In the News

Canadians take Philippines to task over rights

Catholic Register (Canada)
08/12/2007

Excerpt from article: 

The president of the Philippines is getting an earful from corporations with money to invest worried about the human rights record of Filipino police.

Wal-Mart, The Gap, American Eagle Outfitters, Jones Apparel Group, Liz Claiborne Inc. and Polo Ralph Lauren are among the high profile clothing companies which have sent a letter to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to demand an investigation into police beating and threatening strikers.

Thousands of Unpaid Teens Bag Groceries for Wal-Mart

Newsweek
08/01/2007

Wal-Mart prides itself on cutting costs at home and abroad, and its Mexican operations are no exception. That approach has helped the Arkansas-based retail giant set a track record of spectacular success in the 16 years since it entered Mexico as a partner of the country’s then-leading retail-store chain. But some of the company’s practices have aroused concern among some officials and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that Wal-Mart is taking advantage of local customs to pinch pennies at a time when its Mexican operations have never been more profitable... 

Jury Rejects Claims Drummond Is To Blame in Colombia Killings

Miami Herald
07/27/2007

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- A jury Thursday rejected claims that Alabama-based Drummond coal was to blame for the killing of three union leaders in Colombia, a defeat for labor in a test of whether companies can be held responsible in U.S. courtrooms for their conduct overseas.

Jurors sided with Drummond Ltd. and the head of its Colombian operations, Augusto Jimenez, in ruling against a lawsuit filed by relatives and the union of the dead men, killed by paramilitary gunmen six years ago.

Wal-Mart Cautions Two Chinese Suppliers

Wall Street Journal
07/25/2007

BEIJING -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it issued warnings to two Chinese suppliers following reports of labor violations at the factories, which also make official Olympic merchandise.

The development comes after the publication of an influential report last month alleging labor violations at some official Olympic suppliers, including underpaying and overworking employees and, in one case, using child labor.

Asda, Primark and Tesco accused over clothing factories

Guardian (UK)
07/16/2007

Britain's second largest supermarket chain last night launched an investigation into allegations that workers who make its clothes in Bangladesh are being forced to work up to 80 hours a week for as little as 4p an hour.

Asda, one of three major discount clothing retailers accused of breaching international labour standards, said it would audit its suppliers in response to a report in today's Guardian into the pay and conditions of Bangladeshi garment workers who supply British companies.

Assassins still targeting Colombian unionists

Miami Herald
07/13/2007

By Steven Dudley

The second time gunmen came to kill labor union leader Alberto Bautista was early July 5, just as he was stepping out of his outhouse to get ready for work.

The shooter missed, punching an inch-wide hole into the brick outhouse and sending Bautista, 39, diving for cover. The shooter's weapon jammed, Bautista said, and he ran off. Bautista called the police, whose headquarters are about 30 feet from his house across a grassy field.

Suit in U.S. Over Murders in Colombia

New York Times
07/13/2007

By Kyle Whitmire

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., July 12 — Six years ago, three union leaders were kidnapped and slain in northern Colombia. Now, 2,000 miles away, a federal jury here is being asked to decide whether an Alabama-based coal company, Drummond Ltd., aided in the killings and took sides in Colombia’s decades-old civil war.

The civil case promises to test a new use of a 218-year-old law and to open a window into corporate endeavors in a developing country where factional violence has often supplanted the rule of law.

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