Latest News
Bangladesh Government attempts to paralyze Accord and strip its independence
The Bangladesh government is using proceedings before the Supreme Court of Bangladesh to prevent the Accord on Fire and Building Safety from operating, thereby putting workers’ safety at risk.
Why we are staying away from H&M’s living wage summit in Cambodia
Clean Clothes Campaign International office declined an invitation to the “Fair living wage summit” that H&M is organizing on 11 December in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We want to make sure that our absence is not misrepresented at the summit or in other situations and are therefore sharing some background that led to that decision.
Hearing in KiK case before Regional Court in Germany
“My son has paid with his life for the profits of KiK. Finally, a German court is looking into the case.” For claimant Saeeda Khatoon, the first hearing in the proceedings against German clothing retailer KiK in front of the Dortmund Regional Court is an important step – regardless of its outcome. Her son died in the fire that broke out in the Ali Enterprises factory – a KiK supplier – on 11 September 2012 in Karachi (Pakistan). “For 258 people the factory became a death trap. Nobody will be able to make up for this loss. But those responsible should at least be held liable. KiK was the factory’s main customer and therefore bears some of the responsibility for the inadequate fire safety measures.”
Response to today's High Court hearing on the Bangladesh Accord
The Bangladesh High Court today conducted a hearing following the appeal filed by the Bangladesh Accord against the restraining order on its Bangladesh operations. The restraining order was due to take effect on 30 November. The High Court scheduled a new hearing on 6 December and lifted the restraining order until that date. The hearing took place amidst mounting international pressure and calls for the international community for the permanent removal of the order. Given the grave consequences expulsion of the Bangladesh Accord would bring for workers and the overall garment industry, it is imperative that this threat be permanently ended next week.
Japanese retail giant Uniqlo shows contempt towards garment workers just prior to AGM
On 14 November 2018, Uniqlo walked away from a mediation process in Jakarta without making any substantial offer to former union representatives of the Jaba Garmindo factory, which went bankrupt in 2015 as a result of Uniqlo´s predatory purchasing practices. Following the unexpected factory closure, four thousand workers, mostly women, found themselves in huge debts and without prospects of employment
A wave of actions against poverty wages hits H&M’s largest markets and production locations
The ongoing #TurnAroundHM global week of action has shown the growing resentment over H&M’s broken living wage commitment. Workers, activists and consumers in some of H&M’s largest markets and in a number of production countries are holding H&M accountable for the broken commitment that 850,000 workers would start getting paid a living wage by this year.
Week of Justice asks attention for accountability after deadly Pakistani garment factory fire
In an international week of events focusing on the deadly Ali Enterprises factory fire of 2012 a group of labour and human rights organizations tries to answer the question: if workers die stitching our clothes, who should be held responsible?
Global week of action against poverty wages at H&M
From Delhi to London, from Washington, DC to Zagreb, with many cities in between, workers and activists are drawing attention to H&M’s broken commitment that 850,000 garment workers would be paid a living wage by this year. Expressions of solidarity with garment workers and denouncements of poor and precarious working conditions have also been coming from other parts of the H&M's global supply chain.
Six years after deadly garment factory fire, Bangladesh risks new wave of factory incidents
Today marks the sixth anniversary of the deadly Tazreen factory fire, which killed at least 112 workers who were producing clothes for a range of international brands, including Walmart, C&A, El Corte Ingles and KiK. As survivors and families of killed workers commemorate this fateful day, Bangladesh is moving fast towards a situation in which factories could quickly return to the death traps that they were in 2012. The announced forced closure of the Bangladesh Accord’s domestic office operations later this month threatens to undermine the positive developments of the last five years and to plunge the country back into a situation in which workers will have to fear for their lives when entering their workplace.
European Parliament slams Bangladesh Government on human rights and calls for the continuation of the Accord
Today the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on the Bangladesh Government to urgently act to address deteriorating human rights conditions.
#WeDemandTk16000: International solidarity with the workers in Bangladesh
The struggle for a minimum wage in Bangladesh that would enable a decent life continues. Following a series of public rallies, press conferences and round tables, a number of workers are on a hunger strike today. This action, organized by the National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF), an IndustriALL global union affiliate, should serve as a stark reminder that the announced minimum wage of 8,000 taka will leave many workers and their families hungry and unable to cover other basic living cost.
As UNIQLO pops the champaign in Europe, deprived garment workers knock its door in Japan
Today two garment workers, part of a group of 2000 workers from Indonesia, tour Japan calling on UNIQLO after the retailer turned down a request to meet earlier this week. The tour is part of the global Pay Up UNIQLO campaign taking place in Europe, the US, Indonesia and East Asia, uniting campaigners and workers in support of the worker’s fight for 5.5M USD in compensation after loosing their job when the Jaba Garmindo factory in Indonesia went bankrupt in 2015, two months after UNIQLO pulled its orders from the factory.
Five years since Rana Plaza, workers injured at the job in Bangladesh still face insecurity and dire poverty
The deadly Rana Plaza collapse of 2013, killing at least 1,134 workers making clothes for Western markets, was the largest, but not the last factory incident in Bangladesh. Five years ago today, only six months after the horrific Rana Plaza tragedy, seven workers died and over fifty were injured in a fire in the Aswad Composite Textile Mill. While a world-wide campaign began to ensure compensation for the families of the Rana Plaza workers, the families affected by the Aswad fire were left with nothing, and have yet to receive a single penny in compensation. Devastatingly, the Aswad fire victims’ families are not alone - since the Rana Plaza collapse, over 540 workers have been killed and injured in factory incidents in Bangladesh. On the fifth anniversary of the Aswad factory fire, Clean Clothes Campaign calls upon the Bangladesh government and others involved in the industry to finally create a national employment injury insurance scheme that would cover all workers in Bangladesh.
Workers reveal poverty wages and labour law violations in H&M's supply chain
Research findings published this week around the world reveal that many workers making H&M’s clothes live below the poverty line -- despite H&M’s promise of a living wage by 2018, and despite the brand’s recent deceptive claims of progress. Interviewed workers in India and Turkey earn about a third and in Cambodia less than one-half of the estimated living wage. In Bulgaria interviewed workers’ salary at H&M’s “gold supplier” is not even 10 per cent of what would be required for workers and their families to have decent lives.
Outrageous new minimum wage announced in Bangladesh
In a climate of fear and intimidation and after months of delays, Bangladeshi authorities have announced the new monthly minimum wage of 8,000 taka (USD 95) for the 4.5 million workers in the garment sector in Bangladesh. This amount shows complete disregard for legitimate workers' unions and for the need to set wages through social dialogue.
Complaint filed against Italian auditor for ignoring fatal flaws in garment factory
More than 250 people died and dozens were injured in a fire at the Ali Enterprises textile factory in Karachi, Pakistan, on 11 September 2012. Only three weeks before, Italian auditor RINA Services S.p.A. certified the factory for abiding to international labour standards. Marking the six year anniversary of the disaster an international coalition of eight human rights, labour and consumer organizations file a complaint to the OECD National Contact Point (NCP) at the Ministry for Economic Development in Rome against RINA, the company that could have prevented hundreds of deaths by doing its work properly.
Brands’ support for a living wage for garment workers in Bangladesh
The Minimum Wage Board in Bangladesh will reconvene on Wednesday, 29 August, to set the new statutory minimum wage for workers in Bangladesh’s garment industry. Ahead of this meeting Clean Clothes Campaign, the International Labor Rights Forum and Maquila Solidarity Network jointly urged major brands sourcing from Bangladesh to publicly support workers’ demands. These include the minimum wage of 16,000 taka, a statutory framework to govern pay grades and promotion and other welfare measures. Inditex – the owner of Zara, Bershka, Pull and Bear and several other labels – was the first to publicly respond in a positive manner.
As UNIQLO arrives in Scandinavia, Indonesian garment workers demand justice
As UNIQLO, Japan’s largest clothing retailer, hits Stockholm on Thursday 24 August with a huge opening party at its new flagship store, labour rights campaigners demand the fast fashion giant act immediately to settle a long running dispute with 2000 Indonesia workers fighting for USD 5.5 million they are owed in lost wages and unpaid severance.
Clean Clothes Campaign condemns employers' minimum wage proposal for workers in Bangladesh and urges brands to take action
The Bangladesh garment industry employers’ association has shown utmost disregard for workers’ wellbeing and for their lives outside of garment factories. On Monday, 16 July, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) submitted a proposal to the relevant public authority for the workers’ minimum wage to be set at 6,360 taka (about 75 USD). Not only does this amount not meet any living wage standard for Bangladesh – it does not even remedy employers’ disregard for the legally required increases over the past five years.
Full support for Bangladeshi garment workers’ demands on minimum wage
Ahead of the long overdue meeting of the national Minimum Wage Board, set to take place on Sunday, 8 July, Clean Clothes Campaign expresses solidarity with workers in Bangladesh and full support for their demands. We urge the Minimum Wage Board to increase the minimum wage to 16,000 taka without delay, and to adopt other measures requested by workers and their representatives.