Remediation of Pervasive Sexual Harassment in Bangladesh (Colosseum)

We write to report the successful remediation of labor rights violations at a collegiate factory in Bangladesh. Below is a summary; you can read our full report here.

• The factory, Golden Refit Garments, has 3,300 workers and has been disclosed by Colosseum Athletics as a source of university logo goods bearing the names of more than 100 WRC-affiliated universities and colleges.
   
• Women workers were suffering pervasive sexual harassment, including managers yelling vulgar sexual insults and threats to humiliate workers for minor production errors and to intimidate them into working faster.
   
• We are not including examples of the abusive language used by managers in this summary, but you will find examples in our full report; a warning that you may find the language disturbing.
   
• Workers were also required to perform unpaid, off-the-clock work on a regular basis.
   
• Responding to a worker complaint, the WRC investigated workers’ allegations, verified and documented the violations, and identified essential remedies.
   
• We asked Colosseum to require the supplier to implement all necessary remedies; to its credit, Colosseum responded swiftly and agreed to do so.
   
• As a result:
  • Six managers responsible for sexual threats and insults are no longer employed at the factory;
  • Other managers have received final disciplinary warnings and have been placed on observation; they will be terminated if they harass workers again;
  • The factory has signed a binding MOU with a new worker organization (affiliated with a national union known as SGSF) to create robust mechanisms to protect workers from abuse going forward, including:
    • an independent grievance mechanism,
    • a permanent labor-management oversight body, and
    • training for all employees and managers by an independent foundation chosen by worker representatives; and
  • The factory has ended off-the-clock work and agreed to provide full back pay to all affected workers, equivalent to a week’s wages per employee.

A Golden Refit Worker who leads the new worker organization described the impact of these changes as follows: “Women workers at Golden Refit will now get the dignity and respect that we all deserve as human beings.”

As always, let us know if you have any questions.