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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)
Students protest Russell Athletic
Citing Russell Athletic's "failure to engage in good faith negotiations with the CGT union on issues like compensation for terminated employees, a meaningful first-hire policy and reasonable access for unions to company factories", the Fair Labor Association (FLA) has put its member company Russell Athletic on Special Review for 90 days. If Russell fails to complete a series of required steps in 90 days their FLA membership may be revoked.
Striking workers met by batons
The Government of the Philippines has finally agreed to allow a High-Level ILO Mission to visit the country and investigate extrajudicial killings of labour rights advocates.
Trade unions in the Philippines have been trying for two years to initiate an international investigation but had been blocked by government and employer delegations.
In this issue:
Myth of Mexican workers stealing our jobs debunked; DR-CAFTA labour projects 'valid, but insufficient”; Pressure builds to end forced child labour in Uzbek cotton fields; Crisis presents opportunity for worker organizing in the Philippines; Cornered Russell lashes out at labour critics; Chong Won and Phils Jeon factory workers forced into hiding; Johnson Controls fails to act on worker complaints.
Download Update 14.2 here.
The Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) has launched a new campaign focusing on the policies and practices of large global discount retailers including the five largest: Walmart, Tesco, Carrefour, Aldi, and Lidl. The new Better Bargain Campaign targets the purchasing practices of the giant retailers given the profound and ever-increasing power that they wield in the garment retail market.
Between Blue Waters, A History of Violence by Socorro Chablé tells the story of Reyna Ramírez, who started working in maquilas in Puebla, Mexico when she was just 13. Working for years in the unhealthily maquila environment eventually took a toll on her body and she developed throat, respiratory problems, headaches and muscle aches.
Now Reyna heads the Collective of Defiant Women Workers, a Puebla NGO which helps women maquila workers, with a particular focus on health issues. The group is collaborating with the Hesperian Foundation and using several of their publications on workplace health to develop training courses for maquila workers.
The global financial crisis now underway is expected to have major consequences for workers in the global South who depend on North American and European markets.
This paper takes a look at the possible impacts of the financial crisis on the garment industry and garment workers. It goes on to lay out indicators to look for that help gauge the impact that workers will ultimately feel.
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