Media Highlights
Majlis Podcast: Will There Be Forced Labor In Uzbekistan’s Cotton Fields This Year?
“We saw some positive signs, especially a move by the government to free a trade unionist who was in prison, who had been tortured, [but] we want to see the acknowledgment of the problem go all the way down the line—all ministries and all levels of government,” said the Solidarity Center’s Eastern Europe/Central Asia Director, Rudy Porter.
Women Will Pay The Real Cost Of Our Hunger For Cheap Clothes
David Welsh, country director in Southeast Asia for the Solidarity Center, a U.S.-based workers’ rights organization, says major clothing companies fail to prioritize their employees. “The brands control and seek out specific market dynamics, and it’s a deliberately exploitative system,” he noted.
Speed is Key in Reforming Bangladesh’s RMG Sector
We need to hold every new deal we see in supply chains up to the now gold standard of the Accord,” says Shawna Bader-Blau, executive director of the Solidarity Center. “No more Rana Plazas. We need something better and it is up to us to make it happen, and freedom of association is key…”
FEATURE-Women lead push for rights in Bangladesh’s fashion factories
The number of registered unions in Bangladesh has increased about fivefold to almost 500 since 2013, according to Jennifer Kuhlman of U.S.-based workers’ rights charity Solidarity Center. “Many of them are being headed by young, dynamic women who are choosing to lead from the front to bring about change,” said Kuhlman, who heads its Bangladesh programs.
Five Years After Rana Plaza, Leaders Emphasize Need for Brands to Sign Accord Renewal
Shawna Bader-Blau, executive director of the Solidarity Center, said, “Every time there is new initiative to regulate corporate behavior through supply chains, it is incumbent on all of us to insist freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining be included… It just doesn’t happen. Most of the time, multi-stakeholder initiatives … center on every other form of rights but human rights in the supply chain.”
Five Years After Rana Plaza, How Much Has Changed in Bangladesh?
“Markets and corporations don’t magically conjure up shared prosperity,” said executive director of the Solidarity Center Shawna Bader-Blau. “It’s the agency of individual citizens coming together collectively… that push governments and corporations to make changes to the way our economies and democracies work that make them more fair.”
Towards a Global Compact that Safeguards the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families
A dialogue organized by the Council of Global Unions Working Group on Migration (CGU-WGM) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) was convened during the third round of negotiations on the United Nations Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in New York this week, moderated by Neha Misra, Solidarity Center senior specialist for migration and human trafficking.
Workers Want Meeting with President
According to a report by Ledriz and the Solidarity Center, the failure to pay what workers are legally entitled to is wage theft. It is also a violation of international labor standards, as well as national legislation on the employment of workers said the report, Working Without Pay: Wage Theft in Zimbabwe.
Women in Shrimp Processing in Bangladesh: Challenges and Ways Forward
Conditions in the processing plants have also improved somewhat in recent years following pressure from labor organizations such as Social Activities for Environment (SAFE) and the Solidarity Center, but there is still more to do.
How Short-Term Contracts Are Putting Cambodia’s Pregnant Factory Workers in a Precarious Position
While the perpetual use of short-term contracts creates uncertainties for workers of all stripes, pregnant women are particularly vulnerable. Somalay So, a program officer at labor rights group Solidarity Center, said there have been cases where even inquiring about the premier’s $100 “baby bonus” promise can put a target on workers’ backs for dismissal.
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Media Mentions is a daily digest of major media coverage of issues that affect workers, workers’ rights, and workers’ organizations overseas, discusses the impact of globalization, or mentions the work of the Solidarity Center.