Today, on the seventh anniversary of the devastating collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, MSN joins with the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) global network in remembering the 1,134 garment workers who were killed and all their family members and others affected by this preventable tragedy.

On April 3, 2020, Mexican maquila workers lost an indefatigable champion of their labour and human rights, Reyna Ramírez Sánchez. Reyna was a much loved and respected long-term MSN friend and ally, whose tenacity, creativity and fervour for justice left an impact on all who worked with her, and will be sorely missed.

La red global de la Campaña Ropa Limpia (CCC) ha elaborado una serie de demandas a las marcas, tiendas, tiendas por internet y gobiernos para mitigar los efectos de la crisis en las cadenas globales de aprovisionamiento causada por el COVID-19 y para crear sistemas más fuertes que funcionen para las trabajadoras(es) en el futuro.

Statement from the Clean Clothes Campaign, International Labor Rights Forum, Maquila Solidarity Network, and Worker Rights Consortium

On Sunday, March 8th, women around the world took to the streets to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) and demand the end of gender-based violence and discrimination. Throughout Latin America, women’s movements organized massive protests on March 8 and one-day strikes on Monday, March 9.  

On February 8, a fire broke out in the Nandan Denim factory in Ahmedabad, India. Severe security defects left workers scrambling to escape through the only available exit, a ladder leading to the outside, once again drawing attention to serious fire and safety concerns of Indian garment industry.

Labour organizations are calling for compensation for the families of the killed workers and workers in terms of income loss and medical costs, which is a stipulation of ILO Convention 121 on employment injury benefits.

Workers’ fight for decent wages has been ongoing in Bangladesh, as has government repression whenever workers organize to achieve improved wages and working conditions.

In December 2016, worker protests for decent wages were met with violent crackdowns by national and industrial police forces. Despite the repression, workers have continued to mobilize and lobby industry and government for substantial increases to the country’s minimum wage.

The witness signatories to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh have released a public statement warning of problems with the transition of the Accord’s responsibilities to a new local safety inspection body.

Over a year has passed since tens of thousands of garment workers took to the streets at the end of December 2018 and January 2019, to protest the Bangladeshi government’s failure to set a decent minimum wage that would meet their basic needs.

Author: Clean Clothes Campaign, Human Rights Watch, IndustriALL, International Corporate Accountability Roundtable, International Labor Rights Forum, International Trade Union Confederation, Maquila Solidarity Network, UNI Global Union & Worker Rights Consortium

In the final days prior to dropping the writ for the federal election, the Trudeau government published a revised mandate of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE). While making minor changes to the most highly criticized clauses, the revised mandate fails to provide the new office the investigatory powers it needs to hold Canadian mining, oil and gas, and garment companies accountable for human rights violations when conducting business abroad.