Rhondda MEP Jill Evans is to raise the question of Burberry during a debate on Corporate Social Responsibility in the European Parliament.
She said:
"I submitted the report to Burberry's Corporate Responsibility Committee to help highlight the massively damaging social and economic impact this would have on the Rhondda community. The company's Corporate Social Responsibility policy states that they want strong relationships with the communities they work in.
"They acknowledge themselves that business means more than massive profit margins. But the proof of whether this is a socially responsible company lies in their actions over the next weeks. I have called on them to demonstrate that their policies are worth more than the paper they are written on.
"But this is, of course, all voluntary. In shutting the Treorci factory Burberry would be going against its own policies, but there's nothing we can do about it. The government supports this voluntary approach. But Burberry provides the strongest evidence yet of why Corporate Social Responsibility should be a legally binding commitment. There is no other choice than to make companies keep to the law.
"The European Parliament will be voting on this issue again next month. I'm raising this matter in the European Parliament and I will be calling for Corporate Social Responsibility to be made legally binding. I hope that the disgraceful actions of Burberry will persuade the Government to change its mind and make companies answerable for the decisions they make."
