Labour Behind The Label

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.

On 22nd April, join anti-sweatshop activists from around the world at Footlocker stores across Europe and the US to call on them to drop adidas from their stores until they pay ex-PT Kizone workers the $1.8million they are owed in unpaid severance. This will mark the beginning of a week of action in the UK that will ramp up the pressure on the UK’s biggest retailer of adidas footwear.

Actions are already planned across the country and more will be announced soon. Click on the dots on the map below to find out more about the action in your area.

Footlocker represents a key source of profit for Adidas internationally and, as one of Adidas’ biggest retailers, they could play a huge role in getting them to pay up, so we’re demanding they stand up and call on Adidas to ensure these workers are paid what they are owed.

Join the Footlocker International Day of Action on 22nd April, take action another day that week, or if you really love workers, every day that week.

If there isn't an action already listed then why not organise your own? Find out where your nearest Footlocker store is located, get a group of friends together and take action!  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it that you are organising an event and we'll send you an action pack and add your event to the map below.

And if you can't come along at all (or even if you can) then join us virtually by taking part in our Thunderclap action. This will help us get the message out by highlighting the campaign on hundreds of facebook and twitter pages, coinciding with the shop actions taking place on the 22nd April.

View Map of Footlocker Actions in a larger map

On November 24th 2012 112 garment workers were killed when fire ripped through their factory, Tazreen Fashions. Many of the workers jumped to their deaths trying to escape from the six story building, others, unable to escape the blaze, were burned alive. Up to 300 workers were hurt in the fire, 48 of which are suffering from long term injuries. These workers were employed by Tazreen Fashions to make clothing for a host of international brands, including C&A, Walmart and the British clothing retailer Edinburgh Woollen Mill.

The families of the dead and injured workers are now struggling to survive. The loss of the income provided by these workers, the stress and grief from losing a family member and unexpected costs of medical treatment have left them devastated. Bangladesh unions have calculated that, according to international standards, each family that has lost a wage earner is entitled to £33,000 in compensation for pain and suffering and for loss of income. This money will not bring back their loved one, but it will enable them to start rebuilding their lives.

C&A and Li and Fung have contributed some financial support but this falls far below what is needed. Walmart has terminated the relationship with the supplier which had subcontracted to Tazreen without authorisation, but has done nothing to help the families of those killed. Edinburgh Woollen Mill has, to date, refused to accept any responsibility for these families and has not contributed a penny of compensation.

It doesn’t have to be so difficult: in January 2013 a fire killed eight workers at the Smart Export factory, located close to Tazreen. Within a month two brands sourcing from this factory had negotiated a compensation package with local unions. They illustrate that brands can take responsibility when the worst happens.

TAKE ACTION NOW! Send an email to Edinburgh Woollen Mill and call on them to take responsibility for Tazreen workers!

Dear Mr Read It is now over three months since 112 workers were killed at Tazreen Fashions, where goods were being made for Edinburgh Woollen Mill. I understand that the victims are still awaiting appropriate compensation. This is not an impossible demand. As I'm sure you are aware, brands sourcing from another factory, Smart Exports, where 9 workers were killed in January have already negotiated compensation with the trade unions. Edinburgh Woollen Mill must take responsibility for the workers that were killed and injured in this terrible tragedy. I am writing to call on your company to immediately enter into negotations with the trade unions in regard to provide, with other brands, full and fair compensation for all the victims of the Tazreen fire on the basis of international standards and best practices in Bangladesh. I am sure you will agree that such a tragedy should never happen again. Therefore I am urging Edinburgh Woollen Mill to take the measures needed to prevent fires from making more victims. The Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement, developed by Bangladeshi and international trade unions, with the support of the Clean Clothes Campaign, has been developed with this aim. I hope to receive the news that your company has agreed to sign this agreement as soon as possible. No more time should be wasted to avoid new tragedies from happening. Yours Sincerely,You must send a letter of some sort

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 The Clean Clothes Campaign, along with trade unions and labour rights organisations in Bangladesh and around the world is calling for immediate action from international brands following yesterday's fire in Dhaka Bangladesh, which cost the lives over one hundred garment workers.

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.

• 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.

On 19 September the Thai Criminal Court will announce the date of the verdict of Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, well known editor and long time labour rights activist in Thailand. He could face up to 30 years in prison.

We need your voice again, so let it be loud!  Tell the Thai Prime Minister: Release Somyot now!