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First Pakistan Building Inspections Indicate Deadly Fire Hazards Are Widespread
The complex work of formally registering the Pakistan Accord as an entity able to operate in Pakistan is complete. This was an important hurdle, now cleared, which will allow vital safety inspections to commence. The urgent need for the Accord program in Pakistan is underscored by the results of pilot safety assessments already conducted by the Accord in seven Pakistani garment and textile factories.
Thai El Monte Garment Workers Inducted into US Labor Hall of Honor
Twenty-eight years ago last month, consumers opened their newspapers to learn that sweatshops had returned to the US apparel industry, on domestic soil, under conditions unheard of in nearly a century. In August 1995, more than 70 Thai migrant workers were found to be sewing garments sold by major US retailers, under slave labor conditions,…
Leading Apparel Brands Tolerated Delivery Delays Resulting from Türkiye Earthquake; but Most Have Done Little Else to Support Survivors
New research shows that many apparel giants failed to take appropriate steps to protect suppliers and workers, leaving 48% of factories unable to pay employees in full after quake A white paper by the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) examines how 16 global brands handled their human rights obligations after the devastating earthquake in Türkiye: Pressed…
Gap Inc. Signs Pakistan Safety Accord in US Breakthrough for Binding Brand-Labor Agreements
Workers in Gap Inc.’s 14 Factories in Pakistan Will Now Benefit from the Accord’s Unparalleled Fire and Building Safety Protections The Worker Rights Consortium applauds Gap Inc. (Athleta, Banana Republic, Gap, Old Navy) for signing the Pakistan Accord on Health & Safety in the Textile & Garment Industry and encourages other US brands to join…
One Year Back Pay, Rehiring for Haitian Workers Fired over Wage Protest
After nearly a year of investigation and engagement by the WRC, Centri Group, a garment factory in Haiti that supplies the Canadian apparel company, Gildan Activewear, has committed to remedy violations of its workers’ fundamental right to freedom of association. As previously reported, a WRC investigation had found that, in 2022, Centri Group violated its…
WRC Statement in Response to Murder of Shahidul Islam
The WRC stands with the international labor rights community in mourning and condemning the devastating murder of longstanding union leader, Shahidul Islam of the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation (BGIWF). Our thoughts are with his wife and sons, and the union movement in Bangladesh that he tirelessly dedicated 25 years of his life to…
‘শহীদুল ইসলাম হত্যার প্রতিক্রিয়ায় WRC’র বিবৃতি’
আন্তর্জাতিক শ্রমিক অধিকার সম্প্রদায়ের সাথে একাত্ম হয়ে ‘শ্রমিক অধিকার সংঘ’ (Worker Rights Consortium, WRC) বাংলাদেশ গার্মেন্টস ইন্ডাস্ট্রিস ওয়ার্কার্স ফেডারেশনের (BGIWF) নেতা, শ্রমিক আন্দোলনের দীর্ঘদিনের বন্ধু শহীদুল ইসলামের নৃশংস হত্যায় শোক ও নিন্দা জ্ঞাপন করছে। তাঁর স্ত্রী ও ছেলেমেয়ে এবং বাংলাদেশের ট্রেড ইউনিয়ন আন্দোলনের বন্ধুদের মতো আমরাও এই মর্মান্তিক ঘটনায় শোকাহত ও সমব্যাথী; তাঁদের প্রতিও আমরা…
New Report Details Impact of Lesotho Anti-GBVH Program
A new report details the impact of the Lesotho Anti-GBVH Program over the past two years. This Program was created by a set of landmark agreements between apparel companies, a major manufacturer, unions, and women’s groups to address gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) in Lesotho garment factories. The WRC has played a central role throughout…
Haitian Workers at Factory Supplying Gildan Activewear Fired for Striking over Poverty Wages
An investigation by the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) has found that a supplier factory to Gildan Activewear located in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, engaged in a mass firing of its workers in retaliation for their going on strike over unpaid overtime. The WRC found that the dismissal of 64 Haitian workers at Gildan’s supplier, Centri Group, was…
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US: Strengthening labour rights key to Bangladesh’s economic success
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WRC in the Media
Labor Groups Urge Japanese Retailer to Drop Lawsuit Against Myanmar Unionist
Sourcing Journal
Importers Must be ‘Fully Effective Partners’ in Canada’s Forced Labor Fight, US Groups Say
Sourcing Journal
Specialized says it donated $44,000 to unpaid factory workers. Did it?
Escape Collective
US calls for strong labour rights in Bangladesh’s garment sector
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US Pledges Support to Bangladesh’s Garment Industry in ‘Historic Moment’
Sourcing Journal
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Bangladesh Minimum Wage Negotiations Put Brands’ Living Wage “Commitments” to the Test
Poverty wages and high inflation, make substantial minimum wage increase for garment workers long overdue—international brands must take responsibility Impoverished garment workers in Bangladesh earning US$73 per month, while making apparel for top international brands, are calling for an increase in the country’s minimum wage to US$215 (23,000–25,000 Bangladesh taka, “BDT”) per month—a figure recent…