September 28, 2007

Legal action is being used by a company producing garments in India to silence labour rights organisations in India and the Netherlands who are speaking out about severe worker rights violations in factories producing jeans for companies including G-Star, Armani, RaRe, Guess, Gap and Mexx.

• Amnesty International's statement on continued harassment

On September 26, 2007, the local court in Bangalore, India issued arrest warrants against seven staff members of the European Clean Clothes Campaign and the India Committee of the Netherlands. Notwithstanding international pressure, Fibres and Fabrics International (FFI/JKPL) keeps refusing to engage with union and local labour rights organisations and stop legal action.

Instead of working with local organisations to improve labour conditions and labour relations, the jeans supplier is trying to stop labour rights groups from distributing information on the situation at FFI/JKPL and has filed restraining orders and libel lawsuits to silence them. The worker rights advocates are committed to pursuing justice for the women and men who stitch our jeans, but support is needed in the face of the huge legal campaign mounted by FFI/JKPL.

How you can help

Support the labour rights organisations in Bangalore and abroad that are under attack by placing the urgent appeal on this case on your website, including the original report detailing the labour rights violations at FFI/JKPL facilities. By helping to post and distribute information on the FFI/JKPL case you can help make it clear that labour rights organisations will not be silenced, and that freedom of association and freedom of speech are fundamental rights.

Previous news

• Clean Clothes Campaign summoned to Indian court in alleged defamation case