Workers Uniting pledges solidarity with workers in Bangladesh
22nd May 2009
The new global union, Workers Uniting, made up of Unite,
Britain's biggest union, and the United Steelworkers, North
America’s largest private sector union, has signed an unprecedented
joint international solidarity statement, in support of exploited
workers in Bangladesh together with the German union, Ver.di.
The statement is in support of the poorest and most exploited
workers in the world in Bangladesh, where more than 650 mostly
young women workers sew clothing at the R L Denim factory for Metro
Group and their Macro Cash & Carry stores.
This declaration sends a clear message that the unions
representing some 5.5 million workers are not only dedicated to
protecting and growing the rights of their own members, but will
also fight to protect the rights of workers across the developing
world.
Unite's joint general secretary, Derek Simpson, said: “The race
to the bottom is out of control, these women in Bangladesh are
having to work for as little pay as the employers can get away
with. Workers Uniting, as a global union must make a stand not just
for our members, but for the rights of workers across the
developing world.
“We have been told there is evidence that these women have been
beaten, kicked and routinely work 13 to 15 hours a day. If they ask
for maternity leave, they are kicked out into the street. Adding to
the injustice, if production quotas are not met, they are forced to
work overtime without pay.”
USW international president Leo W. Gerard, citing the work of the
National Labour Committee (NLC) which uncovered the abuses, stated:
“The race to the bottom in the global sweatshop economy is out of
control, bringing more misery to the poorest of the poor. We are
demanding that this corporate exploitation be stopped and these
workers be given their basic human rights not only to be protected
by local labour laws but also by the International Labour
Organisation’s internationally recognised worker rights
standards.”
After years of profiting from the exploitation, the Metro Group
is pulling its work out of the factory just when these workers are
on the verge of winning their legal right to a democratic voice in
the workplace.
Tony Woodley, Unite joint general secretary, said: "This is an
unbearable situation in which the Metro Group is trying to further
punish the workers in order to deliver a message that any workers
who dare ask for their legal rights will be fired and thrown onto
the street.
“Metro Group must pay the workers every cent of back wages,
bring work back to the factory and rehire everyone. Anything less
is totally unacceptable.”
View the declaration.
ENDS
Contact: Gerald Fernandez, USW (412-562-2611) or Saba Mozakka,
Unite (020 7420 8916)
Email to a friend
