Labour Behind The Label

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- 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.

On July 30, the Bangladesh government announced its proposal to raise the minimum monthly wage to 3000 Taka (€32), effective November 1, 2010. Of that amount, 2,000 takas would be the basic pay while 800 takas would be paid in house rent and 200 takas in health allowance. The apprentice level wage would increase to 2,500 takas (€27), up from the present 1,200 takas (€13).

PRESS RELEASE:

Garment-workers unions and labour-rights organisations have reacted with indignation and disappointment at the newly-proposed increase to the minimum wage in Bangladesh' garment industry. Yesterday the National Wage Board recommended an increase of the minimum wage to 3000 Bangladeshi 'taka' (£27).

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.

The National Garment Workers Federation of Bangladesh is urging the Bangladesh government to announce a minimum wage worth Tk 5,000 a month for the garment and textile sector by July 27 2010.

This new report by War on Want uncovers evidence of workers in Bangladesh regularly working 80 hours a week for just 5p an hour, in potential death trap factories, to produce cheap clothes for British consumers of Primark, Tesco and Asda's 'George' range.  The research found six factories producing for some or all of the companies, and found serious workers rights violations in each, with workers too frightened to join a union and few who had even heard of a code of conduct, let alone spoken openly to social auditors.  These six factories prove that despite the fact that all three have commited to ensuring freedom of association, a living wage, legal working hours and proper monitoring and verifaction of supplier factories illegal and exploitative conditions are found within their supply chain.  Whilst the research focused on factories in Bangladesh we can have little confidence similar conditions don't exist in other factories or other countries.

Yet another factory fire erupted in a Bangladeshi garment factory this week, the fourth such tragedy in the past two weeks. Three female workers were killed and 50 were injured in the Saiem Fashion Ltd fire and the subsequent stampede to escape the burning buiding. The only exit to the factory was deliberately blocked by boxes, a fact that has led leading workers rights activist, Neil Kearney, to refer to the incident as "murder."