Posted on 11/01/2003 11:46:55 AM PST by Rams82
Honduran Officials Defend Diddy
by Josh Grossberg Oct 31, 2003, 10:30 AM PT
Is P. Diddy's sweatshop scandal just a bunch of puffery?
Officials in Honduras certainly think so, saying they've found no evidence so far to support claims by a workers' rights group that a factory that makes Sean Combs' signature clothing line has violated that country's labor laws.
On orders from President Ricardo Maduro to launch an investigation, Honduras' Labor Minister, German Leitzelar, conducted a tour of the Southeast Textiles factory in Choloma with a group of inspectors, according to wire reports. Leitzelar found no proof of the slave-like conditions alleged by the U.S.-based National Labor Committee, an anti-sweatshop advocacy group.
"I think things have been overblown," Leitzelar told reporters at a press conference following the inspection. "If there are any irregularities, they are not like what was contained in the accusations."
The NLC issued a report on Tuesday alleging numerous abuses and horrible working conditions at the facility. The report was based on interviews with employees, who claimed they are berated and intimidated by managers, forced to undergo body searches by armed guards, subjected to long hours with no overtime pay, prohibited from talking and required to get a bathroom pass when they have to go. Female employees were allegedly given mandatory pregnancy tests and fired if the tests were positive. Unions were barred. The average worker makes 24 cents for each $50 Sean Jean T-shirt or sweatshirt they sew.
Also, the NLC said the factory's conditions were substandard. Per the report, the bathrooms were filthy and water provided for drinking wasn't fit for consumption, with bacterial levels 1500 percent higher than those allowed under national law.
But the Honduran officials, perhaps wary of losing foreign investment, immediately dispatched their investigators, who have adamantly denied the charges.
"We visited the place to find out the truth," said Leitzelar. "On Monday, we'll present a formal report on the situation." It was not immediately clear if Leitzelar actually spoke with employees.
The factory's owner, Steve Hawkins of North Carolina, along with the head of Honduras' assembly plant industry, also refuted the sweatshop charges.
The NLC on Friday called the labor minister's inspection--and motivations--suspect.
"For the last two years, this company hasn't even been paying into this country's social security system. Why wouldn't the minister of labor be able to explain why they have avoided this?" " said NLC director Charles Kernaghan. "Even as ineffective as shop visits are, they should have been able to find these violations...and speak with workers in a safe location.
"These workers are trapped in poverty [and] surrounded by arm guards and now if they dare speak out they're called traitors and terrorists. It shows you exactly how little voice the workers have."
For his part, P. Diddy held his own press conference earlier this week saying his company was in the dark about any wrongdoing and promised to launch his own investigation into the matter.
It seems unlikely the hip-hop mogul knew about any sweatshop conditions, especially given his support for various charities.
Combs spent more than 16 hours on New York radio station WQHT where he received more than $250,000 in pledges for his "Diddy Runs the City" initiative, in which he plans to run the New York Marathon on Sunday to raise at least $1 million for local children's charities.
"I feel blessed that companies and individuals alike have out to support me in my efforts," Diddy said. "I was especially thrilled that the people of New York came out in full force to pledge for the radio telethon. By supporting me, they in turn are supporting all the children of New York."
Meanwhile, in other sweatshop news, a bunch of activist-minded musicians, including Chrissie Hynde, Billy Bragg and Chumbawumba, have banded together to form Musicians Against Sweatshops (MASS).
Artists who belong to MASS have committed to buying their merchandise from union shops and worker-owned cooperatives and are encouraging fans to visit a virtual mall set up at NoSweatshop.org, which offers downloadable songs and sweatshop-free goods.
MASS' organizers are now urging Diddy to sign up.
"I can't think of a better opportunity for him and other musical artists to unite for justice and fight for the rights of exploited workers," said No Sweat Apparel founder, Adam Nieman.
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