Labor is Not a Commodity

Workers in Cambodia Take to the Streets to Demand Higher Wages

By Diana Karakos, Intern, International Labor Rights Forum 

Something amazing has happened this week. One of the most exciting examples of workers standing together for the betterment of all 300,000 garment factory workers in Cambodia is incredible and one for the history books. On Monday, September 13, 60,000 of Cambodia’s garment industry workers went on strike demanding a raise and by the third day about 190,000 workers were on strike. They are led by Ath Thorn, the President of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union (C.CAWDU) one of the key union partners of ILRF in Cambodia. The minimum wage was raised from $50 per month to $61 per month. However, the workers are demanding that it be raised to $93 per month as $61 per month is not enough for a living wage. You can draw parallels to this situation as what we have writing about in Bangladesh where the government raised the minimum wage but yet it wasn’t anywhere near a wage that would meet basic needs.

25 year old Chheng Chanvy explains, “We don’t get a salary.  We are paid by the quality of the work, so we earn around $50 to $90 a month. This is not enough. My family spends almost all of that on water and electricity bills.” Chanvy is employed by the Chinese company, San Lei Fung Garment & Woolen knitting Factory Ltd.  This factory supplies top buyers such as Jones New York, Nine West, Evan Picone, and Ralph Lauren.

Reverse Trick-or-Treating to Combat Child Labor

By Courtney Smith, Intern, International Labor Rights Forum

As Halloween is approaching, ILRF thought it would be appropriate to reflect on the state of the U.S. chocolate market.  While many people associate chocolate with smiling, happy children, in reality this is not actually the case.  Hershey dominates the U.S. chocolate market, and yet many people are still unaware of the implications of their chocolate sourcing in West Africa. 

The International Labor Rights Forum, Global Exchange, Green America and Oasis USA recently published a report on Hershey, drawing attention to this issue.  In West African countries like Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, many of the cocoa farms use forced and trafficked child labor.  Because cocoa farmers are paid so little, they are often driven to use child labor because they cannot afford to pay an adult wage.  These children are in some cases forced to work on cocoa plantations for no pay and risk serious bodily harm due to injuries, but also lose their right to an education.   Even more, some children have been trafficked from nearby countries like Mali and Burkina Faso to work on these cocoa farms, further removing them from their families.   

The Plight of Domestic Workers

Jessica Jones, Programs Assistant

With 24 nails and one needle drilled into her hands, legs and forehead, Daneris Ariyawathie made the long journey across the Arabian Sea back to her home in Sri Lanka in early September to receive medical attention from the physical abuse she endured on her job. Like many women in Sri Lanki, Daneris sought what she thought to be an auspicious employment opportunity and immigrated to Saudi Arabia in March of 2010 in order to work as a domestic worker. When she complained about her grueling workload, her employers physically reprimanded her, forcing nails and needles, some up to 5cm long, into her body. 

Labor Leaders in Bangladesh Released from Jail!

This statement can also be found at http://laborrights.org/creating-a-sweatfree-world/sweatshops/news/12394. 

We have received confirmation that Kalpona Akter, Babul Akhter, and Aminul Islam of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity (BCWS) were released from the Dhaka Central Prison by the Bangladeshi authorities at about 10pm Dhaka time September 10th, at the start of the Eid Festival which marks the end of Ramadan. Their release was secured following the granting of bail on all charges during a special hearing by a magistrate judge on Wednesday, September 8. Upon their release, the BCWS leaders expressed a “heartfelt thanks” to all who have supported them. We are heartened by their release.   

U.S. Congressional pressure was key to convincing the Bangladeshi government to take this step.  We would like to thank all members of Congress who signed the letter urging U.S. brands and retailers to put serious economic pressure on Bangladesh to ensure justice for BCWS and their leaders. Many, many thanks to all organizations and individuals who have participated in so many actions from contacting your members of Congress to writing companies to donating to the bail fund.

60 Walmart Stores Hear from Concerned Customers

By Liana Foxvog, National Organizer of SweatFree Communities

On Wednesday concerned consumers visited an estimated sixty Walmart stores in the US, Canada and the UK to call on the mega-retailer to help free Bangladeshi labor leaders Kalpona Akter and Babul Akhter.

This comes in the wake of thousands of emails that people from around the world have sent to the chain store.  Consider sending an email today if you haven't already.

Called for by SweatFree Communities, a campaign of the International Labor Rights Forum, these actions are part of a growing international campaign that is putting pressure on the Bangladeshi government and two factory conglomerates, Nassa Group and Envoy Group, to release the two unjustly imprisoned labor leaders, drop all charges against them, and restore the non-governmental organization status of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity.  You can learn more here.

Some of us spoke to store managers who were sympathetic, curious to learn where Bangladesh is on the map, and shocked to find out about the country's abysmally low wages. At some stores activists flyered for nearly an hour until leaflets ran out, without any bother from security, whereas at other stores activists were asked to leave after ten minutes.

One activist was out almost til midnight visiting three stores.

The actions had an impact and Walmart heard our voices. A representative from Walmart called our office wanting to discuss the matter further. We will continue to bring our message to Walmart until the retailer agrees to suspend its business with Nassa and Envoy so long as these conglomerates remain behind the charges against the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity.

Join us for the National Day of Action Urging Walmart to Free Bangladeshi Labor Leaders!

By Courtney Smith, Intern, ILRF 

Drop Off a Letter to a Walmart in Your Town

Take a few minutes out of your day tomorrow, Wednesday September 8, 2010, to deliver a letter to the store manager at your local Walmart.  In addition you can hand out a leaflet we have created after you deliver your letter to Walmart customers to raise awareness about the issue. 

If you are planning to take part, SIGN UP HERE and we will email you the letter and leaflet.

What: National Day of Action Urging Walmart to Free Bangladeshi Labor Leaders

Where: Your local Walmart

When: Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

Why: On August 13th, 2010 Kalpona Akter and Babul Akhter, leaders of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity (BCWS) were wrongfully arrested by the Government of Bangladesh.  They are currently still detained, and Babul has been badly beaten.  These individuals are leading advocates for labor rights in Bangladesh. 

Kalpona and Babul’s arrest occurred after false charges were instigated by Nassa Group and Envoy Group, two of the largest garment factory conglomerates in Bangladesh.  These conglomerates are major clothing suppliers for Walmart, giving Walmart the power and obligation to intervene in this issue.  We are asking that Walmart suspend all orders with these two suppliers until the BCWS leaders’ have been safely released from detention, the charges against them have been dismissed, and BCWS’s license to operate has been restored.

Your participation in this day of action is needed!

For more information, please visit www.walmartsweatshops.org

What you won’t learn about Pakistan in the WikiLeaks revelations

By Jeff Ballinger

Recent reports from three disparate sources provide an explanation for the parlous state of public education in Pakistan, a major factor behind increasing instability there.  In early June, both Brookings and the International Labor Rights Forum released studies which bespeak a fateful symmetry; Brookings’ researchers point to tens of millions of dollars (each year for several years) pledged by Western donors to shore up the long-neglected school system - far from enough to fix it - while the ILRF report documented wage-cheating in the soccer ball-stitching industry.  Those greedy bosses join thousands of others according to our third field report – an August newspaper story quoting Karamat Ali, executive director of the Pakistan Institute of Labor Education and Research (Piler).  He says that 80 per cent of employers across Pakistan fail to pay the miserly minimum wage of PKR  7,000 per month.  Added up, it is a figure which easily matches the donors’ education dollars.  Numbers from the Brookings report show that the free schooling offered by the religious madrasas attract hundreds of thousands of young men whose parents cannot afford modest school fees that would assist in reforming the dysfunctional state system.