WEED & SACOM’s OPEN LETTER TO FUJITSU: Fujitsu Response to Worker Rights Violations at PC Partner-Owned
June 15, 2009
WEED & SACOM’s OPEN LETTER TO FUJITSU
Fujitsu Response to Worker Rights Violations at PC Partner-Owned
Excelsior Electronics in Dongguan City, CHINA
http://www.business-humanrights.org/Search/SearchResults?SearchableText=sacom&&&&batch_start=1
WEED and SACOM have been informed by Joanne Bauer, Senior Researcher and New York Representative from the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, about a Fujitsu statement dated April 20, 2009—the only public response to date received from Fujitsu Technology Solutions (formerly Fujitsu Siemens Computers) with regard to labor rights abuses at one of its direct suppliers in China.
First and foremost, we welcome Fujitsu’s decision to carry out an audit of working conditions at their Dongguan-based supplier Excelsior Electronics (for details about Excelsior factory conditions, see the report “The Dark Side of Cyberspace,” December 2008, and the press release “Fujitsu Siemens Computers does not take responsibility for labor rights violations in their supply chain in China,” April 1, 2009).
Secondly, we would like to know if the audit has been completed in these last two months. We believe that an in-depth discussion of the audit findings with civil society can help monitor workplace conditions and bring about more effective ways to uphold the highest labor standards in your supply chain.
We would also like to take this opportunity to discourage you from cutting off your business relationship with Excelsior Electronics or any other supplier.
“Cutting & running” is the worst response to workers’ rights violations. Thousands of workers at Excelsior Electronics could lose their jobs in the midst of the current bad economic situation. We urge you instead to take a constructive approach by implementing an action plan in cooperation with the Excelsior management as well as with a credible labor group or groups to address the serious problems identified in the Report.
While SACOM is still very much interested in meeting with representatives from both Fujitsu and Excelsior Electronics, we nevertheless must make ourselves clear that we cannot accept Fujitsu’s defining itself as an “observer,” which amounts to denying its responsibility for its supply chain.
WEED and SACOM expect Fujitsu to show its commitment to engage with civil society to safeguard workers’ rights at Excelsior Electronics and beyond. We look forward to receiving a favorable reply from Fujitsu by June 30, 2009.
Contact Persons:
Sarah Bormann, World Economy, Ecology & Development (WEED), Berlin/Germany,
sarah.bormann@weed-online.org, Mobile: 0049-160-96654332
Jenny Chan, Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM), Hong Kong/China,
wlchan@sacom.hk, Mobile: (852) 9859 7680
Supporting Organizations:
Procure IT Fair - Campaign for sustainable purchasing of computers
Südwind Agentur, Austria
Ecumenical Academy Prague (EAP), Prague
