In this issue:
Editorial
For companies like Gap and Gildan that have a longer
history of engaging with labour rights groups, public
campaigning shouldn’t still be necessary to make them do
the right thing. But if constructive engagement isn’t
achieving concrete results, companies need to be
reminded that labour rights organizations are prepared
to mobilize public pressure - which is what
motivated them to engage in the first place.
>>Read
more
Gap
pulls out of Bangladesh fire safety program
On October 2, after over a year of discussions with
trade union and labour rights organizations, Gap Inc.
announced that it is refusing to participate in a
groundbreaking fire safety program for the garment
industry in Bangladesh. Instead it decided to set up a
separate program, accountable to no one – least of all
worker representatives.
>>
Read more
Pakistan's
Fire Tragedy
The death of more than 300 garment workers in a
September 11 factory fire in Karachi, Pakistan has
exposed the total failure of the provincial Ministry of
Labour, the major buyer sourcing from the factory, and a
US-based multi-stakeholder initiative to ensure respect
for the country’s health and safety laws.
>>Read
more
Honduras: Star
management encourages threats of violence against
union supporters
When Canadian T-shirt manufacturer Gildan Activewear
purchased Anvil Knitwear in May 2012, workers at Anvil’s
unionized Star factory in El Progreso, Honduras were
understandably worried about their job security. After
all, Gildan was the same company that had closed a
wholly-owned factory in El Progreso eight years earlier
in order to avoid having to accept and negotiate with a
union.
>>Read
more
We had to build a
workers’ movement: An interview with Yannick
Etienne
Yannick Etiene is an organizer for the May First Union
Federation and a member of the Haitian social movement
Batay Ouvriye. MSN had the opportunity to speak with
Yannick in Washington DC in October 2012.
>>Read
more
Acuña, Mexico: Fraud
and harassment taint union representation vote
The Mexican National Miners’ Union (Los Mineros) is
challenging the results of a union representation
election at the Finnish-owned PKC auto parts factory in
Ciudad Acuña, Mexico. According to the official count,
Los Mineros narrowly lost the vote – 2,311 to 2,509 – to
a “protection union” affiliated with the Confederation
of Mexican Workers (CTM) that was supported by the
employer.
>>Read
more
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