Indian garment companies try to silence Clean Clothes Campaign

On Thursday January 11 2007, the Clean Clothes Campaign received a letter from Pramila Associates Advocates on behalf of their client Fibres and Fabrics International (FFI) in which they threaten with court proceedings should the Clean Clothes Campaign not refrain from reporting on the labour conditions at FFI.

In their letter Pramila Advocates accuse the CCC, the India Committee of the Netherlands and two Dutch internet providers to have "indulged in a systematic, planned conspiracy to malign and cause harm and damage to the business, image and reputation of our clients (i.e. FFI/JKPL) by deliberately publishing false information (…)". Pramila threatens to proceed against the CCC for "offences including cyber crime" should the CCC not remove all articles referring to the denial of workers’ rights at FFI/JKPL and should the CCC not cease to urge the companies buying from FFI/JKPL to demand the withdrawal of the FFI/JKPL complaint against the local stakeholder organisations.

Even though the letter is framed as a legal notice, our legal advisors call the letter lacking any juridical basis and defamatory in itself. The CCC believes this letter exemplary for the current attitude of FFI/JKPL when faced with criticism about the lack of workers’ rights at FFI/JKPL, and regrets that FFI/JKPL is again not willing to enter a local dialogue. In reaction to this letter the CCC has again called upon FFI/JKPL to accept a mediated dialogue and to start a remediation process with the Bangalore unions and labour organisations involved.