2011
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December 15, 2011
That's It Sportswear fire: one year on workers still dying in unsafe buildings
December 14 marks the first anniversary of the fire at That's It Sportswear garment factory in Bangladesh. The fire on December 14, 2010, caused the death of 29 workers, and injured a number of others, eleven of them seriously. The factory, belonging to the Hameem group, supplied US brands and retailers, including JC Penney, VF corporation, Gap, Philips Van Heusen, Abercrombie & Fitch, Carters, Kohls and Target.
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October 4, 2011
Lèse majésté as pretext to silence critical voices
On October 5th 2011, Kwanravee Wangudom travels to Geneva to participate in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the UN-Human Rights Council, when Thailand comes under review. She represents dozens of human and labour rights activists assembled under the "Article 112: Awareness Campaign" fighting against abuse of the lèse majesté law to silence activists and the media in Thailand.
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September 14, 2011
Armani bans sandblasted jeans but Dolce and Gabbana STILL ignore the call
After a long standing campaign launched by Clean Clothes Campaign in November 2010 and a recent petition hosted by Change.org, Giorgio Armani SpA agreed to ban the dangerous practice of sandblasting jeans, a technique used to give jeans a used look which is highly dangerous to workers.
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September 5, 2011
Malaysian migrant workers' advocate pressured to accept settlement with electronics company
The Clean Clothes Campaign is dismayed by the outcome of the legal case against human rights defender, lawyer and blogger Charles Hector.
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August 16, 2011
Stop the court case against Malaysian Human Rights Defender Charles Hector
The next hearing against human rights defender and activist Charles Hector is rapidly approaching (23 August), but the Japanese company taking Charles to court, Asahi Kosei, still refuses to drop the case.
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August 8, 2011
Pressure builds on Dolce & Gabbana to ban sandblasting
Clean Clothes continues to focus on the remaining brands which have not responded to our call for banning sandblasting or whom have refused to communicate with us. They mostly happen to be Italian luxury brands – Roberto Cavalli and Dolce and Gabbana.
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July 26, 2011
Somyot charged under Thai lese majeste law
Last Monday July 25 2011, after 84 days detention, Somyot Pruksakasemsuk was brought to the criminal court to hear the prosecutor's charges against him.
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July 21, 2011
Versace announces it will join the global ban on sandblasting
After an intensive campaign launched by the Clean Clothes Campaign and recently hosted by Change.org, the Italian textile brand Versace has just announced that it will join other denim manufacturers around the globe in calling for a ban on the practice of sandblasting.
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July 14, 2011
Free Somyot: Urgent message to the new Thai government before July 24
We urgently call upon you to take action once more in support of Thai human rights activist and journalist Somyot Pruksakasemsuk, who has been in jail now on charges of 'lese majeste' for 2.5 months.
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July 7, 2011
Versace deletes Facebook protests on sandblasting
The luxury Italian brand Versace de-activated its Facebook wall after activists posted dozens of messages demanding that the company ban sandblasting. Scores of other denim producing brands have already publicly banned sandblasting, a technique which can kill the workers involved, but Versace, along with Armani, Dolce & Gabbana have failed to address the issue or even enter into a dialogue with CCC.
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July 7, 2011
Viva Global: negotiations break down after violence erupts again.
Ongoing talks between the former M&S supplier, Viva Global and the Garment and Allied Workers Union have broken down after five union members employed at the factory were attacked with a cane and a knife by a security guard employed by the company.
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June 24, 2011
Sous Chantha released but contrived criminal charges upheld
After a three hour trial on 24 June, in Phnom Penh; Sous Chantha, Cambodian union leader and former employee of United Apparel Garment factory was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment for drug distribution. The sentence was reportedly set at seven months plus five days time-served and two months suspended sentence. After some discussion with legal officials, Sous was then released after the prosecution stated its decision not to appeal.
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June 23, 2011
Sous Chantha – Imprisoned labour leader from Cambodia due in trial
On 24 June, after 8 months imprisonment, Sous Chantha is due to appear in court. We all hope he will be released. The CCC issued a letter to the Cambodian government calling for his immediate and unconditional release and for the reinstatement of Sous and the other workers who were dismissed after a national strike for higher wages in September 2010. The CCC is also in touch with the relevant brands to demand the reinstatement of the dismissed workers.
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June 15, 2011
Today in Copenhagen activists from over 10 European Clean Clothes networks held a demonstration outside the Thai Embassy to protest at the continued detention of Somyot Pruksakasemsuk. Activists handed over a letter to the embassy representative, demanding the release of Somyot. We were told by the Embassy that Somyot had been released but we now know this is not true – we believe the Embassy made a mistake – in an ironic twist of fate Somyot was released on 13 June 2010.
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June 9, 2011
Migrant workers' advocate still facing trial
Several hearings in the defamation case against human rights defender and activist Charles Hector have taken place since our last update. On June 10, 2011, the High Court judge refused the application filed by Charles Hector to join 31 Burmese migrant worker as parties in the defamation case against him. This would protect these workers against possible deportation. Charles Hector has appealed this decision at the Court of Appeal, but the court refused to grant a stay of the proceedings until after this appeal has been heard.
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June 7, 2011
Indonesia - Historic pact today strengthens sportswear workers union rights
Today a historic agreement has been signed regarding trade union rights in factories in Indonesia.
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June 7, 2011
Historic pact strengthens sportswear workers union rights
A historic agreement which follows two years of negotiations after the Playfair 2008 campaign was signed. The pact which addresses core labour rights issues in Indonesian factories was signed by Indonesian textile, clothing and footwear unions, major supplier factories and the major sportswear brands, including Adidas, Nike and Puma.
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June 3, 2011
More pressure needed to release Thai Human Rights activist
Thanks to all of you for taking the time to contact the Thai government and request the release of the well-known Thai human-rights activist and journalist Somyot Pruksakasemsuk, who was arrested on April 30 on charges of lèse majesté, or the crime of insulting the king. Please also support this new appeal.
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May 30, 2011
Trial against Bangladeshi labour rights advocates approaches
Just recently a judge in the case against Kalpona Akter and Babul Akhter from the Bangladesh Workers Solidarity Center (BCWS) and other labour leaders decided that the accused will have to appear in court next month under a system designed to speed up the trial process.
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May 16, 2011
Viva Global workers reach agreement
42 workers from the Viva Global factory in Gurgaon, India have returned to work over six months after they were locked out following a violent attack on union members.
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May 11, 2011
Thai human rights activist imprisoned for second time
We need your support to demand the immediate release of the well-known Thai human-rights activist and journalist Somyot Pruksakasemsuk. He was arrested on April 30 on charges of lèse majesté, or the crime of insulting the king. This accusation can lead to a maximum of 15 years in prison and is criticised for being used to silence political opponents and human-rights activists. The Clean Clothes Campaign signals that charges of lèse majesté have over the last two years increasingly been used to silence labour-rights activists.
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May 1, 2011
Spectrum Relief Scheme finally completed
On April 16 2011, the severely injured survivors of the 2005 Spectrum factory collapse as well as the families of the deceased workers received a final lump sum compensation payment during a ceremony in Dhaka. Estimates from worker representatives peg the number of injured workers at 8, and the number of families of deceased workers between 58 and 64. CCC regrets that Inditex has failed to provide us with the exact numbers, despite numerous attempts during the last 14 months to obtain this information. The ceremony was attended by Inditex (Zara), BGMEA, BNC, NGWF, ITGLWF, the ambassador of Spain and the Minister of Commerce. The event was covered extensively in the national media.
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April 14, 2011
Hitachi Supplier sues Malaysian Labour Rights Activist
A major supplier to the electronics multinational Hitachi is suing Malaysian labour rights activist and lawyer Charles Hector following weblog publication of violations of workers' rights.
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April 11, 2011
April 11: 6th anniversary of the Spectrum collapse
April 11 is day we remember the 64 workers who were killed and the 80 who injured when the Spectrum factory in Bangladesh collapsed in 2005. Since then at least 200 more Bangladeshi garment workers died as a result of factory fires, and many more were injured, while producing garments for major European or the US brands.
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April 3, 2011
Play Fair Campaign launches in Brazil ahead of 2014.
An international conference organised by "Play Fair" and the Building Workers' International has opened in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Conference will launch the BWI Campaign around the World Cup 2014, as well as the Olympic Games 2016 Play Fair Campaign.
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March 15, 2011
After months of intense struggle, unions and employers reached an agreement to increase wages in Cambodia. The agreement follows months of unprecedented labour activism. In Cambodia, a rapidly growing garment industry has become the most important industrial sector and income-earner.
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February 15, 2011
Killer Practice Still Not Banned By All Jeans Brands
Amsterdam, 15 februari 2011 – The sandblasting of jeans has still not been banned by all jeans producers, even though the practice is known to kill sandblasting operators. Ignoring repeated calls by trade unions, labour-rights organisations and medical associations, large international fashion brands like Diesel, Dolce & Gabbana and Replay have refused to enter into dialogue to bring the deadly practice to an end in their supply chains.
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February 13, 2011
After much publicity on an Italian TV-show, Roberto Cavalli has issued a very terse statement saying they are not currently using sandblasting. Not exactly a public ban, but a start...
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February 10, 2011
Relatives and friends of the unfairly imprisoned Cambodian union leader Sous Chantha gathered in front of the prison to protest his detention. They launched dozens of balloons, hoping that Sous Chantha himself would also get a glimpse of the action from within the prison walls. In December, the CCC issued an urgent appeal to demand his immediate release.
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January 11, 2011
Over 300 Striking Garment Workers Still Victimised
Thanks to all of you who took action after our appeal in January: since then over a 160 workers who had been dismissed after striking for better wages have got their jobs back. Pressure on international brands that subcontract production to these factories, like Gap, H&M and Zara, has yielded substantial results, but more remains to be done.
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