Workers Uniting and Ver.di Pledge Solidarity With Workers in Bangladesh

Workers Uniting Pledges Solidarity With Workers in Bangladesh

Press release from Workers Uniting

PITTSBURGH, May 22

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, together with the German union, Verdi, has signed an unprecedented Joint International Solidarity Statement, in support of exploited workers in Bangladesh.

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 Labor 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 labor laws but also by the ILO's internationally recognized 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."

Here is a link to the declaration: http://nlcnet.org/article.php?id=645