The Alexander Report

The Mr Price Group Limited Importing Apparel from Myanmar (Burma)

South Africa. The Mr Price Group Limited, a large clothing retailer in South Africa is importing apparel from Myanmar. The discovery made by the author has found women’s long sleeve shirts retailing at Mr Price with a “Made in Myanmar” label. In response to the quota restrictions on Chinese clothing imports South African retailers said that they would be forced to find alternative suppliers – discovering that one of these alternative suppliers is Myanmar is very disturbing considering the blatant human rights and labour violations that take place in a country that is governed by a Military Junta.

The Clothing Industry in Myanmar

The clothing sector in Myanmar, which is known for its extremely poor working conditions, is a vital industry earning approximately US$400m in exports in 2001/2[1] According to research the average weekly hours spent in the factory by a worker in the garment industry is 60 hours. Copies of 2006 salary slips from workers in the garment industry reflect that the average monthly wage including overtime can vary between US$ 14.00 to US$ 36.00. For a worker to earn +- US$ 36.00 per month they need to put in nearly 157 hours over time.[2] In 2000 it was reported that there were over 300 export orientated garment companies in Myanmar employing in the region of 120 000 people.

In July 2004, the military government introduced a new law to regulate labour in factories that employ over 100 workers. The government established the “Workers’ Supervision Committees”(WSC). This comprises of four representatives elected by the workers but chaired by the factory owner. There is a very stringent set of rules regulating how the workers and the owner can deal with any grievances but during the negotiations the workers have to continue to work and no activity inside or outside the factory is permitted and if protest does take place action is taken against the workers by the government. [3]

In early January, 2007 about 200 workers from one garment factory in Myanmar protested against the long working hours. Workers in this particular garment factory, “MYANMAR YES”, are forced to work from 07h00-17h00 with only a thirty minute break. They then begin a daily overtime shift from 17h30 to 20h30. The owners of the factory threatened the workers with immediate dismissal if they continued with their illegal protests.

South African Responsibility

The South African retailer, Mr Price Group Limited has over 750 stores across Southern Africa. Its recent financials show that retail sales were “up 23% = R2.7 billion” and operating profits “up 25% totaling R209 million.[4] Its financials for the year 2006 show a Rand value of 589 981 profit before taxation.[5] The Mr Price Group has a corporate responsibility to inform its consumers why they are importing from Myanmar. The Mr Price Group should make available for scrutiny and independent verification its Model of Conduct – confirming that their supplier or suppliers from Myanmar are meeting the International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards. This argument opens up discussion that maybe there needs to be a reevaluation of labeling in garments where consumers are able to verify the conditions under which the clothing was made.

In response to an enquiry about their importing from Myanmar, Mr. Stuart Bird, the Managing Director of the Mr Price Group Limited said the following:

Mr Price has a supplier who purchases from Myanmar (as do other SA retailers). Members of our Quality Assurance Department recently visited the factories that our supplier is using, all of which have a high standard of labour practice (including adhering to the minimum wage legislation) and good staff morale. In addition, we continue to monitor their adherence through regular visits to our supplier’s factories.

It is common knowledge within the clothing industry that when “Quality Assurance teams” visit factories that the factory being visited takes responsive measures to reflect a positive and favorable showing for their visitors. The factories Mr Price are using in Myanmar maybe “adhering to minimum wage legislation” but whose? The going wage rate in Myanmar is extremely low by international standards. Furthermore, what is “good staff morale?” According to investigations into the labour conditions of Myanmar’s clothing industry staff have very little voice or unbridled representation. They may show “good staff morale” because they have no alternative if they wish to retain their jobs.

It is imperative that the South African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (SACTWU) investigate this further and bring pressure on the retailer or retailers to stop importing from Myanmar. Mr. Patrick Craven, the National Spokesperson, for the Congress of South African Trade Unions, said in January 2007:

The government [South African] should support the call for credible, internationally coordinated sanctions being imposed [against the Myanmar government], as civil rights groups in many parts of the world have been demanding. The international community has a special responsibility to apply pressure in the way it did against apartheid South Africa.

Therefore, in principal even though the South African government does not impose sanctions on Myanmar, the Mr Price Group in the wake of high unemployment in the South African clothing sector and the forced closure of many South African clothing manufacturers, and its stand on labour rights has an ethical responsibility to not import apparel from Myanmar.

Unless South African consumers independently and collectively take action, the retailer will continue to import from Myanmar, with the possibility of other South African retailers following suite. According to the response from Mr Price, this is already happing. Civil social activism by consumers incorporating multilayered stakeholder participation can and has had positive influences on the buying behavior of retailers. A case in point is the decision by Icelandic company Baugur to withdraw a range of clothing imported from Myanmar from its high street fashion store MkOne in the United Kingdom in March 2007 after consumers informed the media about the clothing range. Even though many UK retailers say they “boycott Burmese merchandise”, consumer awareness campaigners believe that “false labels” are often sewn onto the garments to detract any negativity the retailers may receive from activist and the media.[6] The issue of false labeling is claimed to occur as well in South Africa.

There is an argument in academia that retailers like the Mr Price Group provides an opportunity for the middle class and poorer South African consumers to purchase contemporary fashion designs at very affordable prices. This may be so but even the industry and consumers in 2006 at the Cape Town Fashion Festival awarded the Mr Price Group with the “Proudly Chinese Award.” The award was given to draw attention to the high level of imports by this retailer. This is not the first time that the Mr Price Group has received criticism. In 2003, a report revealed that factories both in South Africa and in other Southern African countries producing for the retailer had very poor working conditions. The report identified “compulsory overtime, poverty wages, verbal and physical abuse, humiliating body searches and violations of workers rights to freedom of association.”[7]

Why should the Mr Price Group not import from Myanmar? Because doing business with Myanmar will not bring any benefits to the workers in the garment industry. Nearly all earning from foreign investment is directed to the elite military ruling class. The attraction for retailers like the Mr Price Group is the extremely cheap labour, lack of labour regulations and the means to make profit when retailing to South African consumers at the expense of the workers who produce the clothing.

Researcher Renato Palmi can be contacted at:
ReDress©
Research, Business Development, Publisher:
Clothing, Textile, Fashion and NGO Sector
PO Box 52006, Berea Road 4007
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Tel: 031 -2616096. Cell: 083 943 0235
Email: yakshack@iafrica.com
http://redressconsultancy.blogspot.com

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[1] Free Burma Campaign.

[2] Federation of Trade Unions – Burma

[3] International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

[4] Mr Price Group Limited – financials accessed June 2007

[5] Mr Price Group Limited – financials accessed June 2007

[6] The Observer, 19 May 2007

[7] “Inside Out – South African Fashion Designers’ Sewing Success”, Renato Palmi, 2007