Index

NEWSLETTER 22, Oct 2006 Urgent Appeals

"Your 'click' makes a difference"

A libel lawsuit against Junya Lek Yimprasert, coordinator of the Thai Labour Campaign (TLC), was withdrawn in June 2006 after international campaigning.

Bangkok, June 2006 - Lek Yimprasert (middle) flanked by members of her legal team, Siriwan Wongkietpaisarn and Sorakrai Sornsri, after the lawsuit against her was dropped.

Yimprasert had been charged by Publicis Thailand with "defa-mation by propagation" after the TLC website republished an article from CSR Asia Weekly about an unfair dismissal case filed by the company's employees. Publicis Thailand is the Thai subsidiary of French-based global public relations giant Publicis Groupe.

Campaigners around the world called upon Publicis to un-conditionally drop the charges against Yimprasert. On June 20, Publicis lawyers withdrew the suit from Bangkok's Southern Criminal Court.

Reflecting upon her experience, Yimprasert said, "It is frustrating that we, who are directly in contact with workers that produce for the world and witness many rights violations, cannot bring the situation to the attention of the world without the risk of being sued. Furthermore, workers who report to us, of course, must face all kinds of pressures and risk being dismissed".

"I think that solidarity action has worked again in this case," she said. "To every supporter that helped us this time: I would encourage you to continue your solidarity in any of the future campaigns led by LabourStart, Clean Clothes Campaign and Reseau-Solidarité. Your 'click' is really making a difference in the producing world. I think that my case has been further proof of that".

For more information on this case see
www.cleanclothes.org/urgent/06-06-22.htm.

"Hermosa? Not our problem"

Hermosa in El Salvador made sportswear for famous brands until it closed in May 2005, shortly after workers formed a trade union. The 190 workers were thrown out of a job. A year later, they are still owed outstanding wages and severance pay, as well as many benefits due under law. Some are on blacklists for defending their rights and therefore are unable to find new work. Some have lost their homes.

Hermosa had long been known as a problem factory. CCC had been reporting problems there to brands since 2000. The company also owes several hundred thousand dollars to govern-ment health and pension funds, including money deducted from employees which was never remitted. The owner, Salvador Montalvo Machado, is due to go on trial.

Following pressure after the 2005 closure, adidas, Russell Reebok and Nike, working with the Fair Labor Association, did carry out a detailed investigation. Others like Pentland and Wal-Mart, meanwhile, stood back and waited.

Under dispute are not the facts but whose responsibility it is to resolve the workers' desperate situation. Companies say it is up to the Government of El Salvador to make the owner pay up. This is true. However, workers are appealing for an emergency fund to help them in the interim.

A representative of the Hermosa workers, Estela Ramirez, toured Germany in the run-up to the World Cup. At that time, and again in August, the CCC issued urgent action requests - it is hoped that ongoing public pressure will help focus the minds of the brands on taking some responsi-bility for the workers who used to make their goods but are now seriously struggling to make ends meet.

For more on this case see
www.cleanclothes.org/urgent/06-08-10.htm.

Adidas Drags its Feet in Indonesia

The PT Panarub factory outside Jakarta, has been supplying goods to adidas for over ten years. The factory's 11,500 workers produce sports shoes, including top-of-the line football boots, such as the Predator Pulse line promoted by England's David Beckham and France's Zinedine Zidane and the +F50.6 Tunit promoted by Alessandro Del Piero (Italy), Arjen Robben (Nether-lands), David Villa (Spain), Djibril Cisse and David Treze-huet (France), Hernad Crespo (Argentina) and Ze Roberto (Brazil).

Following a one-day strike in October 2005, 33 members of the Perbupas union at the factory were sacked. However, adidas has refused to help them get their jobs back.

Panarub has a history of poor wages and working conditions and failure to respect labour rights. An investigation by the US-based Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) in January 2004 identified serious health and safety issues at the factory. Employees in the hot press section had to inhale melting rubber fumes throughout their shift, and many operating the hot glue machines had scars or fresh burns on their hands. The WRC also documented systematic discrimination of members of Perbupas, one of the unions at the factory. The case was raised during the "Play Fair at the Olympics" Campaign in 2004.

To its credit, adidas responded positively and worked with factory management and local organisations, including both unions in the factory, to improve conditions and end discrimination against Perbupas.

But now adidas' support for workers' rights at Panarub is again in question. Panarub management refuses to reinstate 30 of the Perbupas unionists sacked in October 2005. Strike demands included a call for an increased annual bonus to help cover dramatic increases in workers' costs of living. Paiman, a Panarub worker, told a researcher from Oxfam Australia, "My salary is not enough to provide necessities for my family so I had to take out a loan".

For a while adidas waited on the outcome of legal proceedings, but in April the National Human Rights Commission made it clear that Panarub does not have a case for the sackings. Adidas' code of practice requires its suppliers to respect workers' right to freedom of association, including the right to strike. Adidas should uphold its code, not drag its feet. The 30 sacked unionists must have their jobs back.

For more on this case see
www.cleanclothes.org/urgent/06-06-12.htm.

Garment Workers Take to the Streets in Bangladesh

Rioting broke out in industrial areas across Bangladesh in mid-late May 2006. The protests erupted following reports that police had shot a worker from the FS Sweater factory in Dhaka. FS workers were on strike for the release of three colleagues arrested after they demanded fairer piece-rates. The factory produces, amongst others, for Auchan, H&M, Gap, M&S, Inditex, Tesco and Next.

The unrest spread as thousands of garment workers seized the chance to express their anger and frustration, particularly about low wages. The legal minimum wage for the garment sector was last set in 1994 at just 930 taka (less than 10 euros per month), since then the cost of living has risen massively. Meanwhile Bangladeshi garment industry exports are now worth US$7 billion a year.

As over a hundred factories were allegedly ransacked or torched, thousands of police and paramilitary units were mobilised to crush the protests using tear gas, batons and even live rounds. Two workers were confirmed dead (reports speak of five) and hundreds injured. By June 3, all factories in the Dhaka Export Processing Zone were closed for four days and workers barred from entering the Zone.

Sources reported that up to 4,000 people faced arrest for their alleged role in the riots. Among the hundreds seized were officials from the Bangladesh Independent Garment Workers Union Federation (BIGUF) and the Garment Workers Unity Forum (GWUF). Though later released, they continue to face multiple charges.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreeing among other points that workers should receive one day off in seven, appointment letters, that there should be no barriers to freedom of association and collective bargaining (as per the labour law), and that a minimum wage board should be reformed was signed on June 22 by 16 Bangladeshi unions and industry. A wage board was been set up to determine new pay scales for the sector, with the unions proposing a basic wage of 3,000 taka per month (33 euros). However, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) is offering less than half this. So stoppages and demonstrations continue.

Also in late July, Minister of Commerce Hafizuddin Ahmed gave garment owners licence to open fire on workers who attack their factories. At a meeting of the BGMEA he was quoted as saying, "Sometimes you have to be tough. You can wait for one or two incidents and then straight fire on the attackers to save your factories" (quoted in Daily Star, July 25, 2006).

The CCC has posted several urgent action requests in relation to the situation in Bangladesh, for more information see:
www.cleanclothes.org/urgent/06-05-31.htm and
www.cleanclothes.org/urgent/06-05-25.htm.

Still No Progress at A-One Factory

Korean-owned A-One in the Dhaka Export Processing Zone was one of the factories reportedly targeted by rioters in Bangladesh in May 2006. Over 250 employees dismissed, terminated and forcefully removed by A-One cannot get their jobs back. The case shows what lies behind the long-standing frustration felt by garment workers in the country.

In September-October 2005, 255 A-One workers were unlawfully dismissed and forcefully removed from the site. They included workers' representatives who had been elected to form a Workers Representation and Welfare Committee under the 2004 laws governing EPZs in the country. A number of them received death threats. Nevertheless, the A-One workers tried to deal with their grievances through proper channels.

Brands sourcing at A-One included the German companies Tchibo and Miles, the Italian companies COIN and Tessival, the Dutch retailer C&A, and US-based Target/AMC. During late 2005/early 2006, CCC groups in Europe and the Solidarity Center in the US were in contact with these companies. Some buyers (notably Tchibo) made an effort, and requested A-One to reinstate all dismissed workers. Meetings were held between A-One management, some of the brands, workers' representa-tives, Bangladeshi unions supporting them, and the garment workers' global union ITGLWF.

However, the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA) continued to collude with A-One management to prevent the 2004 EPZ law from being implemented. Unfortu-nately, buyers have tended to give great credence to BEPZA and the notion that a legal process is in place to handle disputes. They have repeatedly used this to delay acting themselves.

In the month after the riots, and with the sacked A-One workers still not reinstated, the CCC issued a public request for action.

For more information on this case see
www.cleanclothes.org/urgent/06-06-01.htm.

Settlement in Madagascar

After nearly two years of trying to get her job back, the illegally-dismissed workers' representative Sabine Razafindranisa ("Nisa") has settled her case with the Cote Sud factory in Madagascar.

Worn down by the struggle to be reinstated and compelled by financial need, Nisa, a mother of four, opted to accept payment for the salary owed to her. She has also been promised retire-ment compensation of 20,000 Ariary per month (about 7 euros).

Cote Sud management refused to reinstate her despite inter-vention by the Ministry of Labor and the Jones Apparel Group (US). Cote Sud supplies Gloria Vanderbilt, part of the Jones group. International pressure pushed Jones into action, but their efforts were too little, too late.

Outstanding issues at Cote Sud include: dismissing workers when they are sick or pregnant, refusing sick workers per-mission to seek medical care, misuse of temporary contracts, compulsory overtime, and extremely low wages. Although Jones has stated they will work for improvements at Cote Sud, local management has this time succeeded in keeping an organiser out of the workplace.

First reports are that the agreed-upon retirement payments have not been made for Nisa. The CCC will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that the terms of Nisa's settlement are fulfilled and that outstanding issues at Cote Sud are addressed. The CCC has requested that Jones provide more information on what concrete steps they will take to improve respect for workers rights at Cote Sud, given the repressive context that currently exists in the wake of Nisa's illegal dismissal.

For more information on this case, see
www.cleanclothes.org/urgent/06-06-21.htm.