Southern Apparel Contractors (Tegra Global)

In 2022, the WRC found violations of freedom of association at Southern Apparel Contractors, a factory in Honduras owned by the US company, Tegra Global.

In April 2022, a national transportation shutdown resulted in the factory requiring its employees to “repay” a day of lost wages, which was in violation of the collective bargaining agreement signed between factory management and the workers’ union. In response, more than 200 workers organized a spontaneous work stoppage. The company responded to this collective action by suspending a group of five workers who it identified as having led the work stoppage.

The WRC found this action of retaliating against workers for exercising their right to collective protest over working conditions to have occurred in violation of Honduran law and, by extension, brand and university codes of conduct. The WRC recommendations, which were adopted by the factory, included reimbursement to the workers who were suspended without pay for one week, removal from these workers’ personnel records any disciplinary notices related to their participation in the work stoppage, and a freedom of association statement that was read aloud to all factory employees.

Read More:

• WRC Factory Assessment: Southern Apparel Contractors (Tegra Global): Findings, Recommendations, and Company Response – March 14, 2023