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Bangladesh garment factory crisis is a women's crisis

December 12, 2013

The crisis in the Bangladesh Apparel industry is really a women’s issue and something all advocates of women’s rights and equality should be deeply concerned about. To be clear, we are not talking here about individual cases of discrimination at work and the need for more equitable labor justice – although there is a need for improving that as well.

Our focus here is on systemic, society-wide discrimination and development strategies that have further entrenched that discrimination. These issues echo around the world in industry after industry built primarily on women’s labor. But they have been brought into stark relief in Bangladesh, where more than 1,200 workers – most of them women – have died during the last year due to negligence and disregard for their welfare.

Workers Give Message to RSPO: Don’t Certify Abuse!

November 14, 2013

Medan, Indonesia—This week hundreds of oil palm workers and their allies crashed the 11th annual meeting of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a multi-stakeholder organization that promotes “sustainable” palm oil, to protest the organization’s failure to uphold its own labor standards. 

Arriving in colorful rain jackets on motorbikes and small pick-ups, the protesters braved a torrential downpour to deliver a blunt message to the RSPO: Stop certifying worker exploitation.

PALEA Back as Regular Workers in Pact with PAL

November 14, 2013

The union Philippine Airlines Employees' Association (PALEA) hailed a settlement agreement signed today with the management of Philippine Airlines (PAL) that provides for the re-employment of some 600 members as regular workers. In a private ceremony in a downtown hotel in Mandaluyong at noon, officers of PAL and PALEA signed the agreement.

ILRF Loses Leading Child Rights Advocate

November 5, 2013

All of us at ILRF were tremendously saddened to learn that U. Roberto Romano – our beloved Robin – passed away at his home last week. Robin was a tireless advocate for children’s rights, as well as an inspiring and supportive colleague. He was also an amazing cinematographer and highly acclaimed filmmaker, who dedicated his life to reporting on and exposing the exploitation of children. For ILRF, Robin’s support and guidance was essential to keeping a spotlight on this ongoing global tragedy. 

ILRF Lauds Brazil's Progress at the III Global Conference on Child Labour

October 17, 2013

Speech given at the III Global Conference on Child Labour, Brasilia, Brazil, October 9, 2013.

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on behalf of my organization, the International Labor Rights Forum and as a representative of the US Child Labor Coalition, where I chair the international committee.  Brothers and sisters in the fight against child labor, we are making progress, but the progress is not enough.  There are still 168 million child laborers; 85 million of them toiling under hazardous conditions.[1]

I want to congratulate Brazil on its progress in reducing the incidence of child labor. 

The U.S. Government Should Require Progress on Human, Land, and Labor Rights Prior to Reinstatement of GSP Trade Benefits for Burma

September 30, 2013

ILRF and other concerned organizations urge the Obama Administration to require concrete, measurable progress on labor and land rights and environmental protection in Burma before its trade benefits could be reinstated under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). In addition, the products of extractive industries and plantation agriculture should be excluded from any initial grant of GSP eligibility so a more deliberate path to GSP can be created for those sectors.

Urgent Clarity Needed as 4-Year Thailand Migrant NV Deadline Expires

September 18, 2013

There are an estimated 3 million foreign migrant workers in Thailand, over 80% originating from Myanmar. Since the late 1980s, these workers have irregularly crossed borders to work in mostly dirty, dangerous and demanding jobs in Thailand thereby significantly contributing to Thailand’s economy and providing billions of dollars in remittances to support relatives in origin countries. These workers continue to face significant exploitation and confusing piecemeal government migration policies.

US Brands Fail Victims of Bangladesh Disasters

September 11, 2013

The horrific catastrophes at Tazreen Fashions and Rana Plaza exposed the callous indifference of the US brands and retailers that sourced from these factories and the systemic failure of the garment industry to ensure worker safety in Bangladesh. It's been more than four months since the Rana building collapse of April 24th, 2013 and nine months since the Tazreen fire of November 24th, 2012, but injured workers and the surviving families of the deceased have yet to receive even a cent of compensation from the US brands and retailers whose clothing they and their loved ones risked their lives to make.

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