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Victory: settlement with underwear factory Bratex
We are pleased to announce that the Sri Lankan Free Trade Zone and General Services Employees Union (FTZ&GSEU) reached a settlement with the underwear factory Bratex and the US based company Fruit of the Loom.
Victory for 12 workers and trade unionists in Pakistan
Twelve garment workers and trade union activists of the Power Loom Mazdoor Union in Pakistan were finally acquitted on August 29, 2014 after a trial that had dragged on for more than two years.
Bata refuses to step up for the people who made their shoes
Shoe company Bata refuses to take any responsibility for the resolution of a labour rights conflict arising at the factory Palla & Co., a Sri Lankan shoe factory. Workers say its owner repeatedly refused to pay workers an agreed upon pay rise. Bata, who was sourcing from the factory at the time of the labour conflict, cut its commercial relationship with Palla & Co. in late 2013.
Mulberry slammed for worker exploitation at Turkish factory
Turkish workers and activists globally are launching a series of protests against handbag brand Mulberry for failing to protect the rights of workers in its Izmir supplier factory. More than 15 store actions are planned to take place across Europe and the US this Wednesday and Thursday.
Turkish workers win case targeting handbag producer Mulberry
Turkish workers for the handbag brand Mulberry, and activists globally who supported their cause, are hailing a 'tremendous victory' after winning a campaign to uphold human rights in their factory.
Sri Lankan trade union victory shows power of international solidarity
International support and solidarity can make a real difference in local worker struggles shows this week’s success in Sri Lanka. In a workers’ referendum in two factories with a long history of conflict between employees and management, workers voted to have the trade union recognized as legitimate bargaining partner. In the face of years of intense union busting, this testifies to the empowering nature of international solidarity, called in by the trade union.
Hundreds of women workers part of longest running strike in the Katunayake Investment Promotion Zone
Workers from workwear manufacturing company ATG Ceylon Pvt Ltd. in Sri Lanka have been subject to a range of human rights abuses breaching both Sri Lankan and international labour laws and conventions.
A year after crackdown on wage protests in Bangladesh, hundreds of workers still face retaliatory charges
A year ago, tens of thousands of workers in Bangladesh went on strike against the poverty wages that are pervasive in the country’s export-oriented garment industry. On 13 January 2019, a minimal wage revision was announced that, together with massive repression, led workers to end the demonstrations that had been going on since December. Thousands of workers were unable to go back to work, however, facing punishment for their peaceful protest through politically-motivated dismissals, blacklisting, and criminal charges. Public pressure has in the past weeks and months led to withdrawal of at least eight criminal cases. Nevertheless, one year on, hundreds of workers continue to face the threat of serving time in prison for trumped-up and retaliatory charges.
C&A ignores union busting at its supplier factory in Myanmar
Two years ago this week, a Myanmar garment factory started a union-busting campaign against a newly formed union, leading to the dismissal and forced resignation of the union’s leadership. All that time, the factory’s major buyer – garment brand C&A – stood by and watched. Despite repeated requests, C&A has failed to address the situation and bring justice for the workers.
Myanmar union busting win after months of struggle
In a significant step for the Myanmar labour movement, workers at the Rui-Ning factory, producing for Inditex (Zara), Mango, Bestseller and Swiss brand Tally Weijl, are celebrating the signing of an agreement between the union, factory management and Inditex, regarding worker reinstatement and re-hiring following union busting.
Trade union leader spends 55 days in jail for Facebook post, brands do nothing
Soy Sros, a trade union leader in a Cambodian factory producing for luxury handbag brands Michael Kors and Kate Spade, spent 55 days in prison for writing a Facebook post condemning the factory’s dismissal of workers under Covid-19. The brands did nothing to protect her human rights.
Union busting in Myanmar under guise of Covid-19
Myanmar’s young and vulnerable trade union movement is being threatened under the guise of Covid-19, as selective dismissals of union leaders and members seek to undermine the workers’ rights movement.
Union victory at the Huabo Times factory in Myanmar
We congratulate the union at the Huabo Times factory in Myanmar for signing an agreement with the factory management after more than two months of fighting against union discrimination.
We stand in solidarity to demand global brands immediately end union busting in their supply chains
Today, Clean Clothes Campaign supports IndustriALL Global Union’s call for a global day of action against union busting in the garment industry. The Covid-19 pandemic has given garment factories around the world an excuse to dismiss workers en masse and many decide to use this opportunity selectively to remove union leaders and members from their factories.
Workers Suffer While Fashion Brands’ Profits Return
200 rights organisations demand brands fix their broken industry by putting the money on the table to ensure workers can feed their families and respecting labour rights. For only ten cents more per t-shirt, companies like Amazon, Nike, and Next can make sure workers survive the pandemic.
Garment workers in Hugo Boss supply chain fight union busting in context of Sri Lanka crisis
For almost three years, workers at Lanka Leather Fashion in Sri Lanka have been fighting for their right to unionise. The German-owned company was among the first to be established in the country’s free trade zone. It is Asia’s oldest and one of the region’s largest producers of high-end leather garments, boasting high-profile customers such as Hugo Boss.
Ongoing union busting at adidas' Myanmar supplier
Adidas considers the Pou Chen case 'resolved' however there are reports of ongoing union busting at the factory.
11 years since the Rana Plaza collapse factories are safer but the root causes of tragedy persist
24 April 2024 will mark the 11th anniversary of the fashion industry’s worst tragedy: the collapse of the Rana Plaza building, killing 1,138 people. The catastrophic death and injury toll was caused by a deadly mix of fashion brands ignoring dangerous factory conditions, poverty wages, and centrally, constraints on workers’ ability to organise collectively. While unprecedented progress has been made to make factories safer, the brutal crackdown on workers’ rights still unfolding in response to protests to increase the minimum wage has shown that apparel brands producing in Bangladesh are still failing to ensure that the basic rights of their workers are respected.
Levi’s breaks promise to workers in union busting struggle at Turkish garment factory
Workers at a Levi’s supplier in Türkiyehave faced harassment, attacks, arrests, and dismissal for exercising their right to chose their own union representation. Despite committing to the union that it would pressure the factory management to rehire unlawfully terminated union members, four months since the start of the conflict, Levi’s is still producing clothes at the factory and has stopped communicating with the union and labour rights advocates supporting them.
Trail of broken promises: Levi’s denies justice to unlawfully fired workers in Türkiye
After a serious instance of union busting at the Levi’s supply factory Özak Tekstil in Şanlıurfa, Türkiye, late in 2023, Levi’s made promises to uphold workers’ rights to freedom of association that the company failed to live up to in subsequent months. In response tonew research into the violations by the Worker Rights Consortium published earlier today, Clean Clothes Campaign renews its call on Levi’s to live up to its earlier promises and protect its workers’ right to organise freely.
Remembering the Rana Plaza collapse
Today, we commemorate that eleven years ago 1,138 people lost their lives in the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh. Our thoughts are with the people who lost loved ones in this tragedy and with every worker who lived through it. We will keep on fighting side by side with garment workers' unions to make clear that workers’ lives are not a commodity and can not be treated as disposable.
Solidarity with striking garment workers at Sumithra Hasalaka, Sri Lanka!
Around 300 members of the Free Trade Zones & General Services Employees Union (FTZ & GSEU) at the Sumithra Hasalaka factory in Sri Lanka, have been out on strike since Saturday 10th February 2024.
Sri Lankan workers continue two-months long strike for decent wages, while brands fail to take sufficient action
On 10 February 2024, workers of the Sumithra Hasalaka factory in Sri Lanka organised by the Free Trade Zones & General Services Employees Union (FTZ & GSEU) startedstriking for a wage offer that meets their cost of living. Two months on, these brave workers’ strike continues in the face of harassment and intimidation, financial hardship, and during the most important family holiday of the year, the Sinhala and Tamil new year. International brands sourcing from the factory group have taken insufficient action to ensure their suppliertreatsworkers better.
Union activists in Bangladesh beaten and threatened for exercising their right to organise
Last week, on 15 February 2024, union organisers and activists of the Akota Garment Worker Federation (AGWF) in Bangladesh were beaten, threatened, and subsequently hospitalised. The attack followed an attempt by workers of the Libas Textiles factory in Gazipur, to establish a factory union that would join the AGWF.
Victory for newly unionised garment workers in Nike factory, Sri Lanka
After months of struggle and uncertainty, 18 workers of a Nike sock factory in Sri Lanka, who were suspended for forming a branch union, are now back at their jobs with the branch union in place. This victory shows that union busting has no place in garment supply chains and that workers standing together and international solidarity can make a real difference.