More than two hundred employees tested positive at a clothing factory that supplies Amazon, Gap and American Eagle
Last updated: Thu August 6, 2020 06.31 BST
A clothing factory that supplies Gap, American Eagle and Amazon in the midst of one of The worst Covid-19 epidemics in Guatemala, the Guardian reveals.
More than two hundred other people tested positive in Covid-19 at the KP Textil factory, revealing the terrible internal operating situations of the maquila formula in the country’s flexible industrial areas. At the time of the outbreak, the plant manufactured masks for export to the United States.
Human rights activists said KP Textil, on the outskirts of Guatemala City, did not have the conditioning and protection measures good enough to prevent an outbreak, control said it had closed the plant on 12 May after the first case of Covid-19 was detected. .
The next day, the factory denied full access to inspectors from the Ministry of Health and the Guatemalan Institute of Social Security (IGGS) on the grounds that the premises were privately owned and that the evidence would interfere with the production.
When an inspection was carried out on 14 May, 26 of a pattern of 32 staff members tested positive for Covid-19. The local mayor, supported through the Municipal Court of San Miguel Petapa, closed the plant indefinitely and declared a state of emergency in the municipality.
When the 900s were analyzed, 201 positive cases were reported. The virus outbreak continued to kill at least one KP Textil garment worker.
Speaking to the Guardian, Gap, American Eagle and Amazon said their suppliers had gained detailed commands on Covid-19 preparation and mitigation and were committed to the highest standards of hard work. American Eagle and Amazon expressed their regret at the death of the garment worker. Amazon said it had launched an investigation.
Despite KP Textil’s comments, no one responded. The Department of Labor declined to comment.
But in a radio interview in May, Rolando Reyes, by KP Textil, said: “We have been taking action since the beginning of March. We were among the first to adopt hygiene and protection protocols, to put into force the use of masks, hand sanitizer and others for all workers.
Luis Daniel Reyes, a workers’ advocate for Guatemala’s Office of The Attorney General, said: “KP Textil was the flagship of maquila for contagion. In Guatemala, the biggest and maximum infections occurred there, in KP Textil.”
Mayor Mynor Morales, whose San Miguel Petapa constituency is one of the most densely populated in the country, said: “When we did the [first] test, we learn that there is a world of inflamed people.
“When we closed KP Textil, they all went home. We follow the path to their families … in fact, there have been two deaths of other people’s relatives painting in maquila.
Maquiladora corporations operate in flexible industrial zones, where taxes and wages are intentionally low to attract foreign investment and multinational fashion brands. Zones are hubs for production industries that export to North America.
Across Central America, Maquila Solidarity Netpaintings estimates that another 390,000 people paint in loose industrial areas, adding about 60,000 in Guatemala, where almost 60% of the pictorial force is female, between 15 and 35 years old.
Despite the billions of dollars generated in the areas, Garment staff in Guatemala have been left vulnerable to coronavirus and cannot save in the event of illness or unemployment.
The minimum wage for the sector is 2,831 quetzals (330 euros) according to the month, unions report that some employees are paid only 181 euros. The minimum wage in Guatemala is 680 euros.
Only two maquilas in the country have industrial unions because attempts at syndication have met with violence and layoffs. The pandemic has revealed the brutal situations staff will have to endure.
“It has a butcher shop for poor maquiladoras,” said Luis Armando López, general secretary of the Central Confederation of Workers of Guatemala (CGTG). Most maquilas have not followed the physical conditioning measures imposed by the government, he said, adding that staff will have to buy their own hand masks and disinfectants.
None of those contacted through the Guardian spoke braggedly about their experiences.
“Out of fear, many employees report their employers,” Lopez said.
Homero Fuentes, from the local NGO Coverco, has documented internal maquila situations since the virus outbreak in Guatemala. He said that of the 89 plants studied in the country, two had followed all the protection protocols.
Although the production of clothing is not an essential service, Guatemalan maquilas can remain open from March with the permission of the Ministry of Economy.
Zulma Calderón, physical fitness inspector at the Guatemalan Ombudsman’s Office, said the measures deserve to have been implemented in factories “not only as a measure to identify instances and contacts, but also as a protective measure for the rest of the community.” But, he said, “That didn’t happen. The country has never experienced an economic closure as such, nor has there been surveillance or measures on the component of the State or the Ministry of Labour.
Stephen Wishart, program manager for Central America at the Solidarity Center, said the government and factory owners will have to take care of their workers, as will brands that buy the products. “During Covid, brands continued to place orders on those plants; the government did nothing to ensure that the protection and aptitude mechanisms were implemented.”
KP Textil reopened on July 9.
Both Gap and American Eagle said they were working hard with KP Textil on protective measures, adding the use of preventive barriers and face masks, a step forward in hygiene and staff before returning to work.
Before the reopening, Morales said he had visited the factory and discovered that KP Textil “was putting things in order.” “After what happened to them, I hope you have learned a very clever lesson and it never happens again,” he said.
Gap stated that he founded his recommendation on Covid-19 “on data provided through experts in public fitness and occupational safety … We have been in close contact with workers’ rights organizations, adding Maquila Solidarity Network, as a component of our efforts to make KP Textil as effective as possible safe. mitigates the effect of Covid-19 on his workers, ” he said.
American Eagle said he took seriously the issues raised about KP Textil and had been in normal communication with the plant in recent months. “KP Textil has taken a number of positive steps to address considerations in cooperation with government authorities.”
Amazon said it “provided more investments to support providers and their staff support lines, acquired non-public protective devices, and gained fitness and protection training. We take the accusations against KP Textil seriously and open an investigation without delay. If we notice violations, it will bring corrective action. »