID badges from a group of women workers, the management called in the Dominican Army to expel workers from the free trade zone.

A full one-day strike took place on June 7th. Workers then agreed to return to work on June 8th despite the continuing presence of the Dominican Army on-site, because the Grupo M management had agreed to negotiate with the Sokowa union. However, instead of negotiating, over the next few days the management dismissed over 350 workers - nearly half of the entire workforce! Since then, we understand that Grupo M has continued to fire workers from the plant assembling Levi's jeans - a further 18 workers have been dismissed since the mass firing of June 11th. We are also informed that Grupo M is still refusing to negotiate with the union, either about the events of the last weeks or about the introduction of new working practices which workers are told to accept or be dismissed.

Mr Kobori, all the above is known to you, and we publicly call on the Levi Strauss Company to exert the appropriate pressure on your supplier, Grupo M, which is clearly not adhering to your 'Global Sourcing and Operating Guidelines'. We know that Grupo M runs extensive garment assembly operations in the Dominican Republic, and that the Levi Strauss Company sources jeans from there, as well as from Codevi in Haiti. It is therefore relatively easy for you, as a major customer, to apply pressure on Grupo M.

Your continued failure to do so is seriously damaging the Levi Strauss Company's international reputation. We await your reply with the shortest possible delay.

Yours sincerely,Charles Arthur, director, the Haiti Support Group, London, UK.