1. SOCIAL COMPLIANCE ISSUES
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

2. SOCIAL COMPLIANCE ISSUES
. Foreign Buyers provide their code of conduct and the local Textile Industry has 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 practices
2. Forced & bonded labour. 9. Harassment and abuse
3. Health & Safety Trans-shipments quota verifications
4. Collective bargaining 11. Security concerns
5. Compensation and benefits 12. Custom compliance
6. Working hours Drug interdiction
7. Discrimination Country of origin
Thus, slowly and steadily compulsion is taking form of business advantage.
FTB

3. SOCIAL COMPLIANCE ISSUES
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 :
Local labour law.
Local Factory act.
Local Environment Standards
FTB

4. SOCIAL COMPLIANCE ISSUES
International instrument :
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

5. SOCIAL COMPLIANCE ISSUES
Product and process Standards: refer to the quality and specification 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

6. SOCIAL COMPLIANCE ISSUES
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 practiced by 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. SOCIAL COMPLIANCE ISSUES
They have proposed amendment in the clause 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 a contractor on the basis of club salary which includes all benefits accruable to him as defined in the wages ordinance 2002”.
FTB

8. SOCIAL COMPLIANCE ISSUES
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

9. SOCIAL COMPLIANCE ISSUES
Section: 12 regarding weekly holiday. “The condition 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 women workers.
FTB

10. SOCIAL COMPLIANCE ISSUES
Conclusions :
·        The subject of Non-Tariff Barriers currently appears to have no clear cut demarcation and there exist a lot of grey areas.
·        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 impose trade restrictions even to investigate a particular case or an export consignment.
FTB

11. SOCIAL COMPLIANCE ISSUES
Conclusions ( cont…..):
·        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.
·        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

12. SOCIAL COMPLIANCE ISSUES
Conclusions ( cont…..):
·        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./ILO regulations on one hand & remain as competitive global player on the other.
·        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. SOCIAL COMPLIANCE ISSUES
Conclusions ( cont…..):
·        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.
·        The Provincial Government and City Govt. should take initiative to develop Wastewater Treatment Plants on cooperative 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

14. SOCIAL COMPLIANCE ISSUES
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 with future trading environment.
2.                  The regulations concerning environment – effluent disposal laws and relevant procedures for industry need to be standardized. Federal Environment Division should take initiative & standardize regulations in consultation with Provincial Governments and Stake-holders on environment.
FTB

15. SOCIAL COMPLIANCE ISSUES
Recommendations ( cont…. ) :
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 and build a credible programme for verifying the integrity of the supply chain in Pakistan in line with globally recognized standards.
FTB

16. SOCIAL COMPLIANCE ISSUES
Recommendations ( cont…. ) :
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

17. SOCIAL COMPLIANCE ISSUES
Recommendations ( cont…. ) :
7.                  The Provincial Government and City Govt. should take initiative to develop Wastewater Treatment Plants on cooperative basis 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