Dear NikeWatch Supporter

In this edition we bring you good news about the release of Mehedi, the Bangladeshi labour activist as well as the successful end to the Fiber & Fabrics International case in India. There’s more to do in Bangladesh to stop the repression of labour advocates and trade unions. We bring news about the repression of a union in two Indonesian factories making football kits and update you on the ex-Spotec workers waiting for adidas to fulfil their commitments. We also introduce you to a new book about how to shop, eat and invest ethically.

 
Over the past months we have asked you to take action by sending a fax to G-STAR on the case of the labour activists who were sued by FFI/JKPL after they spoke out against labour rights abuses in India. International arrest warrants had been put out on 7 Dutch activists, an internet provider and gag orders issued again local NGOs, unions and women organisations.

Good news! All charges have been dropped and the right to freedom of speech and freedom to organise has been restored. Therefore, this case is considered closed. Please see the statement here. 

In consultation with local organisations and unions in Bangalore, an Ombudsperson in Bangalore will be appointed to resolve future problems. Should employees, local organisations, the Clean Clothes Campaign or India Committee of the Netherlands (CCC and ICN) have any complaints concerning labour conditions, they can submit these to the Ombudsperson, who will attempt to resolve them. Employees will be free to organise themselves in a union of their choice.

Together, the international community have won an important victory which means internationally labour rights organisations and unions can continue report on labour rights abuses without the threat of criminal defamation. It also means that workers can exercise their basic human rights to organise to improve their conditions, in India, without their union or supporting organisation facing a gag order.

On January 24 Mehedi Hasan, a field investigator for Worker Rights Consortium (an independent labour rights monitoring organisation based in the USA) was arrested by the Bangladesh security forces. After 10 days of sustained pressure from human and labour rights activists around the world the Bangladeshi authorities released Mr Hasan from custody on Sunday, February 3. The release is a great outcome and an example of what international pressure can achieve, but the arrest highlights that worker rights advocates in Bangladesh are under serious threat.

Since January 2007 the Bangladeshi government has banned political and trade union activities and given itself "state of emergency" powers which severely limit civil rights. In recent weeks, the government appears to be intensifying its crackdown on workers and labour activists.  Mr Hasan is just one of many individuals put under surveillance, interrogated or detained.  According to Human Rights Watch, police report that a number of international organisations and their staff members are being monitored for allegedly engineering or inciting "subversive" activities.

Call on Bangladeshi Authorities to Stop Repression of Labour Rights Advocates and Trade Unions
Click here for more information on the situation in the the Bangladeshi garment industry

On the 1st of February 170 workers and union members were locked out of their factory and told they were dismissed after they tried to negotiate their right to permanent employment with factory management. The factory, called Perfect Plus (formerly BPG III), is located close to Jakarta, Indonesia and makes sportswear including football kits for teams in the United Kingdom.

 
The hiring process at adidas’ Indonesian supplier factory (Ching Luh) is still not delivering on adidas’ promise of a fair and transparent recruitment of ex-Spotec workers. We are sending 500 letters from defenders of workers rights to adidas this week to let them know that the pressure is still on.

The ex-Spotec workers, who have been unemployed since their adidas supplier shut in November 2006, continue to wait for adidas to ensure they are not ignored and abandoned when the Ching Luh adidas supplier takes on new staff.  We have been receiving letters every day on this issue to pass on to adidas and every letter counts. We urge you to keep up your pressure on adidas regarding these workers’ livelihoods and to send the letter to your friends and colleagues to encourage them to take action. Click on the Act Now! button to write to adidas.

A new book How Good Are You? Clean Living in a Dirty World has been released this month examining how to shop, invest and eat ethically. The author Julian Lee started the book after his experiences trying to write a newspaper article about the ease or otherwise of buying ethical products. He found that often “behind the slick labels and marketing, there was another story to tell: a manufacturing process that was highly toxic, a connection to a company with a less than glowing record on human rights, or just downright lies” [xii].

Chapter six looks at ethics in the fashion industry. Oxfam Australia’s labour rights work is highlighted and campaigning against labour rights abuses in the sportswear industry in Asia is featured. The chapter also investigates sweatshop conditions in Australia, mentioning the controversial WorkChoices legislation and the ethical industry initiative, the Homeworkers Code of Practice.

www.howgoodareyou.com.au