Press Releases

For media inquiries please contact Rachel Cohen: racohen78 [at] gmail.com

ILRF Report Calls for Worker-Led Corporate Accountability

02/13/19

The International Labor Rights Forum’s new paper, “Future of Fashion: Worker-Led Strategies for Corporate Accountability in the Global Apparel Industry,” published today coinciding with the OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector, calls attention to the failures of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and multistakeholder initiatives to address and remedy the persistent exploitation of millions of apparel industry workers. 

 

Demonstrations at Bangladeshi Embassies Demand Respect for Garment Workers

01/28/19

This week labor activists and trade unionists around the world are expressing their solidarity with garment workers in Bangladesh through demonstrations in front of Bangladeshi embassies and consulates in cities around the world. Through this week of global solidarity action, activists, unionists and consumers are calling for living wages, safe factories, and a halt to repression against garment workers in Bangladesh.

Sindicato Hondureño STAS Gana Reconocimiento con Compañia Irlandesa Fyffes

Miembros del sindicato a ser recontratados la proxima semana; la negociacion colectiva a empezar en febrero
01/19/19

El 11 de enero, Fyffes firmó un acuerdo que reconoce al STAS, el Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Agroindustria y Similares, como el legítimo representante sindical de lxs trabajadorxs empleados en las melóneras de Fyffes en Honduras.

Honduran Union STAS Wins Recognition with Irish Company Fyffes

Union members to be rehired next week; collective bargaining to commence in February
01/18/19

On January 11, Fyffes signed an agreement recognizing STAS – el Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Agroindustria y Similares – as the legitimate union representative of workers employed at Fyffes’ melon subsidiaries in Honduras. Fyffes is an Irish multinational company owned by the Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo, and one of the largest fruit brands in the world and the top importer of winter-season melons to the U.S. market.

Civil Society Groups Vow to Oppose “Hateful Rhetoric, Violence, Intimidation and Persecution” by Bolsonaro Government

12/27/18

Forty-six environmental groups, academic organizations, human rights organizations, labor unions, faith-based groups and other civil society organizations have vowed to oppose any “hateful rhetoric and acts of violence, intimidation or persecution” by the incoming government of Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, as they proclaim in an open statement today.

Forced Labor in Uzbekistan’s Cotton Fields Was Present in 2018 Harvest

12/14/18

Uzbekistan’s 2018 cotton harvest, which concluded in all regions of the country the first week of December, showcased the enormous challenges in uprooting the country’s deeply entrenched forced labor system. Driven by a commitment to reform at the highest levels of the government, there is a significant transition underway, which is reflected in some encouraging signs of progress.

Thailand's Ratification of ILO Fishing Convention Is First Step towards Real Legal Reforms

11/30/18

On December 29, Thailand voted to ratify the International Labour Organization Convention on Work in Fishing (No. 188), a point that the International Labor Rights Form has campaigned for following the ILO’s adoption of the Convention in 2007. Thailand is the first Asian country to ratify the Convention. This Convention sets the bar that working conditions on Thai fishing vessels must meet and is an important step towards eliminating labor abuses in the supply chains of international brands sourcing seafood from Thailand.

Fair Trade USA Certifies Labor Abuse as “Fair Trade” in Honduras

Coalition of Unions, Advocates, Fair Trade Companies and Retailers Calls on Fair Trade Certifier to Decertify Fyffes’ Subsidiary for Labor Abuses
11/27/18

A coalition of unions, farmworkers, fair trade advocates, ethical businesses and retailers is confronting Fair Trade USA (FTUSA), a US-based fair trade certification agency, for ignoring human rights abuses and its own standards in certifying a Honduran melon grower with a long history of violations.

Palm Oil Giant Indofood Sanctioned Over Labor Rights Violations

Sustainability certificate suspended over 10 legal offenses, “grave and methodical” breaches after complaint brought by Rainforest Action Network, International Labor Rights Forum, and OPPUK
11/06/18

Indonesian palm oil giant Indofood has been sanctioned by the world’s largest palm oil certification scheme, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) reported.

Protest at UN Calls on Turkmenistan to End Forced Labor in Cotton Industry

84,000 Demand Freedom for Journalist Gaspar Matalaev
10/01/18

Protesters gathered outside the United Nations headquarters in New York today demanded an end to state-sponsored forced labor in Turkmenistan’s cotton industry and presented a petition signed by over 84,000 people from around the world that urged the Turkmen government immediately release Gaspar Matalaev and allow him to continue his work safety. The demonstration was during Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov’s first visit to the United States in three years.

Workers reveal poverty wages and labor law violations in H&M’s supply chain

09/24/18

 

Research findings published today reveal that many workers making H&M’s clothes live below the poverty line -- despite H&M’s promise of a living wage by 2018, and despite the brand’s recent deceptive claims of progress. Interviewed workers in India and Turkey earn about a third and in Cambodia less than one-half of the estimated living wage. In Bulgaria interviewed workers’ salary at H&M’s “gold supplier” is not even 10 per cent of what would be required for workers and their families to have decent lives.

Forced Labor Down in Spring Cotton Work, Systemic Problems Remain

Public sector workers not mobilized en masse to work in Uzbek cotton fields in Spring 2018
09/10/18

For the first time in years, public sector workers were not forcibly mobilized to plant and weed cotton in Uzbekistan in spring 2018, although serious structural problems in the cotton sector threaten to undermine this development. The Uzbek-German Forum, a Cotton Campaign member, released these findings in a report published today.

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