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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.
A briefing note on the economic impacts of the crisis on Mexico's textile and apparel industry and the Federal Government's response.
In our new publication What can brands do to support freedom of association in Mexico?, MSN sets out some of the most important systemic issues that need to be addressed by brands to ensure that workers in their Mexican supplier factories can exercise their rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
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 three complainants in a NAFTA labour side agreement case against Mexico were conspicuously absent from a December 3 stakeholder consultation in Puebla, Mexico in which the governments of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico were supposed to discuss Mexico’s commitment to freedom of association.
Five years after the Puebla case was filed, the Worker Assistance Center (CAT) of Mexico, the Maquila Solidarity Network (MSN) of Canada, and United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) of the United States announced they were boycotting the so-called “stakeholder seminar” citing serious flaws in the side agreement process.
On December 29, 2005, Martin Barrios Hernández, President of the Mexican Human and Labour Rights Commission of the Tehuacan Valley, was arrested by the intelligence division of the Puebla state police and transported from his home city of Tehuacan to the state capital of Puebla where he was held in state prison. The Maquila Solidarity Network immediately launched an international campaign to win his release from jail and protect him from further harassment and intimidation.
Collected by MSN, this presentation shows statistics that highlight the decline of Mexico's garment industry since the end of the Multi-fiber Arrangement.
Vaqueros Navarra workers took to the streets this month as growing evidence suggests their factory was closed to eliminate an independent union.
Workers at the Vaqueros Navarra jean factory in Tehuacan, Mexico who voted to be represented by the independent September 19 Union are facing new stumbling blocks as they struggle to secure their victory. MSN and the Union are calling on brands to place new orders with the factory to ensure it reopens after the holiday break.
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