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Metro Ends Work with Bangladeshi Supplier

15/05/09May 15, 2009

Metro, Germany’s retail giant, has for the first time publicly commented on the death of a young woman, who died at one of its suppliers’ factories in Bangladesh probably because of overwork. At its annual shareholders' meeting this week, Chief Executive Eckhard Cordes expressed deep regret over the incident and announced that the company had ended collaboration with the supplier with immediate effect.

https://p.dw.com/p/LsRA
Metro AG is one of the largest retailers in the world
Metro AG is one of the largest retailers in the worldImage: picture-alliance/dpa

Fatema Akter died during her shift in a garment factory in the port city of Chittagong in December last year. Rights activists say the 18 year old woman was forced to work 13 to 15 hours a day and without holidays.

The US-based National Labour Committee released a report this week, which says Fatema was sick and exhausted on the day she died.

When she asked to be allowed to go home, her supervisor slapped her and forced her to continue working, the report added.

The committee also said that Fatema’s case was not an isolated incident. Overwork is common at the factory and workers are often abused and beaten by their superiors.

Nearly 80 percent of the garments produced at this particular factory were supplied to the German retail giant Metro Group.

No follow-up inquiry

Eckhard Cordes, the CEO of the Düsseldorf-based firm admitted this week at a shareholder meeting that there had been problems with the Bangladeshi supplier in the past too. “The supplier in Bangladesh did not work according to our high and mandatory social standards. This was shown in an independent inquiry in 2005,” said Cordes.

Following the investigation, the supplier was asked to rectify the problems immediately. The company, as per its own policy, was due to re-investigate the matter a year later in 2006.

But the follow-up did not take place, admitted Cordes to his shareholders:

"Our internal inquiry shows it was a simple case of human error within the firm. The follow-up inquiry simply did not happen."

‘Inadequate’ action

Metro has now taken action. It has terminated its contract with the garment supplier and the products, already made, have been removed from its collection. It has also announced that an in-house commission will investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of the young Bangladeshi woman.

However Maik Pflaum, one of a group of critical shareholder activists, says Metro's measures are inadequate. He insists that, particularly now, Metro should not turn away from the supplier.

"It is certainly wrong to end the collaboration. Metro needs to take responsibility, must try to repair the damage and should work together with the supplier in Bangladesh to ensure that such labour law violations do not take place in future."

Metro will analyse the whole incident by the end of May and will then take further action-- possibly also within the company.

Author: Disha Uppal
Editor: Grahame Lucas