panel to call for wage reforms at shops

A White House task force took the lead in efforts to eliminate sweatshops, and plans to recommend wages and overtime standards for foreign garment factories far below the lowest standards in the United StatesS. requirements.
Sources close to the negotiations said the task force plans to recommend overtime pay for foreign garment manufacturers supplied by US companies at least equal to normal hourly wages.
According to the source, the organization proposes to limit the normal working hours per week to 60 hours.
In contrast, if overtime pay for American workers exceeds standard 40-hour week.
The task force also plans to advise foreign contractors to pay at least the national minimum wage or local current wages, whichever is higher, the source said.
Panel ads--
Including apparel manufacturers such as Nike and Liz kleburn, talk show host Kathy Lee Gifford and union and consumer group reps ---
A complete list of proposals is expected to be submitted to the White House by March 15.
President Clinton is expected to support the organization\'s proposal and urge garment manufacturers and major retail chains to voluntarily adopt these standards.
The group was founded after a series of scandals in the apparel industry.
Former Minister of Labor Robert Ritchie sought volunteers for the task force and announced the establishment of the task force on August.
1996, just a year after investigators liberated more than 60 Thai workers who were virtual slaves at a garment factory in El Monte.
In 1996, labor activists found that Honduras children were making clothing for the clothing line Gifford sold at Wal-Mart, which once again attracted national attention to the abuse of sweatshops. Mart.
The suggestions were included in the draft report and still had to be approved by the task force members, including the CEO of the company in the group, the source said.
The proposal on wages, overtime and working hours was a compromise on conflicting positions within the task force.
In the view of some members, these proposals were not sufficient to prompt change.
Others believe that the proposed measures establish important minimum standards acceptable to garment manufacturers and retailers.
In the Los Angeles area, it is of special significance how manufacturers and retailers respond to these proposals.
The apparel industry is second.
The largest employer in the region.
However, South China, the country\'s largest garment producer, is starting to lose its jobs as speculation and other companies move production to low
Facilities abroad. All contractors-
Domestic and foreign--
According to the task force, independent supervisors should be inspected.
The group plans to urge all American citizensS.
Third place will be hired by manufacturers and retailers
Party inspectors, sources say.
The task force had previously agreed to recommend that children under 14 years of age should not be employed in garment factories abroad.
One of the issues that remains to be addressed is how to inform the public which companies comply with the proposed standards.
Some members support a \"sweat-free\" clothing label designed to assure consumers that the product complies with the code of conduct.
Trade groups representing retailers and manufacturers oppose labeling and believe there is no way to ensure that each garment meets these standards.
Alison Wolfe, spokesman for Assn, an American clothing maker, said: \"Some of the operators of these sweatshops are also counterfeiters . \".
\"They can simply copy the label.
The Apparel Group also opposed the proposal to establish an international minimum wage, arguing that the United StatesS.
Enterprises should not implement standards in areas with different economic conditions.
Advocates of standards believe that the minimum wage in some countries is insufficient or does not exist at all.
At this point, the task force has not yet agreed to an international \"living wage\" proposal, the source said.