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Article

3 Sep 2007

Author:
Karen McVeigh, Guardian [UK]

The sweatshop high street - more brands under fire [UK]

[Primark and the Mothercare] launched inquiries last night into allegations that factory workers who make their clothes in India are being paid as little as 13p per hour for a 48-hour week…Gokaldas Export, which supplies brands including Marks & Spencer, Mothercare and H&M, confirmed that wages paid to garment workers were as low as £1.13 for a nine-hour day…Garment workers for factories owned by exporters who supply to Gap, Matalan and Primark, told the Guardian they were paid similar wages and regularly forced to work overtime…Texport Overseas, which supplies Gap and Matalan, denied that workers were forced to do overtime…In February, a young woman hanged herself in the toilets of one factory, Triangle Apparels, owned by Gokaldas Exports. A report by a number of Indian NGOS alleges that she was verbally sexually harassed and repeatedly refused permission for leave on the day she died…Gokaldas denies that she was verbally sexually harassed…A spokesman for Primark said that it took the allegations "very seriously". He added that it had initiated immediate audits of all supplier premises and would re-audit to ensure compliance if necessary. Mothercare also said it took the allegations seriously and would re-audit its two factories in India. H&M said the harassment and forced overtime alleged was "unacceptable" and it would forward the complaints to its suppliers…A statement from Gap said it regularly monitored suppliers…A spokesman for Marks & Spencer said the two Gokaldas factories it used paid the legal minimum wage in India…Matalan said its suppliers paid above the minimum wage for Bangalore. Two compliance audits carried out on Texport Overseas in the past two years had found no record of forced overtime. [also refers to Shalina Creations, Asda (part of Wal-Mart), Tesco]