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The Maquila Solidarity Network (MSN) is a labour and women's rights organization that supports the efforts of workers in global supply chains to win improved wages and working conditions and a better quality of life.(More)
One hundred years after the birth of International Women's Day, today women workers around the world are celebrating their achievements and renewing their commitment to the fight for women's labour rights. On this historic 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, MSN reaffirms our commitment to the struggle for women's labour rights and to continue organizing to eliminate labour rights abuses in the garment and other industries. Jobs, yes, but jobs with dignity.
The face of Honduras' president may have changed, but the impunity and repressive policies of the old coup government continue. Porfirio Lobo took office on January 27 after winning a deeply flawed election. Since then he has shown little interest in reconciling with ousted president Manuel Zelaya or the National Resistance that had mobilized opposition to the coup government.
In the run-up to the February Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, an international coalition of worker rights organizations is releasing its rating of commitments made by major sportswear brands to eliminate sweatshop abuses in their global supply chains. The ratings are being released on the newly launched Clearing the Hurdles website.
Mounting evidence suggests that fraud was committed in the November 29 Honduran national elections, but the fraud wasn't against the minority who voted; it was against the majority who abstained. Though we may never know the truth about how many Hondurans stayed home on November 29 to protest the coup, what we do know is that fewer than 50% of the population voted.
In a special meeting convened December 1, 2009, the Fair Labor Association (FLA) Board of Directors formally lifted the "Special Review" of Russell Athletic's membership in the FLA after the company's agreement reached on November 14 with the workers' union (SITRAJERZEESH) and the confederation to which it is affiliated (CGT) was found to address the key issues that were pending from the FLA remediation plan previously issued to Russell.
We received the sad news yesterday of the sudden, unexpected death of Neil Kearney, General Secretary of the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF). Neil died in his sleep of a massive heart attack early Thursday morning November 19 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Neil was 59.
An unprecedented agreement has been struck between Russell Athletic and the union representing 1,200 unjustly laid off workers at its former Jerzees de Honduras (JDH) factory. The company has agreed to open a new facility in the area, re-hire and provide substantial economic assistance to the former JDH workers, institute a joint union-management training program on freedom of association and commit to a position of neutrality with respect to unionization, which will open the door for union representation at all Fruit of the Loom facilities in Hondura.
In this issue:
Historic victory: Jerzees de Honduras workers win break-through agreement; Honduras in crisis: The untold story of a rising popular movement; Asia Floor Wage Campaign explores new strategy to achieve decent wages; Mexico's double standard: Government busts independent power workers' union while fraudulent protection unions multiply; Korean women's union celebrates ten years of action and progress. A Nicaraguan women's leader joins them to reflect on lessons learned; Made in China: That's all HBC is telling us about its Vancouver 2010 Olympic wear
Download Update 14.3 here.
A high-level International Labour Organization (ILO) Mission to the Philippines wrapped up on September 29, feeding hopes that international attention will help stem the tide of violence and intimidation that has been unleashed on Filipino trade union organizers and human rights advocates. The ILO Mission was charged with investigating the killings of 92 union leaders and activists since 2001.
On October 7, workers' rights groups in over a dozen countries throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas are participating in the public launch of the Asia Floor Wage Campaign (AFWC). The campaign is demanding a common minimum living wage for garment workers across the Asian region, in order to stop the destructive race to the bottom on wages and labour standards - which is fueled in part by companies moving production between countries in the region in search of ever-cheaper labour costs. The AFWC now turns its efforts to campaigning for the adoption of the Asia Floor Wage across the region.
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