Primary links

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

Working Conditions

February 6, 2003

Tehuacan

Blue Jeans, Blue Waters and Worker Rights

A report on the effects of free trade and the restructuring jean industry on workers, indigenous communities and the environment in the Tehuacan Valley, Mexico. Calls for local action and international solidarity, and cautions against extending the Tehuacan economic model to southern Mexico and Central America through the Plan Puebla-Panama. Also available in Spanish.

January 22, 2003

A Canadian Success Story?

Gildan Activewear: T-shirts, Free Trade and Worker Rights

A 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.

October 3, 2000

A Needle in a Haystack: Tracing Canadian Garment Connections in Mexico and Central America

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.