Viewing all content: Factory Investigation
The WRC investigated reports of severe repression of workers’ freedom of association—including mass firings and arrests, threatened and actual violence, wage theft, and blacklisting against 400 workers at Levi’s supplier factory in Türkiye. The WRC found that Özak Global (in some instances in collaboration with both the local militarized forces and a company-favored union), committed,…
Read MoreScott Nova, Executive Director of the Worker Rights Consortium, presented testimony to the Congressional-Executive Commission on China’s April 30, 2024, hearing: “WRC Testimony for Hearing on Factories and Fraud: How Human Rights Violations Make Reliable Audits Impossible.” This testimony includes recommendations related to audit methodological standards and recommends that Congress hold hearings in which it asks…
Read MoreIn December 2018, Hetian Taida Apparel, a Chinese supplier to Badger Sport, was identified by the Associated Press (AP) as operating within an internment and forced labor camp in China’s Xinjiang province. The WRC confirmed certain aspects of AP’s reporting in a memorandum sent to universities shortly thereafter. This investigative report is the product of a deeper assessment, drawing on…
Read MoreIn 2025, the WRC’s engagement with buyers secured reinstatement with full back pay for nine workers who were fired in 2022 and 2023 from Hansae Haiti, a garment factory located in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The workers were fired for leading or joining protests against poverty wages and their dismissals represented a violation of workers’ right to…
Read MoreA WRC investigation found that, after the formation of a new union to address failure to provide paid leave and protections for pregnant workers, Pungkook Indonesia One terminated the worker who was elected as the union secretary, discriminatorily transferred the job tasks of the three union representatives. One of the three union representatives was also…
Read MoreTo: WRC Affiliate Universities and Colleges From: Bent Gehrt and Rola Abimourched Date: February 18, 2025 Re: New Report: Remediation of Illegal Firings at Lululemon Supplier in Indonesia Please find here a new report on the WRC’s investigation and remediation of labor rights violations at Pungkook Indonesia One, a supplier of collegiate apparel to lululemon. In…
Read MoreWRC affiliate universities have continued to engage with Nike on this case. However, Nike’s position remains unchanged. It continues to ignore overwhelming evidence of worker coercion reported by the WRC, asserting that thousands of workers at Hong Seng voluntarily chose to forgo wages that they were legally owed. In support of its position, Nike cites an audit it commissioned from a for-profit contract monitoring firm, Elevate, but Nike refuses…
Read MoreIn 2024, the WRC conducted its investigation of the factory after being informed by the licensee, Vantage Apparel, that an audit conducted under the Sedex 4 program by the auditing company, LRQA, found that South China Headwear had remedied the violations the WRC had previously identified, including the factory’s previous failure to provide workers a…
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WRC Engagement with Major US Brands Wins Reinstatement, 2+ Years Back Pay for Haitian Workers Fired for Protesting Poverty Wages
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…
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