Company profile: Palmers Textil AG
Headquarters: Wiener Neudorf
Country: Austria
Founded in: 1914
Total points of sale in Europe: 310
Owned by: Since 2004 owned by 2 institutional investor groups. Quadriga Capital/Lead Equities
Name of CEO: Thomas Weber, CEO
Product description: lingerie, beachwear, hosiery, nightwear, homewear for women and men
Countries of production: China (People's Republic of China), Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, Austria, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Slovenia
General remark: Subsidiaries included in Palmers CSR-Management system: Helena West Ltd. (Hong Kong)
Palmers Textil AG
Palmersstraße 6 - 8
2351 Wiener Neudorf
infoservice(at)palmers.at
Comment from CCC and proposals for action
Palmers is an Austrian company producing underwear and beachwear mainly in Asia and Europe. They filled in the questionaire and had a meeting with CCC-Austria. Regarding formal commitments to labour standards they have all ILO core conventions included in their General Delivery Instructions but not very detailed. The suppliers have to warrant these provisions by their signature. Further social responsibility and monitoring mechanisms are under development.
The CCC-Austria demands to introduce and implement the full CCC Code of Conduct and independent monitoring from Palmers.
Take action: Support the demands for implementing the CCC Code of Conduct and independent monitoring of the supply chain. See sample letter: http://www.cleanclothes.at/start.asp?ID=11345&b=1021
The following evaluation of the company’s performance in terms of transparency, code implementation and monitoring of labour standards is based on the company’s response to the questionnaire from the CCC and on an additional desk study conducted by the CCC in 2007. In the section “Recent developments” you can find additional information gathered after 2007.
Transparency
Palmers Textil AG has responded to the CCC-questionnaire and has provided some additional documents. The company is in dialogue with some NGOs and trade unions. The amount of salaries of the top management is not known. The information given about producer countries and the structure of the supply chain is not comprehensive. There is no sustainability report available. Palmers Textil AG provides neither the results of factory audits nor information about verification activities. General targets for future monitoring activities and for improving respect of labour rights in the facilities used are formulated on the basis of social audit outcomes.
Formal commitment to labour standards
Palmers Textil AG has adopted a code of conduct that requires compliance with all relevant local labour laws, but does not indicate that where local and international standards are at variance the higher standard should prevail. The code does not include a reference to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The company is formally committed to respecting minimum labour standards. The company does not make the code mandatory for all workplaces where its products are made. Palmers Textil AG’s code of conduct applies to all workers affected by labour practices for which the company has some measure of responsibility. The code of conduct includes measures to implement the code and monitor labour conditions in the facilities used. The company is neither committed to wages in accordance with living wage principles nor with minimum wage legislation. There are no restrictions on the number of working hours per week. The company explicitly requires that all workers receive a regular employment contract. The company code is not precise enough on some specific issues. It does not state its commitment in relation to*:
- The provision of transitional measures that will be in the interest of the child and of her/his family where child labour is found;
- special provisions for workers under 18 years of age (e.g. education, no night work);
- prohibiting the retention by employers of security deposits or identity papers;
- payment of overtime at a premium rate.
- guaranteeing a living wage during regular working hours without overtime.
- prohibiting physical abuse, threats of physical abuse, unusual punishments or discipline, sexual and other forms of harassment as well as intimidation by the employer.
- ending the worst forms of child labour with explicit reference to ILO core-convention 182.
Code implementation and purchasing practices
The company has not disclosed a code of conduct whether its code of conduct has been translated into the languages of any of the countries it is sourcing from. There is no evidence that training on labour rights issues is promoted by Palmers Textil AG. According to the information given Palmers Textil AG has no intention to implement the payment of living wages to workers. According to the information available, some of the production sites are in countries or zones where freedom of association is not guaranteed by law. Palmers Textil AG takes, to some extent, the impact of its own purchasing practices into account. It has established some procedures which show how to improve planning and prevent excessive overtime. There are no provisions to give buyers positive incentives to reward better working conditions.
Monitoring and Verification
The company is not a member of any business initiative. There is nothing known to CCC about monitoring results. The company is not involved in independent verification by a multi-stakeholder approach.
Violations of labour rights and public conflicts
There are no public urgent appeals from CCC calling on Palmers Textil AG to take responsibility for workers’ rights violations in its supply chain.
Recent developments
n.a.