An increasing number of consumers paying close attention to the conditions that determine the manufacturing process of products they are looking to buy. State institutions and companies are also increasingly focusing on the issue. Today, 27 Bremen-based associations, companies and institutions from the public and private sector in cooperation with the Senator of Finance have founded a new alliance for the socially responsible procurement of computer hardware. The partners, which include Jacobs University, are committed to work towards better labor conditions in hardware production. “If customers are being more and more critical and inquisitive, the pressure on manufacturers to improve the working conditions for employees also increases,” stresses Karoline Linnert, Senator of Finance in Bremen.
February 13, 2015In computer production, standards set by the International Labor Organization (ILO) [1]are often being ignored. Employees often have to work more than 70 hours a week for low wages and are exposed to poisonous substances without adequate protection.
The alliance is no longer willing to accept inhuman production conditions as irreversible. As there are hardly any alternatives for the sourcing of hardware, it is of utmost importance to put distributors and manufactures under the obligation to account for their production conditions and to explain measures by which these conditions are being controlled and improved if necessary.
Bremen’s public administration has already been practicing this line of action through its IT service provider Dataport. Since 2013, the supplier of all computers and laptops for Bremen’s public authorities has been obliged to regularly report on any progress in the improvement of working conditions.
Karoline Linnert says: “We have made a start. I am very happy about the alliance we have founded today and thank all partners that they are campaigning for human production conditions. Computer manufacturers have to understand that it is in their own interest to improve the working conditions of their personnel if they do not want to lose customer.”
“The Bremen commitment is an great example for other federal states and local authorities,” says Alexis Schwartz from the Eine-Welt-Netzwerk Norddeutschland [2]. “The alliance supports the work of many non-governmental organizations that are already pointing at existing shortcomings and are launching initiatives to make a change. No computer is currently being manufactured under completely fair labor conditions. There is still a heck of a lot to do until we reach this goal. Quality labels already established in the environmental domain are only just emerging in the area of socially responsible working conditions.”
The signatories of the Bremen alliance for the socially responsible procurement of computer hardware will be meeting again in a year’s time, to talk about the experience they have made as a result of their new commitment. New members are encouraged to sign up. Mayor Linnert said: “We are looking forward to welcoming new allies.”
Alliance Partners
Liste der Erstunterzeichnerinnen und Erstunterzeichner:
AOK Bremen/Bremerhaven
Bremer Bäder GmbH
Bremer Landesbank
Bremer Straßenbahn AG
Bremer Toto und Lotto GmbH
Bremer Volkshochschule
BTZ Bremer Touristik-Zentrale Gesellschaft für Marketing und Service GmbH
Dataport AöR § Die Senatorin für Finanzen
Focke Museum
GEWOBA Aktiengesellschaft Wohnen und Bauen
Governikus GmbH & Co. KG
Großmarkt Bremen GmbH
hanseWasser Bremen GmbH
Hochschule Bremen
Hochschule Bremerhaven
Immobilien Bremen, AöR
Jacobs University
OAS AG/regiodata
Performa Nord Eigenbetrieb des Landes Bremen
Stadtbibliothek Bremen
SWB AG
Theater Bremen GmbH
Umweltbetrieb Bremen
Universität Bremen
Werkstatt Bremen
WFB Wirtschaftsförderung Bremen GmbH
Links:
[1] http://www.ilo.org/global/lang--en/index.htm
[2] http://www.agl-einewelt.de/