Levi’s, a global brand known for standing up for ethical practices, is facing criticism after an independent labor monitoring group released a report accusing the company of ignoring its own labor standards. The report alleges that Levi’s continued working with a factory in Turkey that fired around 400 people last year after they joined a union and went on strike over pay and working conditions.
The factory in question, Ozak Tekstil, located in Turkey’s Sanliurfa region, exclusively produces jeans for Levi’s. Despite the mass firings, Levi’s continued sourcing jeans from the factory to avoid further job losses. However, the continuation of its relationship with the supplier depends on management’s fulfillment of a detailed remediation plan addressing freedom of association, working hours, and health and safety.
Seher Gulel, a former quality control worker at the factory, was paid Turkey’s minimum wage of about $15 a day and faced pressure, bullying, and insults from managers. Gulel joined a new union, Birtek-Sen, leading to her termination from the factory. This sparked hundreds of workers to walk off the job in protest. Despite Levi’s acknowledgment that the mass firings violated its supplier code of conduct, the factory did not reinstate all the fired workers.
Levi’s has faced criticism for its response to the situation, with the Worker Rights Consortium calling the company out for prioritizing cheap and fast production over workers’ rights. While most fired workers received severance payments, many are struggling to find new jobs and have been effectively blacklisted in a publicly accessible government database by the factory.
Both Levi’s and Ozak Tekstil have not responded to requests for comment on these issues. Critics are urging Levi’s to take further action to support the fired workers and uphold its commitment to ethical labor practices.
