Company profile: Waldviertler
Headquarters: Schrems
Country: Austria
Founded in: 1984
Total points of sale in Europe: 110
Owned by: Heinrich Staudinger
Name of CEO: Heinrich Staudinger, CEO
Product description: Shoes and bags are produced and sold under the name "Waldviertler"
Countries of production: Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary
General remark: The company is producing shoes in their own factory in Austria and selling them in 110 POS, that are partly owned by a subsidiary or are independent.
Waldviertler
Waldviertler Schuhwerkstatt GmbH Niederschremserstr.
4B 3943 Schrems
gea(at)gea.at
Comment from CCC and proposals for action
Waldviertler is a small Austrian company producing shoes and leather bags mainly in Austria. They filled in the questionaire and had several meetings with CCC-Austria. Regarding formal commitments to labour standards they are in the process of establishing a corporate constitution, which will include the ILO core conventions and human rights issues.
Take action: Send them an e-mail to Waldviertler supporting their process for labour standards commitments and transparency.
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
Waldviertler has responded to the CCC-questionnaire and has provided some additional documents. The company is in regular dialogue with NGOs, including the CCC. Some information is disclosed about turnover and profits. The salary of the CEO is known. Information is given about producer countries and the structure of the supply chain. A sustainability report is publicly available but it does not meet international reporting standards (GRI). Waldviertler 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
Waldviertler doesn't commit in a public document to respect the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the national law. The company has not adopted a code of conduct. Beyond the ILO Core Conventions, 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. No mention is made of a safe and hygienic environment for the workers who produce the company’s garments and/or sportswear. The company does not explicitly require that all workers receive a regular employment contract. *
Code implementation and purchasing practices
Owing to the lack of a code of conduct, it is doubtful whether minimum labour standards are promoted in the facilities used by the company. There is no evidence that training on labour rights issues is promoted by Waldviertler. Waldviertler provides some ideas about what constitutes a living wage in the different producing countries, but has no credible methodology for achieving it. According to the information available, all production sites are in countries or zones where freedom of association is guaranteed by law. Waldviertler takes into account the impact of its own purchasing practices. It has established procedures which show how to improve planning and prevent excessive overtime, and provides 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 Waldviertler to take responsibility for workers’ rights violations in its supply chain.
Recent developments
n.a.