Centexsa

In January 2022, the Solidarity Center of the AFL-CIO filed a complaint with the WRC on the illegal dismissals of nine workers at Centexsa in response to their exercise of freedom of association. The WRC contacted the parent company, the Korean multinational corporation SAE-A, which agreed to make offers of reinstatement and payment of back wages. The company also agreed to additional remedial actions, including a statement on freedom of association, engagement of an ombudsperson, and other commitments.

In a separate complaint filed in June 2022 by the Sitracentexsa union regarding violations of sexual harassment, the WRC found that a departmental manager at the Centexsa factory had sexually harassed two women workers over extended periods of time and, after these workers rejected his advances, retaliated against them by having them suspended or fired.

The WRC engaged with Centexsa management and with the buyers Hanesbrands and Carhartt and the factory ultimately agreed to implement all of the WRC’s recommended corrective actions. This included dismissal of the harassing manager, reparations for the workers who were targets of the harassment, and the development, in coordination with the factory’s union, of a protocol to address gender-based violence and harassment in the workplace and a committee to address future instances of sexual harassment that may occur.

Read More:

• WRC Findings Recommendations and Company Response at Centexsa (Guatemala) – January 25, 2023
• Overcoming a History of Violence: Intervention with Collegiate Supplier in Guatemala Secures Rapid Remediation – February 4, 2022