WELCOME TO THE ARCHIVE (1994-2014) OF THE MAQUILA SOLIDARITY NETWORK. For current information on our ongoing work on the living wage, women's labour rights, freedom of association, corporate accountability and Bangladesh fire and safety, please visit our new website, launched in October, 2015: www.maquilasolidarity.org
November 2, 2012
Since 2006 at least 500 Bangladeshi garment workers have died in factory fires while sewing clothing for giant clothing brands, like Gap and H&M.
Future tragic deaths could be prevented if more brands and retailers would follow the lead of companies like PVH Corp (owner of the Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein brands) and the German retailer Tchibo by agreeing to a fire safety program that includes truly independent factory inspections, mandatory repairs and renovations of safety hazards, a central role for workers and trade unions, public transparency and legally-binding commitments to protect workers.
Yet after months of negotiations with labour rights groups (including MSN) to join PVH and Tchibo in a comprehensive fire safety program, Gap broke off talks and announced they were launching their own, company-controlled, fire safety program – one in which factory monitoring is controlled entirely by Gap, with no transparency, no role for workers or their trade unions, no commitment to pay prices to suppliers that make it feasible for them operate responsibly, and no binding commitments of any kind.
IndustriALL global union, Clean Clothes Campaign, International Labor Rights Forum, Maquila Solidarity Network and the Worker Rights Consortium have released a joint public statement denouncing Gap’s refusal to participate in a comprehensive, transparent and accountable fire safety program.
Download the full statement here (PDF)
We are asking MSN supporters to join Bangladeshi and international unions and labour groups in calling on Gap to stop their public relations games and commit to a real fire safety program that will save the lives of Bangladeshi garment workers. Please take a moment to sign a letter telling Gap to start taking their responsibilities for worker safety seriously. MSN is asking its supporters to sign on to a letter hosted by the European Clean Clothes Campaign, one of our international partners in the campaign, to build an effective workplace safety program in Bangladesh.
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