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Five years since Ali Enterprises fire disaster, factories in Pakistan continue to be unsafe
Today Clean Clothes Campaign commemorates the five year anniversary of the deadly fire that ripped through the Ali Enterprises factory in Pakistan, killing over 250 garment workers. As we remember this tragedy, our thoughts are with the families that lost loved ones and of those that lived through these horrific events. Taking stock five years on, Clean Clothes Campaign fears that, in absence of credible and transparent safety inspections, garment factories in Pakistan remain unsafe workplaces. This means that thousands of workers continue to face daily risks of being injured or killed at work.
Open letter: After five years, it is high time to pay severance to 345 workers who made adidas and Mizuno shoes
Today five years ago, a group of Indonesian workers started a strike after their employer had denied them the provincial sectoral wage as well as freedom of association. By the end of July, 1,300 workers were dismissed for participating in the strike. Five years on, 345 workers are still fighting for their rightful severance pay. On this day, Clean Clothes Campaign published an open letter to adidas and Mizuno, the two brands that sourced from the factory in the years preceding these events.
M&S, Bonmarché and Nygård should compensate Cambodian workers after factory closure
The sudden closure of a garment factory linked to UK and Canadian brands has left 208 workers in Cambodia without jobs, salaries or compensation. A year later these workers, largely women, are still fighting for justice and are in a desperate situation. As they stitched clothes for UK brands Marks and Spencer and Bonmarché, as well as Canadian brand Nygård, the workers are demanding that these companies take responsibility and give them the legally due payments that their supplier failed to provide.
Why is the Bangladesh government scapegoating the victims of the deadly boiler explosion?
According to media reports, police have filed a criminal complaint against ten people following the July 3rd explosion at the Multifabs Ltd. facility. The complaint accuses the individuals of negligence of duty, injury and murder. The only three individuals named in the complaint were killed in the explosion. An inquiry into the causes of the explosion has yet to be completed.
Bangladesh factory explosion shows need to expand Accord inspections to boilers
A boiler explosion at the Multifabs Ltd. factory in Bangladesh yesterday killed at least 10 people, injured dozens more and led to a partial collapse of the factory. We extend our condolences to the families that lost loved ones in this terrible incident and our thoughts are with them and with those who were injured.
Statement of the Bangladesh Accord's Witness Signatories on the three-year renewal of the agreement
Today, the global union federations Industriall and UNI announced agreement with brand and retailer representatives on the language of a renewed Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. To date, 13 brands and retailers signed and 8 more have committed to sign the new agreement, with many more likely to follow in the weeks ahead.
Textile mill fire in Bangladesh signals need for expanded safety inspections and remedy
A devastating fire in a Bangladesh textile mill at the beginning of this month reaffirms the need to extend and expand the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety (the Accord), due to end in May 2018. The Accord, established four years ago to improve structural, electrical and fire safety in Bangladesh's garment factories, entered its final year last month and is currently in the process of being renegotiated. While the Accord covers 2.5 million workers in the ready-made-garment industry, workers in Bangladesh's textile mills remain unprotected by this agreement.
European Parliament should vote for an investigation into Bangladesh labour violations
Clean Clothes Campaign is today calling on members of the European Parliament to call for a trade investigation into labour rights abuses as part of a resolution on Bangladesh that will be debated this Wednesday. Such an investigation would be carried out by the European Commission in order to assess whether the ongoing and systematic repression of trade union rights in Bangladesh should disqualify it from accessing preferential trading terms with the EU.
EU should use review to push for workers' rights and freedom of association in Bangladesh
Tomorrow, 18 May, the third annual review of the so-called "Sustainability Compact" between Bangladesh, the European Union and the International Labour Organization takes place in Dhaka. Despite optimism voiced by the EU, Bangladesh is still far from meeting its international labour rights' commitments and taking concrete steps enshrined under the Compact. A striking example is the wave of repression which the the Bangladeshi labour movement has faced since December 2016. Clean Clothes Campaign calls upon the EU, as well as brands, national governments and other stakeholders, to maintain pressure on the Bangladeshi government to improve labour conditions and comply with the Compact's demands.
Marking the anniversary of the landmark agreement on workers' safety
The first ever legally binding supply chain agreement to address critical building safety concerns – the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety – was signed between global trade unions and some of the world’s most powerful fashion brands four years ago. As we mark the anniversary of the Accord, Clean Clothes Campaign, one of the witness signatories, takes stock of progress made and looks to the future.
Clean Clothes Campaign welcomes European Parliament's motion to improve garment industry
Clean Clothes Campaign welcomes the motion of the European Parliament on the so called 'EU Flagship Initiative on the garment sector'. Through this motion the Parliament takes on a leadership role in demanding mandatory due diligence in the textile sector, and mandatory transparency in the supply chain – both of which are direly needed to improve the garment industry.
Four years after Rana Plaza: steps in the right direction but a lot remains to be done
On 24 April 2017 the Clean Clothes Campaign network will be remembering those killed and injured at Rana Plaza, the multi-story building which collapsed in Bangladesh four years ago. In a statement released today Clean Clothes Campaign sends its thoughts and sympathies to those still grieving for their loved ones, and those still suffering from the physical and psychological scars left by the disaster. Clean Clothes Campaign is also marking the fourth anniversary of Rana Plaza by outlining a set of key actions needed from governments, brands and employers on building safety, workers rights and transparency. These actions are needed to deliver the fundamental change promised in the aftermath of the disaster.
More brands should reveal where their clothes are made. 17 align with Transparency Pledge; others should catch up
More apparel and footwear companies should join 17 leading apparel brands that have aligned with an important new transparency pledge, a coalition of unions and human rights and labor rights advocates said in a joint report issued today. The pledge commits companies to publish information that will enable advocates, workers, and consumers to find out where their products are made.
Focus on labour rights in Sri Lanka prior to the decision on preferential trade access to the EU market
Two Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) visited Sri Lanka to evaluate respect for labour rights prior to the European Union's decision on granting Sri Lanka the so-called GSP+ preferential trade access. During the visit the government committed to labour rights improvements, such as progress on ongoing cases, allowing trade union access to export processing zones, a revision of the labour law and of the union threshold (currently at 40%), and ensuring that the benefits of the preferential trade status would be shared with the workers.
German brands s.Oliver and Gerry Weber targeted by protesters in Indonesia
Two Indonesian trade unions organised a protest in front of the German Embassy in Jakarta today (30 March). Protesters brought attention to the responsibility that German brands s.Oliver and Gerry Weber have for thousands of workers who lost their jobs when these brands' Indonesian supplier Jaba Garmindo closed down in 2015.
Pressure mounting for UNIQLO to pay Indonesian workers compensation
Following the actions on International Women's Day in Hong Kong, two Indonesian unions protested at the Japanese Embassy in Jakarta on Thursday, March 23, 2017 at 10.00 A.M. They demand justice for workers at the shuttered factory PT Jaba Garmindo in Indonesia, which supplied Japanese retailer Uniqlo.
Activists demand UNIQLO pay workers what they are due
On International Women's Day a coalition of global campaigners are organising a series of actions aimed at the Japanese-owned corporation UNIQLO. The immediate goal is for UNIQLO to take responsibility for 4,000 workers in their supply chain. Protests in front of UNIQLO's stores are taking place in Hong Kong on Wednesday, running parallel to a letter petition targeting UNIQLO's CEO.
Victory for workers in the Philippines after three months on the picket line
Former workers of the Faremo International factory in the Philippines reached an agreement about financial compensation in February, after more than three months of continuous picketing. The workers were protesting the closure of their factory that seemed primarily aimed at curtailing the recently established factory union. Bolstered by international solidarity the dismissed workers stuck together and reached a campaign victory.
Major developments in Bangladesh labour crackdown - Important first step taken however crisis not resolved
After months of intense efforts by labour unions, and labour and human rights organisations, all over the world, yesterday, Bangladesh trade unionists, the government and the employers’ organisation announced the planned release of all remaining detained labour leaders. Clean Clothes Campaign, International Labor Rights Forum and the Worker Rights Consortium welcome the announcement as an important first step, but warn that in its current form it still falls short of fully resolving the crisis in Bangladesh.
Leading retailers withdraw from Bangladesh garment industry’s annual showcase event
Five leading apparel companies -- H&M, Inditex (Zara), C&A, Next and Tchibo -- have pulled out as key speakers and participants from the Dhaka Apparel Summit, organized by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). Their decision to withdraw is a response to the campaign calling to an end of the of repression against the labor movement carried out by the Bangladesh government and factory owners over the last two months. These companies represent billions of dollars in annual garment purchases for Bangladeshi manufacturers.
