Labour Behind The Label

Aminul Islam, a Bangladeshi labor rights activist and former apparel worker was tortured and murdered last week in Dhaka. His body was dumped outside of the capital city and was found by local police last Thursday. According to the police report, Aminul Islam's body bore signs of brutal torture. It is most likely that Aminul was murdered because of his labour rights work.

Kalpona Akter and Babul Akhter from LBL partner organisation, Bangladesh Workers Solidarity Centre, are due to appear in court later this month after a judge ruled their cases should be processed under a speedy trial system. Labour Behind the Label believes there is strong evidence that these cases have been fabricated and is calling on Walmart, a major buyer from one of the factories involved, to get the charges against them dropped.

A new report by SweatFree Communities demands an end to the suppression and criminalisation of trade union organisers and human rights advocates in Bangladesh.

Labour Behind the Label is very pleased to announce the release of Kalpona Akter, Babul Akhter and Aminul Islam after spending 30 days in custody. During a special hearing on Wednesday September 8, 2010, a magistrate judge granted bail to the three defendants, and ordered their release.

Babul Akhter, a leader of the Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity (BCWS) NGO, and General Secretary of the BGIWF trade union, has reportedly suffered a brutal beating while in custody. Akhter also was threatened during this incident with being made a victim of a staged police shooting.

Labour- and human-rights organisations in Europe, the U.S., and Canada are condemning the arrest late Thursday night of leaders of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity (BCWS) and calling for their immediate release. Ms. Kalpona Akter and Mr. Babul Ahkter were arrested at 2:00 am in Dhaka by twenty armed police.

Since the announcement of the new minimum wage proposal on July 29, workers continued their protests in the streets. Violent clashes between workers and the police resulted in many arrests, and cases against thousands of workers, often anonymously, have been filed. On July 30, more criminal cases were filed against the BCWS staff and other worker leaders. Your urgent support is needed to stop the crackdown on the labour rights organisations.

The Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity (BCWS) has long had to contend with Bangladeshi government repression and surveillance as security forces tap their phone lines, monitor their emails, and sometimes search their offices. However, the current crackdown is the harshest yet, threatening BCWS’s existence and putting staff and organizational leaders in serious physical danger.

The immediate cause of the cancellation of BCWS’s legal status appears to be related to BCWS supporting workers in their effort to form an independent trade union at one particular garment factory, Nassa Global Wear. After harassment of union leaders, workers contacted BCWS in April, 2010, to receive support and help to resolve the conflict at the factory.

The Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity (BCWS) was founded in 2001 by two former child garment workers in Bangladesh. Their aim is to promote worker rights and “establish a congenial atmosphere in the working place to increase productivity and contribute to the national economy.” A non-political non-governmental organization, BCWS is widely known for its credible research on labour rights compliance in the ready-made-garment factories and is committed to lawful means of redressing labour rights violations.