In the News

Labour watchdog calls for Fairtrade commitment from Mars

Confectionery News
04/14/2009

By Lindsey Partos

Labour watchdog International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) recognises Mars' recent road map for sustainability as “an important step forward” but claims the chocolate behemoth needs to push further into Fairtrade certification.

Their views come days after global chocolate player Mars pledged to sustainably source 100,000 metric tonnes of cocoa annually by 2020, forging a multi-year, multi-country deal with sustainability certifier Rainforest Alliance to source “a significant portion” of the firm's total cocoa requirements.

SweatFree Wisconsin to protest buying goods from companies with rights violations

Wisconsin State Journal
04/13/2009

The SweatFree Wisconsin campaign will hold a rally at noon Wednesday at Madison’s Capitol Station Post Office, 215 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., to protest the use of taxpayer money to buy goods from companies with serious human and labor rights violations. 

Similar events will be held in at least 17 cities including La Crosse and Stevens Point.

The groups are calling on public officials to join the SweatFree Purchasing Coalition. The SweatFree Wisconsin campaign has been working with Gov. Doyle’s office on an anti-sweatshop policy. 

City to Consider Ban on Uniforms Made in Sweatshop Conditions

Daily Californian
04/09/2009

Berkeley is considering an ordinance that would prohibit the city from purchasing uniforms and other garments produced in sweatshop conditions.

If the ordinance is passed by the Berkeley City Council on April 21, the city will require clothing vendors to disclose the sources of their goods and guarantee the items they sell to the city were produced in humane workplaces, said Diana Bohn, a member of the Peace and Justice Commission who helped write the ordinance.

Colombia: Fatally Flawed Industrial Safety at U.S. Multinational Drummond

ITUC OnLine
04/06/2009

Brussels, 6 April 2009 (ITUC OnLine): The ITUC has strongly condemned the situation at the opencast mine in La Loma, operated by Drummond Company, Inc. for the last 13 years. The lack of respect for workers' lives and safety cost Dagoberto Clavijo Barranco his life, in a fatal incident described by the human resources manager of the U.S. multinational as a "traffic accident".

33 Militant Unionists Ordered Arrested

Workers' Assistance Center
04/01/2009

The Municipal Trial Court in Rosario, Cavite has issued a warrant on March 17, 2009 for the arrest of thirty-three (33) militant unionists charged by the Cavite Provincial Prosecutor’s Office of cases

involving direct assault upon agents of persons in authority and grave coercion. Thirty (31) of the accused were officers and members of the Nagkakaisang Manggagawa sa Chong Won (NMCW) and the Kaisahan ng mga Manggagawa sa Phils. Jeon Inc. (KMPJI), while two were officers of the Solidarity of Cavite Workers (SCW).

Justice for Workers? No Sweat

J is for Justice Washington Peace Center Newsletter
04/01/2009

The “sweatfree” movement is growing all across the country, as consumers decide they want to take a stand against corporations that support factories where workers are not allowed to unionize and are working in unsafe conditions. An impressive number of people across the country have come together to demand that their municipalities and state legislatures adopt a sweat-free purchasing policy.

Violence in Colombia Continues

ITUC Online
03/27/2009

Brussels, 27 March 2009: Murders of trade union leaders and members and violence against the trade union movement are continuing, despite the Colombian authorities' assertions to the contrary. Ramiro Cuadros Roballo, Walter Escobar Marín, José Alejandro Amado Castillo and Alexander Pinto Gómez were murdered this March, bringing to nine the number of trade unionists killed in 2009.

Church brings activist’s case to US Congress: Seeks review of military aid to the Philippines

Inquirer (Philippines)
03/26/2009

By Vincent Cabreza

Inquirer Northern Luzon

BAGUIO CITY—The Episcopal Church of the United States has presented the case of a missing Baguio activist to the US Congress in seeking a review of the military aid appropriated for the Philippines.

Rev. Canon Brian Grieves, director of the Advocacy Center of the Episcopal Church, discussed the fate of activist James Balao when he testified on March 18 before the US House committee on appropriations’ subcommittee on state and foreign operations.

Pages