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FLA Independent External Monitoring in Reebok's Applicable Facilities

A. An Introduction to FLA Independent External Monitoring

FLA independent external monitoring (IEM) is one way that the FLA verifies Participating Companies' compliance activities in the factories where they produce. The FLA conducts unannounced independent external monitoring visits in approximately 5% of all Participating Company applicable facilities that are deemed to be high risk (and no less than 3.5% of the company's total factory list), and reports on all noncompliance findings in those factories. By observing these monitoring reports and the company's ensuing remediation, the FLA can verify a company's progress in developing systems for effective prevention and remediation of noncompliance issues each year. The FLA tracking charts provide detailed information about monitoring findings and Reebok's approach to remediation of noncompliance issues.

Click here to access the FLA tracking charts.

B. Summary of FLA Year Two Independent External Monitoring in Reebok's Applicable Facilities

The following table provides information about FLA independent monitoring visits undertaken in Reebok's Applicable Facilities in Year Two. It provides background information about the factories, the monitors, and their visits.

Reebok Independent External Monitoring (IEM) Summary - Year Two
Number of IEMs in Year Two:
Remediation shared with other FLA Companies:
Remediation undertaken independently:
22
11
11
Total person days spent monitoring facilities: 206 206
Average person days per facility: 9
Average number of workers per independently monitored facility: 627
Regions Independent External Monitoring Visits FLA-Accredited Monitors Conducting Visits
East Asia-- China 5 Societe General du Serveillance (3), Bureau Veritas (2)
Southeast Asia-- Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia 8 Kenan Institute Asia (2), Bureau Veritas (4), Societe General du Serveillance (2)
South Asia-- India, Bangladesh 3 T-Group Solutions (2), LIFT-Standards (1)
Europe, Africa, Middle East (EAME)-- Turkey 1 Societe General du Serveillance (1)
Americas-- USA, Peru 5 Coverco (1), ALGI (3), Cotecna (1)


C. Independent External Monitoring Results



Chart: Reebok Noncompliance Issues Grouped by Code Provision*
Number of IEMs = 22

Please note: This pie chart provides a very cursory overview of noncompliance issues organized by FLA Code Provision. Click on any Code Provision name in the legend below for a list of FLA Benchmarks that are used to measure compliance with that Provision. A more detailed explanation of these issues follows in the sections following the pie chart.

LEGEND: Click Code provision name for list of relevant FLA benchmarks.
  Code Awareness   Forced Labor
  Child Labor   Harassment or Abuse
  Nondiscrimination   Health and Safety
  Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining   Wages and Benefits
  Hours of Work   Overtime Compensation
  Miscellaneous    

* Please visit the FLA tracking charts to learn more about Reebok's approach to remediation of all of the issues summarized here.



Click here for more about the way this data was collected.

The figure above displays the percentage breakdown by Code Provision of the total noncompliance issues reported by FLA independent monitors in Reebok contract facilities, which Reebok addressed through remediation in Year Two. Non-compliance findings with regard to Health and Safety were the most frequently reported issues, making up 56% of the total non-compliance issues identified2. The most commonly reported and remediated Health and Safety issues related to the posting of evacuation procedures, noncompliance with requirements for safety equipment and the use of personal protective equipment, and inadequate ventilation or facility maintenance.

Noncompliance with the FLA's Hours and Wages standard was also common, with a total of 28% of all findings relating to Wages and Benefits (17%), Hours of Work (9%), and Overtime Compensation (2%). The top Hours and Wages issues that were reported by FLA monitors and taken up by Reebok through corrective action plans related to findings of factories' failures to pay the legally-mandated minimum wage, worker awareness of wages and benefits, noncompliance with overtime limitations, and inadequate overtime compensation.

Other Code Provisions were reported by FLA monitors with less frequency. As discussed in previous sections, the FLA is working to develop systems for more effective monitoring and remediation of the Code Provisions that are particularly complex and difficult to assess, such as Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining, Nondiscrimination, and Harassment and Abuse.

There were no findings of forced or bonded labor in facilities producing for Reebok. Likewise, there were no findings of underage workers in these facilities. The Forced Labor (1%) and Child Labor (1%) noncompliance reported above related to other benchmarks categorized under these Code provisions. Please follow the links in the graph above to learn more about the benchmarks for these and other FLA Code provisions, and visit the FLA factory tracking charts to learn more about Reebok's approach to remediation of all of the noncompliance issues mentioned above.

Click here to review the FLA's aggregate findings from visits to factories producing for 25 Participating Companies and Category B Licensees.



2Health and safety are often the most evident and measurable issues in a facility, and therefore figure very highly in the total number of findings.