WRC Report on TOS Dominicana (Dominican Republic)
| To: | Primary Contacts, WRC Affiliate Colleges and Universities |
| From: | Scott Nova |
| Date: | June 6, 2007 |
| Re: | WRC Report on TOS Dominicana (Dominican Republic) |
Click here to read a report detailing the findings and recommendations of the WRC’s compliance assessment of a factory known as TOS Dominicana. Located in the city of Bonao in the Dominican Republic, TOS Dominicana is owned and operated by Hanesbrands, Inc., and manufactures fabric, primarily for t-shirts. The fabric is sold to other garment manufacturers in the Dominican Republic and regionally, and is also used for Hanesbrands’ own line of blank t-shirts. Hanesbrands is a supplier to numerous university licensees.The WRC began our investigation of TOS Dominicana in late 2006 in response to complaints from a number of workers at the facility. During five separate assessment visits between October 2006 and May 2007, the WRC gathered extensive evidence through in-depth worker interviews, detailed review of relevant documentation, meetings with Dominican labor authorities, and analysis of Dominican labor and employment law.The assessment identified serious violations of domestic law and university codes of conduct by the factory, including forced and unpaid overtime, verbal harassment and abuse, the unlawful coercion of workers to sign employment contracts diminishing their rights and benefits, coercion of workers to sign complaint waivers forfeiting their right to bring grievances against the company, and the use of a range of illegal means to thwart workers’ efforts to exercise their associational rights.The WRC has notified Hanesbrands of our findings and provided a detailed review of their evidentiary basis. Unfortunately, to date, Hanesbrands has neither acknowledged that violations have occurred nor committed to take corrective action. The WRC hopes that Hanesbrands will reconsider this approach and direct TOS Dominicana to implement the necessary corrective measures in a timely fashion.We will update you on any developments in this case. Please feel free to contact me or my colleague Jeremy Blasi ([email protected]) should you have any questions or thoughts about this report. |
Scott Nova
Worker Rights Consortium
5 Thomas Circle NW
Washington DC 20005
ph 202 387 4884
fax 202 387 3292
[email protected]
www.workersrights.org