Perhaps it is not the case to appreciate too much the speed with which Zara manages to realize the idea of a product and bring it to the store (only 2 weeks). The clothing brand of the Spanish group Indetex has been denounced by the Brazilian Ministry of Labor for using labor in conditions similar to slavery in some of its manufacturing companies. The police forces found 16 adult Bolivians working in two laboratories on the outskirts of Sao Paulo - illegally for 2 Reals for each piece produced - and living in an unhealthy environment and without the minimum safety conditions.
Although these companies formally belonged to Aha, a company controlled by Zara in the South American country, the multinational is held responsible for the irregularities, as the entire production process, from the sewing order to the choice of fabrics, was decided in Spain.
The investigation into this intermediary began in May, after the regional labor office had "liberated" 52 people, all originally from Bolivia, from unhealthy working conditions in some clandestine factories in Americana, a city in the state of São Paulo. During the investigation it emerged that Zara had subcontracted the services to the Brazilian company Rodi which, in turn, "subcontracted work to many clandestine laboratories".
The Brazilian Ministry of Labor has already imposed 52 fines on Zara for various irregularities, in this case the Spanish company could be forced to pay 1 billion real. However, the complaint has yet to be judged.
The investigations were carried out on 2 of the 33 Aha manufacturing companies. Without any supervision, workers were forced to work days between 14 and 16 hours. Between May and June, according to investigations, these companies produced 50 pieces of clothes for Zara, which were sold in Brazil and Argentina.
Source: Estado.com.br
