Solidarity Center - Author: Tula Connell

Norway Ratification Boosts Fight against Modern Slavery

Dec 2, 2015

The following is crossposted from Equal Times.

On November 18, 2015, Norway ratified the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) Forced Labor Protocol, which strengthens and updates the 1930 Forced Labor Convention (Convention 29) by adding new measures to prevent, protect and compensate those affected.

According to ILO data, some 21 million people globally are victims of forced labor, generating approximately $150 billion each year. However, the hidden nature of this and other forms of extreme labor exploitation mean the true figures could be much higher.

By becoming the second country in the world after Niger to sign the UN treaty, Norway has ensured that the Protocol will be brought into force next November.

“Norway’s ratification will help millions of children, women and men reclaim their freedom and dignity,” said ILO Director-General Guy Ryder in a statement. “It represents a strong call to other member states to renew their commitment to protect forced laborers, where ever they may be.”

Renée Rasmussen, Confederal Secretary of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, said: “The world has changed dramatically since 1930, but in many societies the issues that Convention 29 was created to deal with are still unpleasantly current.”

Although 56 per cent (11.7 million), 18 per cent (3.7 million) and 9 per cent (1.8 million) of all forced labourers are found in Asia, Africa and Latin America respectively, the reach of modern-day slavery crosses countries, continents and sectors.

Workers in agriculture, fishing, manufacturing, domestic work and mining in the Global South are particularly vulnerable, while in advanced economies huge profits are generated from forced labor in supply chains.

“Our experience [in Norway] is that forced labor seems to appear together with social dumping and violations of the Working Environment Act (labor laws) and criminal activities,” Rasmussen explained.

Further ratifications

The ILO recently joined forces with the International Trade Union Confederation and the International Organization of Employers to the promote the ratification of the Protocol, primarily through the 50 for Freedom campaign.

By mobilizing public support, it is hoped that 50 countries will ratify the Forced Labor Protocol by 2018. It the ultimate aim is universal ratification of Convention 29—as eight countries, including the United States and China are yet to do so—and the Protocol by 2030.

While various countries have expressed support for the campaign, a number of African countries appear to be taking the lead. Mauritania has started the legislative process to ratify the Protocol and last month the Zambian president Edgar Lungu signalled his country’s commitment to eliminate modern slavery.

“My country will lead by example in taking the necessary steps required towards ratification of the Protocol,” he told delegates at a regional ILO conference on trafficking and forced labour in the Zambian capital of Lusaka.

Speaking at the same conference, Cosmas Mukuka, Secretary General of the Zambian Confederation of Trade Unions explain why the ratification is so important.

“Zambia continues to be the transit point for human trafficking in Africa meaning that enforcement of Convention 29 on forced labour remains a challenge and therefore calls for a regional strategy to effectively combat forced labour and human trafficking.”

Ahead of the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, Urmila Bhoola, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, called on states, business and civil society to intensify the fight against modern slavery in supply chains.

“Modern slavery is particularly difficult to detect beyond the first tier of complicated supply chains of transnational businesses,” she said.

“However, these forms of slavery can be rooted out through a multi-stakeholder and multi-faceted approach ensuring that all business operations and relationships are based on human rights, that those responsible for supply chain-related human rights violations are held accountable and that the victims are guaranteed the right to effective judicial and non-judicial remedy and appropriate and timely assistance aimed at empowering them.”

Bangladesh: ‘An Effective Union Can Ensure Fire Safety’

Nov 19, 2015

Bilkish Begum says she and other workers at a garment factory in Bangladesh could not discuss implementing fire safety measures with their employer—even after the deadly blaze at Tazreen Fashions factory killed 112 workers three years ago next week. Only when they formed a union, which provides workers with protection against retaliation for seeking to improve their workplace conditions, could they take steps to help ensure their safety.

“Things have improved a lot regarding fire safety once we formed union as now we have the power to raise our voice,” she says.

Bilkish, 30, now a leader of a factory union affiliated with the Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation (SGSF), is among hundreds of garment workers who have taken part in Solidarity Center fire safety trainings this year. The Solidarity Center works with garment workers, union leaders and factory management to improve fire safety conditions in Bangladesh’s ready-made garment industry through such hands-on courses as the 10-week Fire and Building Safety Resource Person Certification Training.

“I used to be afraid about fire eruption in my factory,” Bilkish says. “But after attending trainings, I feel that if we work together, we can reduce risk of fire in our factory.”

Fire remains a significant hazard in Bangladesh factories. Since the Tazreen fire, some 34 workers have died and at least 985 workers have been injured in 91 fire incidents, according to data collected by Solidarity Center staff in Dhaka, the capital. Incidents resulting in injuries include at least eight false alarms.

In January, after a short-circuit caused a generator to explode at one garment factory, Osman, president of the factory union and Popi Akter, another union leader, quickly addressed the fire and calmed panicked workers using the skills they learned through the Solidarity Center fire training. They also worked with factory management to correct other safety issues, like blocked aisles and stairwells cramped with flammable material.

Many workers who have taken part in the trainings say they are equipped to handle fire accidents.

“We are now confident after the training that we can help factory management and other workers if there is any incident of fire in our factory,” says Mosammat Doli, 35, a leader of a union affiliated with the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers’ Federation (BGIWF).

“From my experience at my factory, I have seen that an effective trade union can ensure fire safety in the factory as it can raise safety concerns,” he said.

Fewer than 3 percent of the 5,000 garment factories in Bangladesh have a union. And according to the International Labor Organization, 80 percent of Bangladeshi garment factories need to address fire and electrical safety standards. Yet, despite workers’ efforts to form organizations to represent them this year, the Bangladeshi government rejected more than 50 registration applications—many for unfair or arbitrary reasons—while only 61 were successful. This is in stark contrast to only two years ago, when 135 unions applied for registration and the government rejected 25 applications, and to 2014, when 273 unions applied and 66 were rejected.

Without a union, workers often are harassed or fired when they ask their employer to fix workplace safety and health conditions.

Because his workplace has a union, which enabled Doli to participate in fire safety training, he—like Osman and Popi Aktee—already has potentially saved lives. Together with other union leaders, he helped evacuate workers and extinguish a fire in their garment factory.

Shahabuddin, 25, an executive member of his factory union, which is affiliated with SGSF, is among Bangladesh garment workers who see firsthand how unions help ensure safe and healthy working conditions. He says his workplace had no fire safety equipment—until workers formed a union and collectively raised the issue of job safety.

“Now management conducts fire evacuation drills almost regularly. We did not imagine it just a few years back. As we formed union, many things started changing,” he says.

Mushfique Wadud is Solidarity Center communications officer in Bangladesh.

Tazreen Fire Survivors: ‘Our Suffering Has Just Started’

Nov 19, 2015

“You have forgotten the Tazreen fire incident but our actual suffering has just started,” says Anju, who experienced severe head, eye and other bodily injuries during the fatal Tazreen Fashions Ltd. fire in Bangladesh that killed 112 garment workers.

Survivors of the November 24, 2012, Tazreen fire who recently talked with Solidarity Center staff in Bangladesh say they endure daily physical and emotional pain and in many cases, have little or no means of financial support because they cannot work. Some, like Anju, who is unable to work, have never received compensation for their injuries.

Bangladesh’s $25 billion garment industry fuels the country’s economy, with ready-made garments accounting for nearly four-fifths of exports. Yet many of the country’s 4 million garment workers, most of whom are women, still work in dangerous, often deadly conditions. Since the Tazreen fire, some 34 garment workers have died and 985 have been injured in 91 fire incidents, according to data collected by Solidarity Center staff in Dhaka, the capital.

Some 80 percent of export-oriented ready made garment (RMG) factories in Bangladesh need improvement in fire and electrical safety standards, despite a government finding most were safe, according to a recent International Labor Organization (ILO) report.

The Solidarity Center has had an on-the-ground presence in Bangladesh for more than a decade. Through Solidarity Center fire safety trainings for union leaders and workers, garment workers learn to identify and correct problems at their worksites. But fewer than 3 percent of the 5,000 garment factories in Bangladesh have a union. ” Despite workers’ efforts to form unions, in 2015 alone the Bangladeshi government has rejected more than 50 registration applications—many for unfair or arbitrary reasons—while only 61 have been successful. The rejections have jumped significantly from 2014, when 273 unions applied and 66 were rejected.

So that the world does not forget, here is the story of Anju and others who survived the Tazreen fire.

Photos: Solidarity Center/Mushfique Wadud

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Let’s Remind the World 168 Million Children Forced to Work

Nov 18, 2015

Today, Universal Children’s Day, is a good time to remind people that more than 168 million children around the world are forced to work nearly every day.

Global March against Child Labor, a coalition of organizations working to end child labor that includes the Solidarity Center, created a powerful short video clip you can email, post on Facebook, Tweet and send to your networks.

Here are some sample Tweets and Facebook posts:

Tweets
Global March Against Child Labor fights to end child labor! WATCH to know why are we doing this? http://bit.ly/1QeZmdu #EndChildSlavery

Global March can help you do your bit to end child labor from this world! Support us http://bit.ly/1QeZmdu #NotMadebyChildren

Facebook Posts
Everything that you buy isn’t worth it! WATCH http://bit.ly/1QeZmdu #NotMadebyChildren #EndChildSlavery

1 in every 6 children work. The shirt you are wearing may be made by a child slave. WATCH http://bit.ly/1QeZmdu #EndChildSlavery

Honduran Union Leader, Family Leave Home after Threats

Nov 17, 2015

Honduran union leader Nelson Geovanni Nuñez Chavez was forced to leave his home with his family last week after repeatedly being followed and harassed, according to the Honduras-based nonprofit ACI-Participa. Nuñez Chavez is technical adviser to the Honduran agricultural workers’ union, Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Agroindustria y Similares (STAS), and host of the radio program, “The Unionist, Live.”

In late October and early November, strangers in a black pickup truck with tinted windows repeatedly parked outside Nuñez Chavez’s home in El Progreso and took photos of the house from different angles, according to ACI-Participa. Nuñez Chavez says he when he attempted to file a report with the police officials, they would not accept it because they said no harm had occurred.

Nuñez Chavez’s radio host predecessor, José María Martínez, a STAS ally, was forced to leave the country in July 2014 following repeated death threats against him and his family. At least nine union leaders have been attacked or killed in Honduras this year, and others have been threatened with violence. (ACI-Participa recently released a report, in Spanish, documenting violence against union leaders.)

El Progreso, in northern Honduras, is surrounded by plantations producing palm oil, bananas and vegetables. Nelson Nuñez is among union leaders helping agricultural workers who are contracted or employed in the sector to form a union.

In September, STAS President Tomás Membreño Pérez received death threats by phone and on Facebook and was followed as he traveled to the Santa Rita banana plantation where he was helping workers get a voice on the job. Like several union leaders threatened, attacked or murdered, Pérez is a member of the Network of Unionists against Antiunion Violence. The network, which includes ACI-Participa and the Solidarity Center, was launched late last year to combat government corruption and stand up to increasing violence and threats against worker rights activists.

Violence against union leaders in Honduras nearly always goes unpunished, even though Honduras is under scrutiny for failure to enforce its labor laws. The United States is waiting for the Honduran government to present a corrective plan of action to address labor rights violations, a move required after the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Trade and Labor Affairs last year accepted a complaint under the labor chapter of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

The AFL-CIO and 26 Honduran unions and civil society organizations filed the complaint in March 2012. In a February 2015 report, the U.S. Trade and Labor Affairs office said Honduras has made virtually no progress since then.

The network issued a public appeal to the national police, national commissioner for Human Rights, the Human Rights Department and other state institutions “to take the necessary measures to safeguard” Nelson Nuñez’s life.