FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

• The world’s leading retail labels commit to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh before the  midnight deadline.
• The Accord now covers more than 1000 Bangladeshi garment factories. Implementation starts now!
• GAP, Asda Walmart, Arcadia and Debenhams yet to sign.

A powerful alliance with leading unions IndustriALL Global Union and UNI Global Union, the Clean Clothes Campaign and Worker Rights Consortium, supported by campaigns run by, among others, Avvaz, War on Want, Change.org and People and Planet have changed the rules of the game for workers in Bangladesh.

We welcome the decision of those companies who have signed up to the Accord and commend them for acting responsibly in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza tragedy. Forty-eight hours ago H&M started the ball rolling and we now have most major global household brands on board.

As the countdown ended the following companies have signed on: H&M, Inditex, C&A, PVH, Tchibo, Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Primark, El Corte Inglés, Hess Natur, jbc, Mango, Carrefour, KiK, Helly Hansen, G-Star, Aldi, New Look, Next, Mothercare, Loblaws, Sainsbury’s, Benetton, N Brown Group, Stockmann,  WE Group, Esprit, Rewe, Lidl, Switcher and Abercrombie&Fitch.

Sam Maher from Labour Behind the Label (representing the CCC in the UK) says: 'The fact that so many brands have signed the legally enforceable safety Accord that has unions and workers at the centre will bring historic change in the Bangladeshi industry. This agreement will mean workers no longer have to fear for their lives each time they enter their factory. We regret that a number of companies including Gap, Walmart, Matalan and Arcadia have not yet signed the Accord.  We strongly encourage them to reconsider their position.

IndustriALL Global Union General Secretary, Jyrki Raina says, 'The companies who signed up are to be applauded. H&M showed the way by being the first to sign this week. We will not close the door on brands who want to join the Accord after the deadline but we will be forging ahead with the implementation plan from today. Those who want to join later will not be in a position to influence decisions already made. The train moves on and these companies will drive the process – there can be no uncommitted passengers because the stakes are too high. We are talking improving the working conditions and lives of some of the most exploited workers in the world, earning $38 a month in dangerous conditions.'

UNI Global Union General Secretary, Philip Jennings says, 'We made it! This accord is a turning point. We are putting in place rules that mark the end of the race to the bottom in the global supply chain.

Commenting on the no-shows Jennings said, “Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is out of step. By not signing up the Walmart brand sinks to a new low. We will go forward without them.'

In agreeing to the binding programme of fire and building safety reforms based on independent inspections, worker-led health and safety committees and union access to factories, signatories commit to underwrite improvements in dangerous factories and properly confront fire safety and structural problems. Importantly the Accord grants workers the right to refuse dangerous work, in line with ILO Convention 155.

• Primark, H&M, C&A and Inditex's decision to sign the legally binding Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh is crucial: Pressure mounts on other key industry players to sign
• The leadership of PvH (Calvin Klein/Tommy Hilfiger) and Tchibo, the first two companies to embrace a binding agreement, has been vital. 

For immediate release: 30th April 2013

Labour Behind the Label welcomes the statement released by Primark yesterday, in which they acknowledge responsibility for the devastating loss of life at Rana Plaza last Wednesday and commit to paying compensation to the victims of the disaster. We call on the other brands sourcing from Rana Plaza factories to identify themselves and make a similar commitment.

29.04.2013 - Labour Behind the Label, the UK platform for the Clean Clothes Campaign, is sickened by the preventable collapse of Rana Plaza and condemns brands for their failure to prevent such heavy loss of life once again. Brands must now must come forward, ensure emergency steps are taken and pay without delay into a compensation fund for the victims and their families. They must also commit to prevent future disasters.

24.4.13 LONDON – Labour rights groups and trade unions in Bangladesh and internationally are calling for immediate action from international brands following today's collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Savar, Bangladesh. Over 82 workers were killed in the wreckage and over 800 injured, with the death toll is set to rise as further bodies are found.

The building contained 3 separate clothing factories, which locals say housed around 6,000 workers. Following the collapse, activists were able to enter the ruins and discovered labels from brands including Primark and Mango, indicating that they were sourcing from the factories. Rana Plaza also produced for a host of well known brand names including C&A, KIK and Wal-Mart.

Anna McMullen of Labour Behind the Label said of Apple's decision to remove 'Sweatshop HD' game from its App Store:

Garment workers alongside international brands and government representatives gave evidence at a tribunal which started in Bangalore today to assess claims of systematic human rights abuses in the Indian garment industry. 250 garment workers from Bangalore, Gurgaon and Tirupur attended the tribunal, foregoing their daily wage and attendance bonus, to share testimonies of rights abuses and exploitation at the hands of western brands, surveyed by a panel of international judges.

18.9.12 - London. Europe's most popular cheap fashion brands will become the target of human rights campaign outrage today as groups of Clean Clothes Campaign activists faint inside stores in four countries. The action highlights the ongoing mass faintings happening in Cambodian factories, due to poverty pay and malnutrition in workers who sew Gap, H&M, Zara and Levi's fashion items.

• Clean Clothes Campaign calls on brands sourcing from Pakistan to undertake immediate reviews of their suppliers.
• Ali Enterprises reportedly supplied the European market.
• CCC warns that similar disasters could happen again if the root causes of these fires are not addressed urgently.

Information emerging from Pakistan today suggests that the Ali Enterprise factory in Karachi, which burned down on Tuesday killing over 300 workers, was supplying goods to the European market. The Clean Clothes Campaign is now calling on all brands and retailers sourcing from Karachi to undertake immediate reviews of all their suppliers.

For immediate release

International Olympic Committee are under pressure to take a stand on sweatshop labour as a report showing widespread exploitation of workers producing merchandise for the London Olympic games is released.