Publications

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Statement on U.S. Government Decision to Suspend Thailand’s Trade Preferences Due to Worker Rights Issues

Publication Date: 

December 10, 2019

On October 25, 2019, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that the U.S. government would suspend $1.3 billion in trade preferences for Thailand under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) based on its “failure to adequately provide internationally-recognized worker rights… such as protections for freedom of association and collective bargaining”.

Pakistan's Garment Workers Need a Safety Accord

Publication Date: 

September 11, 2019

On 11 September 2012, Ali Enterprises burned to the ground in Baldia Town, Karachi, killing over 250 workers, making it the most deadly factory fire ever. Today, textile and garment factories in Pakistan remain just as unsafe as they were seven years ago. Although multiple initiatives aimed at addressing workplace safety have been initiated in Pakistan since then, they lack the necessary elements that must be in place to ensure safety. All of these initiatives have limited transparency and none of them are enforceable.

Calling for Remedy

Publication Date: 

May 15, 2019
The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh has taken away the fear of entering the workplace for garment workers across the 1,674 factories it covers. Next to the inspections on fire, electrical, and structural safety that the Accord is most widely recognized for, it also operates an extensive Worker Participation program which includes a Safety and Health Complaints Mechanism.

Bangladesh Government’s Safety Inspection Agencies Not Ready to Take Over Accord’s Work

Publication Date: 

April 1, 2019

The government of Bangladesh is using proceedings before the Supreme Court of Bangladesh to prevent the Accord on Fire and Building Safety from operating, thereby putting workers’ safety at risk. A ruling on 7 April 2019 in Bangladesh’s Appellate Court could require the Accord to close its Dhaka office and operations without taking into account whether national agencies would be ready to take up the work.

Comments Concerning the Ranking of Thailand by the United States Department of State in the 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report

Publication Date: 

March 5, 2019

In 2018, Thailand was upgraded to Tier 2 in the U.S. Department of State’s annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. Over the past year, The Royal Thai Government (RTG) has ratified the optional protocol to the ILO Convention Concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour (No. 29) and the ILO Convention on Work in Fishing (No. 188). Additionally, the RTG is in the process of defining and criminalizing forced labor, however this change is still a draft law.

Open Letter: New Lawsuits Brought by Thammakaset Company Limited Against Human Rights Defenders

Publication Date: 

February 14, 2019

 

RE:       New Lawsuits Brought by Thammakaset Company Limited Against Human Rights Defenders

Dear Prime Minister Prayut,

The 89 undersigned organizations write to express our deep concern regarding recent spurious complaints brought by Thammakaset Company Limited against several human rights defenders in Thailand.

Future of Fashion: Worker-Led Strategies

Publication Date: 

February 13, 2019
On the morning of April 24, 2013, a poorly built, eight-story Bangladeshi factory complex called Rana Plaza collapsed, killing at least 1,134 apparel workers and leaving 2,500 others injured. Just a day earlier, workers reported seeing large cracks in the building’s support walls, but were ordered back to work the next morning by managers desperate to finish orders for several notable North American and European clothing brands, including The Children’s Place, Joe Fresh, and Benetton.
 

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