ZARA has been accused of producing clothes in “degrading” Argentinian sweatshop conditions, following a new investigation. The mainly Bolivian employees said that they were made to work more than 13 hours a day and could not leave the factory without permission.
The inquiry – conducted by Argentina’s health and safety watchdog – focused on three factories, said to be supplying apparel to Zara Man, currently on sale in British stores. Many of the workers were immigrants and children, workers’ rights group La Alameda said. People at the factory were forced to start work at 7am and continue, without a break, until 11pm six days a week.
“We found men and children who lived in places where they worked,” said Juan Gomez Centurion, head of the country’s health and safety watchdog. “They were not registered and they were living in terrible conditions. They had no official documents and were held against their will, they were not allowed to leave their workplaces without permission.”
Zara has thus far denied the allegations, releasing the following statement this morning: “We are surprised by the allegations being made by La Alameda. Based on the limited information we have received so far, the workshops in question do not appear to have any relationship with our approved suppliers in Argentina.”
“We are keen to work with La Alameda to understand the substance of their allegations, but we have received no contact from them regarding these claims, nor have we had any contact or complaint from the Argentinian authorities.”
“Inditex has a zero tolerance approach to any infringement of labour regulations, and our Code of Conduct requires all suppliers to comply fully with all local laws. Our 60 suppliers in Argentina have been regularly audited, with more than 300 audits carried out by Inditex in the last two years.”
The Spanish high street chain previously faced criticism over its use of sweatshops in August 2011, after a Sao Paolo contractor was found to be employing workers in dangerous and unhealthy conditions.
“Vogue”
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