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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.
The Rizal Provincial Prosecutor has dismissed murder charges against Filipino labour lawyer Remigio Saladero and sixty other individuals due to lack of probable cause. The defendants, all affiliated with progressive groups, had been charged in connection with the killing of Ricardo Garmino, a member of a paramilitary group in Rizal province.
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.
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.
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.
After being held for more than three month in prison on trumped up charges, Philippines labour rights attorney Remigio Saladero Jr was finally released on Thursday, February 5th. Five other Philippine labour rights leaders were also released with him including Nestor San Jose, Rogelio Galit, Crispin Zapanta, Arnaldo Seminiano, and Emanuel Dionida.
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