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
Shortly after a new union was formed last September in Haiti's growing apparel manufacturing sector, six of the seven workers who serve on the union's executive committee were fired or forced to resign by the factories where they worked. But we're pleased to report that thanks to concerted efforts by Haitian and international labour rights groups, all but one of the workers have now been reinstated and are back at work.
The apparel industry was widely hailed in some circles as a vital economic opportunity for Haiti, particularly after the devastating earthquake which hit the country in January 2010. Although the creation of approximately 26,000 jobs in the country is certainly welcome, the full benefits of those jobs will only be felt if the workers have access to their legal rights, including the right to form unions and bargain collectively, and are paid a living wage.
In December 2003, MSN, together with the Canadian Labour Congress and the Independent Federation of Honduran Workers (FITH), filed a formal complaint with the Fair Labor Association (FLA) concerning the unjust firings of workers suspected of union sympathies at Gildan Activewear's El Progreso factory in Honduras. The complaint alleged that there was a pattern of violations of freedom of association at the factory. On January 6, the same parties filed a complaint with the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC). Investigations by both the FLA and WRC confirmed MSN's allegations of violations of worker rights at the factory.
Gildan Activewear: T-shirts, Free Trade and Worker RightsA revealing look at the impacts of free trade on the lives of maquiladora workers who make Gildan T-shirts in Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador. Offers concrete recommendations to the company and stakeholders on ways to improve working conditions and labour practices.
A Needle in a Haystack examines Canadian investment and sourcing practices in the garment assembly-for-export industry in Mexico and Central America, and labour practices and working conditions in those factories. This report includes case studies on two Canadian manufacturers -- Nygard International and Gildan Activewear; country labour "vignettes" for Canadian homeworkers and maquila garment-for-export workers in Nicaragua, Honduras and Mexico; and corporate profiles of prominent Canadian retailers and manufacturers.
Unless otherwise noted, all work on this website is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.
