Dozens of Bangladesh factories close as workers strike

Dozens of garment factories in Bangladesh shut down Thursday as a workers’ strike escalated, in a move that could hit supplies to top Western retailers during the busy holiday season.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) closed 55 factories in a suburb on the outskirts of Dhaka, association president Siddikur Rahman said, after police arrested at least seven people who were leading the strike. “Those (factories) will remain closed until the government says it is safe to reopen them,” Rahman told AFP.

Workers went on strike nine days ago to protest the firing of 121 colleagues and soon added a pay hike to their list of demands. The protest escalated earlier this week when police fired rubber pellets, injuring 10 demonstrators according to labour leader Taslima Akhter. Continue reading “Dozens of Bangladesh factories close as workers strike”

The true cost.

This is a story about clothing. It’s about the clothes we wear, the people who make them, and the impact the industry is having on our world. The price of clothing has been decreasing for decades, while the human and environmental costs have grown dramatically. The True Cost is a groundbreaking documentary film that pulls back the curtain on the untold story and asks us to consider, who really pays the price for our clothing? Filmed in countries all over the world, from the brightest runways to the darkest slums, and featuring interviews with the world’s leading influencers including Stella McCartney, Livia Firth and Vandana Shiva, The True Cost is an unprecedented project that invites us on an eye opening journey around the world and into the lives of the many people and places behind our clothes.

https://truecostmovie.com/

Bangladesh: Tragedy Shows Urgency of Worker Protections

The collapse of an eight-story factory building near Dhaka shows the urgent need to improve Bangladesh’s protections for worker health and safety, Human Rights Watch said today. Reforms should include a drastic overhaul of the government’s system of labor inspections and an end to government efforts to thwart the right of workers to unionize.SAIn political party response Continue reading “Bangladesh: Tragedy Shows Urgency of Worker Protections”