American brand stops procuring from Lankan firm

08 Aug '12

2 min read

Leading US apparel retailer J.Crew has cancelled all its future production orders with the Sri Lankan company Mirrai Pvt Limited. It is believed that the U.S retailer’s decision to cease future production orders was a consequence of the Sri Lankan manufacturer’s failure to rectify labour rule violations.

According to experts’ opinion, the main reasons behind the fallout were Mirrai’s attempt to crack down on its employees last year and later the company’s indifference towards the violations.

Though the Free Trade Zones and General Services Employees Union (FTZGSEU) tried to initiate dialogues between the company and its workers, the problems could not be resolved because of the firm’s apathy towards taking part in the dialogues. After that the union tried to knock the door of the labour authorities, but that also did not solve the issues.

J.Crew examined and validated the accusations that Mirrai actually did not have the essential management systems that are expected from a firm doing business globally. To rectify the problem, J.Crew asked for the company’s cooperation in taking measures to correct the violations and deficiencies.

However, Mirrai failed to take steps towards the essential improvements. And this inability to follow the code of conduct has cost the company all its future production orders from the US retailer.

Meanwhile, the Industrial Global Union has criticized the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) for accusing the union for order cancellations. It has urged the EFC to focus on addressing the core issues liking respecting labour rights in order to establish feasible and sustainable trade relationships in the future.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India