Bangladeshi boy takes vocational training following Fair Wear complaint

A 13-year old boy from Bangladesh is taking a vocational training following an FWF complaints procedure last year. The boy appeared in the Dutch documentary Slag om de Klerewereld.

The documentary Slag om de Klerewereld was first broadcasted on Dutch television on 9 January 2015. In the documentary, labels for FWF member Continental Clothing were found in a small label printing workshop in Dhaka where employees appeared to be younger than the legal working age. When FWF visited the workshop, also labels from Fristads Kansas Group were discovered.

Investigation

FWF, Continental Clothing and Fristads Kansas Group used the complaints procedure to investigate the matter and reported on the issue the same day. ‘If there are indeed underage workers involved, we will do whatever it takes to ensure their welfare’, Continental Clothing responded.

A plan was made to remediate the issues. After investigation, the boy was found and a suitable vocational training was arranged for him. The family got compensated for the loss of income for the duration of the training.
FWF’s Koen Oosterom went to Bangladesh last year and met with the boy and his father. Read an interview with Koen about the follow-up of this complaint here.