Publications

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.

Cotton Campaign Roadmap of Reforms for Uzbekistan: End Systemic Forced Labor, Enact Structural Reforms, and Empower Civil Society

Publication Date: 

June 15, 2019

This roadmap sets forth the Cotton Campaign’s recommendations to the Government of Uzbekistan at a pivotal point for efforts to end forced labor in the cotton harvest. It reflects significant consultations among Cotton Campaign partners and other parties—including governments, international institutions, and industry associations—with an interest and stake in a successful conclusion of this complex process of reform that is underway but incomplete.

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.

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