Commentary Archive
After organizing against gender-based violence and harassment on the factory floor, courageous women workers in Central Java, Indonesia, have negotiated a groundbreaking agreement to implement a union-led gender justice program. Signed in July 2024, the Central Java Agreement for Gender Justice represents a major victory for workers at two garment factories operated by the Korean…
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The WRC’s engagement with top US retailers has secured reinstatement with full back pay for nine workers who were fired in 2022 and 2023 from a garment factory in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, for leading or joining protests against poverty wages. Haitian garment workers, who are among the lowest-paid workers in the world, struggle to survive amidst…
Read More Angajman WRC te pran ak gwo magazen ki vann rad nan peyi Etazini te garanti re-anbochman ak peman salè konplè pou 9 travayè ke yon faktori rad nan vil Pòtoprens, nan peyi Ayiti te revoke ant ane 2022 ak 2023. Yo te revoke travayè sa yo paske yo te dirije oswa patisipe nan yon manifestasyon…
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As the WRC reported previously, Industrial Hana, a garment factory in Guatemala, permanently closed operations in October 2023, without paying its approximately 250 employees $1.5 million in unpaid severance and other terminal benefits owed to them in accordance with Guatemalan law. The WRC’s investigation found that, in the months leading up to the factory’s closure,…
Read More Como el WRC informó anteriormente, la fábrica de ropa Industrial Hana en Guatemala cerró sus operaciones en octubre de 2023, sin pagarles a aproximadamente 250 trabajadoras US$1.5 millones correspondientes a indemnizaciones y otras prestaciones que se les deben según la ley guatemalteca. La investigación del WRC encontró que, en los meses anteriores al cierre de…
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Hugo Boss continues to refuse to ensure that workers who made its branded clothes receive their legally owed severance at Heart and Mind, a garment factory that was located in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand and permanently closed on December 3, 2017. Hugo Boss is one of the largest German clothing brands, achieving record sales of EUR 4.2 billion…
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Wing Star Shoes in Cambodia, which supplies the Japanese brands, ASICS and MUJI, had its worker, Chea Chan, who is a leader of a recently formed independent union at its factory, jailed for more than 180 days, prosecuted on obviously false and retaliatory criminal charges, and sentenced to a year’s imprisonment—all while ASICS and MUJI…
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The WRC was shocked and outraged by the assassination of Guatemalan garment worker leader, Anastacio Tzib Caal, on June 15. Mr. Tzib Caal was employed at the garment factory, Texpia II, which is owned by the multinational apparel manufacturer, SAE-A Trading, and produces for major brands such as Walmart, Target, Carhartt, and Academy Sports. Tzib…
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In recent years, the Cambodian government has intensified its crackdown on workers’ right to freedom of association by colluding with factory employers to repress workers’ efforts to form independent unions. This collusion has implicated international apparel and footwear brands in serious human rights violations when their supplier factories have caused worker leaders to be jailed…
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WRC Advances Workers’ Rights on Global Stages: OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector and United Nations Commission on the Status of Women 2025 Highlights
OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector The WRC shared our analysis and experience from the field at three side events during the 2025 OECD Forum. These discussions addressed due diligence, the realities of state-imposed forced labor, and the power of binding agreements in protecting worker rights. Recordings for two of…
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