INTERNATIONAL LABOUR UZBEKISTAN:

STOP CHILD LABOUR IN UZBEKISTAN:

The following appeal to pressure clothing retailer Gymboree to stop stocking items made by child labour in the country of Uzbekistan comes from the International Labour Rights Forum.

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Call Gymboree About Forced Child Labor TODAY!‏

Give Gymboree a Call TODAY about Forced Child Labor!
Call Gymboree at 1-800-222-7758 extension 7264 and leave a message saying:


"As a consumer, I want to be sure that workers are respected in the production of my clothes. Gymboree is one of a handful of major clothing companies that has not taken any action to address forced child labor in Uzbekistan’s cotton industry. This inaction is unacceptable and I expect your company to do more to stop this abuse today. Will you issue a statement opposing forced child labor and commit to stop sourcing Uzbek cotton today?"

Let us know how your call went here!

THANK YOU to everyone who took action last week to tell Abercrombie & Fitch and Gymboree to speak out about forced child labor in Uzbekistan's cotton industry. Your actions are definitely making a difference!

Many of you may have received a response from Abercrombie stating that the company has a policy to not source cotton from Uzbekistan due to the government's practice of removing millions of children from school and forcing them to pick cotton. It's clear that when consumers speak up, companies will listen and this commitment is an important first step. We are working to get more details from Abercrombie on how it implements this policy, especially as the government of Uzbekistan is holding a cotton fair to sell it's cotton to international traders RIGHT NOW even as children are continuing to be forced to pick cotton.

On the other hand, Gymboree, the children's clothing store, continues to be silent on the ongoing exploitation of children in the cotton industry. Gymboree needs to hear your voice TODAY. Please take a minute to call Gymboree and tell them the time for remaining silent about forced child labor is over! Check out the call-in information and sample script in the box to the right. After you make your call, let us know how it went here.

After you call Gymboree, take action on Facebook by visiting Gymboree's Facebook page and posting this message: Gymboree: Time to break the silence on forced child labor in Uzbekistan's cotton industry! Commit to stop sourcing Uzbek cotton today. Take action on Twitter by posting this message: @Gymboree: Break the silence! Commit to stop sourcing cotton made by forced child labor in Uzbekistan today!


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This message you brought to you by the International Labor Rights Forum.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR BANGLADESH:

SEND A MESSAGE TO SECRETARY CLINTON ABOUT BANGLADESH WORKERS:

The following appeal to send a Labor Day message to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton comes from the International Labor Rights Forum.

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Ask Secretary Clinton to help the workers in Bangladesh who make our clothes.


Send an Email This Labor Day to Request Secretary Clinton Make Good on Commitments to Labor Rights as a Priority in U.S. Trade Policy!

As you have seen over the past couple of weeks, our comrades in Bangladesh continue to remain imprisoned as the Government of Bangladesh uses them as a scapegoat for the turmoil in the garment industry.

The highly respected labor leaders Kalpona Akter and Babul Akhter of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity need more support from the US government. Secretary Clinton has an opportunity to use the policies already in place to demand swift action by the Government of Bangladesh to end this harassment campaign. Right now, the US government is considering the status of special trade preferences for Bangladesh. Our government needs to be clear whether it stands behind human rights for workers, or just business as usual. Secretary Clinton can do the right thing but needs some encouragement from you.

Send an email NOW to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging immediate action.

Just two days ago, ILRF and the AFL-CIO provided new information about Bangladesh to the United States Trade Representative. Secretary Clinton and others within the Obama Administration have ample evidence that the charges against Kalpona and Babul are completely false and that intervention is required immediately.

Justice will prevail for Kalpona and Babul though we all need to help make this a realization. Your action on this important message means a great deal to us and we will continue to update you as things move forward in Bangladesh.

Onwards,
Bama Athreya, Executive Director

PS. By taking action now, not only will your message get sent immediately, but I will also hand-deliver all the messages to the State Department next week.
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This message was brought to you by the International Labor Rights Forum.

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THE LETTER:

Please go to this link to send the following letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

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I want you to know I am very concerned about the harassment, unlawful arrest, detention and physical abuse of courageous labor activists in Bangladesh.

On August 13, 2010, two internationally known labor leaders, Kalpona Akter and Babul Akhter of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity (BCWS), were arrested and detained by the Government of Bangladesh. BCWS is a highly respected organization that the US government itself has looked to for information and insight concerning labor conditions in the country's garment industry.

The US is a key importer of apparel and consumers like myself ask that our government help ensure we are not exploiting workers or repressing human rights to make our clothes. As a citizen concerned about human and labor rights around the world, I am appalled by the persecution of these activists and expect the US to take immediate action.

The persecution of labor rights advocates is taking place in the context of severe and ongoing labor rights abuses and lack of respect for the rule of law in Bangladesh. Most of those making these clothes are women. They need decent jobs to support their families, and they need advocates like Kalpona and Babul to support them as they stand up for their rights. I know that the US has continued to state that our trade policy is one that does require those we trade with to respect human and labor rights, and you yourself have been a champion for human rights and particularly women's rights around the world.

I urge you to do the following:

- Hold an immediate hearing on trade preference benefits that are received by Bangladesh.

- Take all possible measures to communicate to the Government of Bangladesh the urgency of ending the persecution of BCWS and its leaders.

- Make it known to the Government of Bangladesh that the US is committed to making sure workers' rights are respected around the world.

The US government has done business as usual with Bangladesh for too long. Now it has an important opportunity and obligation to speak out against these injustices in Bangladesh and I hope that you will be a leader in this charge.

Sincerely,

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR BANGLADESH:
SOLIDARITY WITH BANGLADESH WORKER ACTIVISTS:


Molly has blogged before on the recent events in Bangladesh where workers have been protesting the miserly raise in the minimum wage and demanding something closer to a living wage. In the aftermath the government there is busy hunting down the workers' leaders. The following from the International Labour Rights Forum asks you to stand with these activists and demand that the big buyers of Bangladeshi clothing act to pressure the government to cease this persecution. Here's the appeal:

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Worker rights advocates who are under attack in Bangladesh need your support urgently.

Kalpona Akter, one of the individuals under attack, toured the United States with us in April, describing the abusive working conditions and abysmally low wages. A former child garment worker, Kalpona is the founder of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity, one of Bangladesh's most prominent and well respected human rights organizations.

Now Kalpona and her coworkers desperately need your help. It is time for the big brands and retailers that get much of their clothing produced in Bangladesh to take immediate action to ensure that false charges against BCWS staff are withdrawn and the persecution ends.

Following last week's announcement of a new minimum wage, which will keep workers in dire poverty as the world's worst paid, garment workers protested for five straight days, demonstrating on the streets, and conducting work stoppages in factories. The government responded by blaming worker unrest on "provocateurs" and "saboteurs"-supposedly trying to destroy Bangladesh's most important export industry-filing fabricated criminal charges, and going on a witch hunt after Kalpona and other human rights leaders. You can learn more about the recent events here.

Kalpona and other leaders of BCWS are now in hiding, having to move location every few hours, even at night. Bangladeshi police and security are threatening their family members with beatings, harassing colleagues, and posing as journalists and even distant relatives in order to trick acquaintances to identify their places of hiding.

So far Kalpona has managed to stay one step ahead of the police and security forces. But she and her colleagues won't be able to hold out much longer. If captured, we fear for their safety. When she called the number of a "relative" that had been left with an acquaintance, the "relative" (in reality a security officer) told her bluntly: "We will keep you in our custody and will make your life hell. You don't know about us and about our power. Now we know where you and your family live, and we know how to get you in our custody."

Please take action now to protect Kalpona and her coworkers.

Walmart, H&M, and JC Penney have influence with the Bangladeshi government, accounting for a large percentage of Bangladesh's export earnings. They also buy from a factory, Nassa Global Wear, which instigated the government crackdown on BCWS. Walmart and other companies have long used their economic muscle to drive down prices in Bangladesh. If they truly insist that the persecution of BCWS and other human rights leaders must end, it is virtually certain it will. Neither the government nor the industry wants to jeopardize orders and investment from the big retailers and brands.

We appreciate your support for Kalpona and her coworkers and will keep you up to date as we learn more.

Sincerely,
Bjorn Claeson
Director of SweatFree Communities Campaign
International Labor Rights Forum


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THE LETTERS:
Please go to this link to send the following letters to companies who are heavy purchasers of Bangladesh clothing. First of all to Walmart, JC Penney and H&M.
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As a consumer, I am deeply concerned about recent attacks on workers and their supporters in Bangladesh.

The low wages of garment workers in Bangladesh, and the government harassment of Bangladeshi human rights advocates, are intolerable. Among other groups, the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity (BCWS) has been targeted by the government without justification, their leaders persecuted by police and security forces and their legal registration revoked by the authorities. This government is attempting to scapegoat BCWS and other human rights activists for worker unrest, which, in reality, is caused by below subsistence wages and poor working conditions.

As a company with large garment purchasing operations in Bangladesh, your company has benefited from workers’ insufferably low wages for many years. Now your company must use its economic muscle to effectively demand an end to the persecution of human rights activists in Bangladesh and ensure justice for workers. I call upon you to insist that the Bangladeshi government take the following steps:

1. Withdraw all trumped-up charges and unfounded allegations against the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity and its staff, including those filed by Nassa Global Wear (one of your suppliers);
2. Immediately cease all police and security force harassment and persecution of Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity staff;
3. Restore the NGO registration of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity.

The Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity is doing vital work for garment workers in Bangladesh. It is a matter of utmost urgency that they can resume normal operations and that their voices are not silenced.

I expect to hear from you shortly that you have taken effective action to protect worker rights defenders in Bangladesh, and have every confidence that if you do, these persecutions will end.

Sincerely,
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And a similar letter to the NASSA Group.
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As a consumer, I am deeply concerned about recent attacks on workers and their supporters in Bangladesh.

The low wages of garment workers in Bangladesh, and the government harassment of Bangladeshi human rights advocates, are intolerable. Among other groups, the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity (BCWS) has been targeted by the government without justification, their leaders persecuted by police and security forces and their legal registration revoked by the authorities. This government is attempting to scapegoat BCWS and other human rights activists for worker unrest, which, in reality, is caused by below subsistence wages and poor working conditions.

As a factory with large garment production operations in Bangladesh, your company has benefited from workers’ insufferably low wages for many years. I call upon you to:

1. Withdraw all lawsuits filed against the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity and its staff as well as other workers;

2. Communicate with the Government of Bangladesh including its policy forces to request that they immediately cease all police and security force harassment and persecution of Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity staff; and

3. Communicate to the Government of Bangladesh to Immediately restore the NGO registration of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity.

The Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity is doing vital work for garment workers in Bangladesh. It is a matter of utmost urgency that they can resume normal operations and that their voices are not silenced.

I expect to hear from you shortly that you have taken effective action to protect worker rights defenders in Bangladesh, and have every confidence that if you do, these persecutions will end.

Sincerely,