Victory at Sea!
Thai government backs off prison labor scheme
The Thai government has stated it, "will not use prisoners on fishing vessels now or in the future." The statement came a day after it recieved a letter drafted by ILRF and allies condemning the proposed project.
Read more about Victory at Sea!
Child Labor May Be Hiding In Your Favorite Holiday Treats
Report Highlights Poverty Among Farmers in Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire as Root Cause of Chronic Labor Woes
WASHINGTON, D.C. - As the holiday chocolate buying season moves into high gear in the United States, a report out today sheds light on the struggle of West African cocoa farmers to earn decent livelihoods, despite increasing demand for cocoa and higher prices. Approximately 60% of the world's cocoa comes from Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire.
Read more about Child Labor May Be Hiding In Your Favorite Holiday Treats
Walmart Refuses to Pay, Despite Competitor's Agreement to Help Victims of Factory Fire
Two Years After Deadliest Fire in Bangladesh, C&A Foundation commits significant funds to full and fair compensation of victims; Still no commitment from Walmart, Sears, Disney
Two years after Bangladesh's deadliest factory fire, IndustriALL Global Union, their Bangladeshi affiliates, the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) and C&A have reached an agreement on a system for delivering compensation to the injured workers and to the families of the workers killed in the disaster.
Read more about Walmart Refuses to Pay, Despite Competitor's Agreement to Help Victims of Factory Fire
Uzbekistan Increased Forced Labor of Adults in 2014 Cotton Harvest
The government of Uzbekistan used systematic, mass forced labor in the 2014 cotton harvest, which has now concluded, the Cotton Campaign said today. In addition to coercing millions of people across the country to pick cotton, this forced labor system resulted in institutionalized harassment, extortion, and needless deaths.
Read more about Uzbekistan Increased Forced Labor of Adults in 2014 Cotton Harvest
Charges Against Andy Hall Dismissed
Activists plan global actions to show support in advance of next case tomorrow
A Thai court dismissed criminal defamation charges against labor rights activist Andy Hall today, citing an unlawful interrogation process.
Read more about Charges Against Andy Hall Dismissed
Malawian Government Must Kick Tobacco Habit
Farmers' union calls on leaders to help farmers grow more sustainable crops
A letter delivered to the Government of Malawi today calls on leaders to address child labor and modern-day slavery in Malawi's tobacco industry. The letter calls on land reform and support for efforts to diversify crops to help lift Malawi's 300,000 tenant farmer families out of poverty. The Tobacco and Allied Workers Union of Malawi (TOAWUM) sent the letter, with a coalition of labor, human rights, and health groups. The full letter can be downloaded below.
Read more about Malawian Government Must Kick Tobacco Habit
"Uzbekistan: No Advancement," concludes United States Labor Department
The U.S. Department of Labor reports forced labor and child labor remained entrenched in Uzbekistan's cotton sector in 2013
(Washington) 8 October 2014: The U.S. Department of Labor concluded the Government of Uzbekistan maintained its system of forced labor of children and adults in the cotton sector, in its report 2013 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, released yesterday.
Read more about "Uzbekistan: No Advancement," concludes United States Labor Department
Global Action Demands End to Forced Labor in Uzbek Cotton Fields
Protestors call on government to stop using education system as source of modern-day slavery
October 1 is National Teacher's Day in Uzbekistan, but many classrooms will be empty as teachers and, in some cases, their students are sent to the fields to harvest cotton. The government of Uzbekistan, as the sole organizer and beneficiary of this forced-labor cotton harvest, could return them to classrooms where they belong.
Read more about Global Action Demands End to Forced Labor in Uzbek Cotton Fields
Statement from the Cotton Campaign on the Start of the Cotton Harvest in Uzbekistan
Today the Government of Uzbekistan declared the start of the annual cotton harvest. To meet the government's national quota officials are again this year forcing farmers to fulfill state-established production quotas and forcing children and adults to pick cotton under threat of punishment. Income from Uzbek cotton sales will again disappear into the extra-budgetary Agriculture Fund, to which not even the Uzbek parliament has access. This is modern-day slavery that only the Uzbek government can end by finding the political will to do so.
Read more about Statement from the Cotton Campaign on the Start of the Cotton Harvest in Uzbekistan
Case Against Labour Rights Defender Draws International Outcry
Nearly 100 international rights groups demand industry action
UPDATE: On August 13th, the State Enterprises Workers' Relations Confederation (SERC), a Thai union and ILRF ally that had signed this letter, received a response from TPIA that indicated it would not intervene in the court case against Andy Hall, accused Andy of intending to destroy Thailand's economic system, and implied that companies may pursue further legal action if Andy continues "to behave in this manner." The full text is available here:
Read more about Case Against Labour Rights Defender Draws International Outcry
Protest at Daewoo in Seoul Against Forced Labor Profiteering
200,000 Demand: Stop Uzbek Cotton Purchases
South Korea Contacts:
Advocates for Public Interest Law, Jong Chul Kim (Korean, English): jckim [at] apil.or.kr
Read more about Protest at Daewoo in Seoul Against Forced Labor Profiteering
State Department Rebukes Thailand Over Anti-Trafficking Efforts
Thailand falls to lowest ranking in Annual Trafficking in Persons Report
The International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) welcomes the U.S. State Department's decision to downgrade Thailand to Tier 3 in the 2014 Global Trafficking in Persons Report. Thailand has clearly demonstrated it is not in compliance with the minimum standards of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, particularly with regard to its treatment of migrant workers.
Read more about State Department Rebukes Thailand Over Anti-Trafficking Efforts
Uzbekistan: US Decision Aids Forced Labor Victims
"Tier 3" Status in Trafficking Report Could Bring Sanctions
The United States government's decision to place Uzbekistan in the lowest category of its annual human trafficking report sends a message of solidarity to the well over a million Uzbeks forced to pick the country's cotton crop, the Cotton Campaign said today.
The ranking is based on Uzbekistan's massive use of forced labor of children and adults to pick the country's annual cotton crop. The Cotton Campaign is a coalition of human rights, labor, investor and business organizations, including human rights groups from Uzbekistan.
Read more about Uzbekistan: US Decision Aids Forced Labor Victims
Global Brands Should Push Change in Thai Seafood Industry
Solving human trafficking problem requires commitments from companies for transparency and accountability
The International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) is calling for significant changes to the way Western companies source seafood from Thailand in the wake of an investigative report by the Guardian. The article linked shrimp sold by well-known retailers to forced labor and human trafficking on Thai fishing vessels via a shrimp supplier called CP Foods.
Read more about Global Brands Should Push Change in Thai Seafood Industry
World Bank Approves Problematic Uzbekistan Projects
The World Bank must take extraordinary measures to ensure it does not contribute to human rights violations in Uzbekistan
After a two-day delay, the World Bank has approved agriculture and education projects in Uzbekistan, despite concerns raised that such investments risk perpetuating the state-sponsored system of forced labor. Under this system, the Uzbek government coercively mobilizes more than a million Uzbek citizens annually to produce cotton, including farmers, students and school staff.
Read more about World Bank Approves Problematic Uzbekistan Projects
Forced Labor Warning Issued for Indorama Corporation
Rights group warns Indonesian-based textile company uses cotton made with forced labor
ILRF today issued a warning to companies and consumers that Indorama Corporation is currently under investigation for violations of U.S. law related to its operations in Uzbekistan. The investigation included the U.S. Customs preventing a shipment of yarn produced in Uzbekistan by Indorama from entering the port of Los Angeles in October 2013. The U.S. government has listed cotton from Uzbekistan as a prohibited good made by forced child labor since 2009.
Read more about Forced Labor Warning Issued for Indorama Corporation
Walmart Urged to Pay Up to Victims of Fire and Building Collapse
105,000 Sign Petition Calling on Walmart to Pay Compensation and Join Bangladesh Accord; Kalpona Akter Sends Public Video Message to Walmart
This morning, as Walmart shareholders gather for the company's annual meeting, Kalpona Akter, Executive Director of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity, sent a public video message to Walmart urging the company to pay a total of $17 million to the victims of the April 24, 2013, Rana Plaza building collapse – the deadliest disaster in the history of the global garment industry.
Read more about Walmart Urged to Pay Up to Victims of Fire and Building Collapse
Protest at Children's Place Shareholder Meeting Raises Workers' Concerns
Campaigners Call on The Children's Place to Pay Compensation to Rana Plaza Victims and Sign Bangladesh Accord
As people arrived for The Children's Place's annual shareholder meeting this morning, they were greeted with a sobering reminder of the death toll resulting from the company's failure to properly monitor its supply chain. Members of 99 Pickets, International Labor Rights Forum, and United Students Against Sweatshops lay wrapped in white sheets in the lobby of the company's headquarters in Secaucus, New Jersey.
Read more about Protest at Children's Place Shareholder Meeting Raises Workers' Concerns
"Award of Shame" Delivered to Gap at Shareholder Meeting
Campaigners Call on Gap to Sign Bangladesh Safety Accord and Pay Compensation to Factory Fire Victims
International Labor Rights Forum, Jobs with Justice San Francisco, SumOfUs, United Students Against Sweatshops and local activists delivered the Public Eye Award to Gap Inc. at its annual shareholder meeting in San Francisco this morning. In front of the headquarters, activists exhibited photographs of workers injured and family members who lost loved ones in garment factory disasters in Bangladesh, and leafleted employees and shareholders as they arrived for the meeting.
Read more about "Award of Shame" Delivered to Gap at Shareholder Meeting
Joint Statement calling on brands to Pay Up!
With the first anniversary of Rana Plaza approaching leading labour rights groups and trade unions across the world have released this joint statement calling on brands to Pay Up!
We, the undersigned, welcome and support the Rana Plaza Arrangement, a comprehensive and independent framework, consistent with international labour standards, that will provide the much-needed support for loss of income and medical expenses to the victims, their families and dependents of the Rana Plaza building collapse. A joint approach is the only way to ensure all those who have already lost so much are compensated fully and in a predictable manner.
Read more about Joint Statement calling on brands to Pay Up!