Since 2017 coordinations to connect May Day activities worldwide take place through the Global May Day network. Also this year some unions expressed interest in coordinating a framework for a common #GlobalMayDay2024. At previous meetings participants agreed on a call to action for this year (still to be published) as well as a common symbol to be used.
At the next meeting we will discuss further steps, such as the preparation of materials (e.g. designs for stickers, posters, banners), translations of the call, and outreach to fellow comrades worldwide. Get involved and join the open meeting on March 23rd!
The General Secretary of the All Pakistan Federation of United Trade Unions (APFUTU), Zia Syed, released the following statement:
Gujrat: On this International Women’s Day, the All Pakistan Federation of United Trade Unions (APFUTU) commends the resilience of working women in the face of harmful misogynistic attitudes and unprecedented economic instability. However, it is gravely concerning that Pakistan continues to lag behind global economies in addressing chronic gender disparities.
According to the 2023 Global Gender Gap Index, Pakistan ranks 143rd out of 146 countries for women’s economic participation and opportunity. The 2020-21 Pakistan Labour Force Survey also found that women account for only 23.5 percent of the total labour force despite constituting a significant 49.4 percent of the working-age population. Moreover, women, particularly Christians and Hindus, are continuously denied their rightful inheritance due to a lack of implementation of laws guaranteeing their rights.
More inclusive measures to ensure women’s right to vote and contest elections must also be enacted for true political representation. The state must further take actionable steps to provide more economic opportunities for women, protecting their right to work in a dignified environment free from harassment and with equal pay. Working women are the backbone of global economic development; their inclusion in Pakistan’s workforce must be encouraged regardless of whether they are married or unmarried.
Finally, APFUTU demands the state pay heed to the rights of incarcerated women, many of whom suffer in jails with poor hygienic conditions, little access to healthcare and limited economic recourse for legal representation. The state must do more to uphold their rights, including their right to due process under the law in cases of under-trial female prisoners who have yet to be produced before courts. The demands of Baloch women calling for the return of their disappeared loved ones must be met as well. Pakistan’s international obligations and commitment to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals mandates gender equality be upheld in every sphere.
Zia Syed, APFUTU General Secretary
March 8th, 2024: To mark the annual Day of Feminist Struggles APFUTU arranged a rally in Gujrat (Punjab, Pakistan).
Workers organised with the Federation of General Workers Myanmar (FGWM) report about severe problems and labour rights violations at Very Impressive Prospect (VIP) factory. Established in 1982, VIP focuses “on the development of carbon fiber composites and also provide[s] comprehensive manufacturing services for well-known brands among the world“. (vipsports.com.tw) It has its headquarter in Taichung City (Taiwan). In this report the allegations focus on the VIP factory in Shwe Pyi Thar Industrial Zone 3, Yangon Region (Myanmar), where around 2 800 workers produce mostly sports equipment for brands such as the Wilson Sporting Goods Company (USA), BH bicycles (Spain) and Bianchi bicycles (Italy).
Workers on the ground report about cuts in water supply for those departments with union members.
March 27th 2024
Workers report that the boss forces workers to sign warning letters written in Chinese language.
Workers who had to sign them want to stay anonymous.
March 20th 2024
Workers report of an increase in work-related injuries due to a lack of protection from chemical liquids.
March 17th 2024
The struggle at VIP factory was included in this years’ call for Global May Day 2024! All unions are asked to stand in solidarity with the factory workers during their May Day actions.
March 9th 2024
BH Bikes responds to the email sent by ICL Working Group Asia with a standard email:
March 8th 2024
Workers on the ground provide footages recently recorded from inside the factory proving that Bianchi keeps sourcing from VIP factory, though the factory management tries to prevent workers from taking pictures.
March 4th 2024
General Manager of Bianchi in Taiwan claims that they don’t source from VIP factory in Yangon anymore:
Feb. 28th – March 4th 2024
ICL Working Group Asia reaches out to BH Bikes and Bianchi asking them for a statement on the problems expressed by the workers on the ground, to get in touch with FGWM and to pressure the factory owner to resolve the conflict in the interest of the workers.
We want to make clear that we as the International Confederation of Labour stand side by side with our friends in Myanmar. Since Bianchi sources parts from VIP factory we expect you to get in touch with the workers on the ground by contacting FGWM and also pressure the factory management to resolve the issues peacefully and in the interest of the workers!
from the email sent to the brands
Brands are asked to respond by March 10th, otherwise we feel forced to escalate the struggle even further on the international level.
Workers on the ground report:
Union busting! Workers active in the union get less bonus payments. Factory management claims that there is no labour union for their factory. Those workers who dare to still approach remaining labour union activists are threatened.
Taking days off is denied! Applications for legal leave are not granted. Workers are also denied medical leave. Those who demand entitled leave are pressured to sign warning letters. After four warning letters the worker gets fired.
Lack of safety measures! Frequent work accidents. Accidents happen with the machines, resulting in broken bones. But also allergic reactions due to dust and toxic fumes in the sanding department are a problem. Necessary protection gear and ointment is hardly available. Furthermore the stock of medical equipment is inadequate. Additionally workers are exposed to hazardous chemicals at the moulding department. Workers are instructed to wash the molds with MEK (Butanone) and feel unwell (hotness in the stomach, dizziness) when using it.
There are also chemicals at sanding and painting departments, which usually are hidden away by the factory, when the factory inspection visits. And there is no awareness training on how to use those chemicals and their side effects.
VIP factory worker
Unclean drinking water and unhygienic sanitary conditions! Toilet doors are broken and can’t be locked. No soap is available.
During factory inspections the management selects workers and instructs them what to say, for example claiming that there are no night shifts.
Factory management arranges pre-orchestrated answer sheets for audits done by brands. They handed out the answer sheet to the workers whom the audit will interview and then instructed them to answer accordingly. Workers who answer wrongly get punished afterwards. For example by denying overtime work.
VIP factory worker
No respect! Supervisors technicians shout at the workers. Some female workers also report about cases of sexual harassment by drunken technicians at night.
Unreasonable production targets! Workers are pressured to finish unreasonable production targets and are forced to sign warning letters, if targets are not met. Once again, after four warning letters, workers are fired.
Workers are pressured to do work which is not covered by their working contract, e.g. cut plants and clean the area.
The factory workers demand:
Reinstatement of two fired labour union secretaries!
Management (esp. HR management) must stop methods of unions busting!
Stop methods of intimidation, e.g. forcing workers to sign warning letters when applying to take leave!
Legally entitled leave must be granted!
New factory machines must be installed!
Industry-grade safety gloves, boots, shields, earbuds and sufficient ointment medical lotion! Protection gear must be provided to all workers! Also soap for hand-washing is needed!
Allow injured workers to take paid medical leave as required by the doctors and until workers fully recover! After all workplace accidents are a result of the managements’ failure to provide a safe work environment (e.g. repair/replace broken machines).
Factory management must negotiate with workers on reasonable production targets and stop threatening with warning letters, if targets are not met!
Stop threatening behaviour by supervisors! No more verbal abuse! No more gender-based violence and sexual haressment! HR manager Mr. M.T.S. must start a dialogue and negotiate with workers.
Management must stop manipulating the audits done by the brands and authorities! No repression for workers who honestly answer questions during audits. Most importantly, factory must allow members of the union to meet with the buyers’ audit team to respond to their questions regarding the conditions at work.
Management must educate workers on the dangers related to the use of hazardous chemicals and how to react if contacted! Prohibited hazardous chemicals should not be used inside the factory.
Management must stop assigning workers to different departments without their consent!
How things started
December 23rd 2023
Union secretary Ms. M. M. K. was unfairly dismissed by the factory. Before the dismissal, she was working at the molding line 3 during which she was shouted at by the technician for accidentally breaking something. This led to an argument between the two. As a result she was immediately dismissed with a notification letter. The letter states that she has already been warned and had signed the three warning letters before. This was the fourth time and therefore she was dismissed.
December 26th 2023
The workers from the union organised a collective bargaining strike inside the factory compound demanding for the reinstatement of the dismissed union secretary along with other demands. While on strike, police, soldiers, township administration and labor officers arrived at the factory. Upon arrival, they collected the personal information and home addresses of the striking workers. They also checked the mobile phones of labour union activists. Afterwards they were brought to the factory office at which a lieutenant and a labor officer arbitrated the negotiation between the factory owner and the workers. However, the negotiation favorably sided with the factory owner. The striking workers were threatened by the authorities that they will be arrested if they launch a strike again tomorrow and that they will be in danger if they upload the photos about this online. During that negotiation, a lieutenant also slapped one of the union secretaries, who is a union executive member. The factory owner and factory manager, during this negotiation, urged the authorities to arrest the dismissed union secretary. For safety reasons, workers decided to return to work and wait for adequate reactions from the involved brands.
December 27th 2023
When the striking workers returned to work, factory management demanded them to sign the warning letter. Factory management also deducted half of the daily wages of the 36 workers who joined the strike, though they had worked a full eight-hour-workday. They were also pressured to sign the warning letters under the pretext of not completing the production target. During these days, forcing the workers to complete the unreasonable production target during day and night shifts became worse.
December 28th 2023
The current department in-charge of sanding line 3 verbally and privately warned a fellow union executive committee member not to mobilise workers from painting line 3 and sanding line 3 to organize the collective bargaining action. On the same day, factory management coerced the workers to sign that they voluntarily agreed to work overtime.
December 29th 2023
At 4:15pm factory management brought four union activists into the office and unilaterally refused to accept any of the striking workers’ demands giving various reasons.
December 30th 2023
Factory management took pictures of staff IDs of workers who were involved in the strike. The management personnel exerts oppression on those workers in addition to daily surveillance.
January 15th 2024
Factory management forces a worker who refused to sign the warning letter on December 28th to work overtime without his consent.
January 18th 2024
Without acknowledging the workers’s representatives elected by the workers, the factory management unilaterally posted the names and photos of the appointed six workers’ representatives on the factory wall. The workers reported that out of the appointed six, they are only familiar with four people who are currently at the workplace and the other two are those who no longer work at the factory. Moreover, workers, who were involved in the strike, were transfered to different departments without their consent. Three days after the transfer, they were confronted with high production targets and asked to sign the warning letter if unable to complete the target. Five days later, supervisors asked them to sign the second warning letter.
February 3rd/ 4th 2024
Audit team visited the factory. Factory owner made sure that workers told the audit staff only what they want them to say. No report was made available to the workers until now (Feb. 23rd 2024).
February 20th 2024
Labour union executive committee member Ms. M. M. K. was fired. She received the majority of votes when the workplace coordination committee was formed.
What now?
International partners (International Confederation of Labour (ICL-CIT) and Solidarity Center) approach brands and inform them about the conditions inside the factory. In case brands don’t react accordingly a call for public actions in solidarity with the workers will follow.
Delivery workers in Turkey prepared the below report. The pdf can also be downloaded here.
We, the motorcycle delivery workers currently operating for Yemeksepeti (owned by Delivery Hero) in various cities across Turkey, including Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir, hereby document the rights violations we have experienced throughout the year 2023 in this report.
UPDATE (Dec. 9th, 2023): Following the massive wave of strikes and protests in various industrial areas and the announcements of the new minimum wage of 12 500 BDT by the wage board, things calmed down inside the factories and on the streets for now. Labour unions reject this new minimum wage and will keep fighting for higher wages. Currently labour union activists face repression (terminations, lawsuits, physical attacks) and keep acting from the underground. Once the garment workers received their first payslips with the new wage structure and after the general elections on January 7th 2024, the GWTUC expects garment workers to re-activate the wage movement. Updates will be published here and inside the NEWS section. Stay tuned.
For the past few months garment workers in various parts of Bangladesh took to the streets in their struggle for a proper increase in basic minimum wage. Up until December 2023 garment workers received a minimum wage of 8 000 BDT (73 USD) per month, which was set in 2018. Labour unions demand an increase to at least 23 000 BDT, the Garment Workers’ Trade Union Center (GWTUC) fights for a minimum wage of 25 000 BDT. On November 7th, following a week of intense strikes, blockades and street protests, the wage board announced an increase of the minimum wage to 12 500 BDT, effective from December 2023. Unions reject this decision and announced to continue the fight for a proper living wage. Workers – especially with families – are unable to survive with a monthly income of 12 500 BDT (113 USD) only.
Consequently the GWTUC calls on unions and fellow workers worldwide to support the fighting garment workers in their struggle. Confrontations inside the factories and on the streets are intense. Five workers already lost their lives, some of whom were shot dead by police. Check out the call below or download the pdf.
Not only factory owners but also the brands sourcing from those factories are major profiteers of the workers’ sweat and labour. The products end up in stores worldwide. Therefore: Let’s globalise this fight, take it to the streets and confront the brands! Note: Some brands released a statement directed at the president of Bangladesh asking for the conflict to be resolved as soon as possible. But statements are not enough. The retailers must ensure that the factories they source from pay a minimum wage of 25 000 BDT!
This NEWS section provides updates on the movement continuously.
CONTACT
To announce or share reports on your actions, drop a line at: garmentworkerssolidarity@globalmayday.net | globalmayday@lists.riseup.net (mailing list)
Garment workers of various factories rallied in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka (Bangladesh) on September 29th. This protest was called by the Garment Workers’ Trade Union Center (GWTUC) and kicked off the struggle for 25 000 BDT minimum monthly wage on the streets! Though 25 000 BDT don’t even equal 215 EUR (227 US$), this fight is essential to every single factory worker.
In 2018 the minimum wage was increased the last time. Since then workers have to get along with a meagre 8 000 BDT minimum wage. Since then also many people in Bangladesh suffered under an enormous inflation rate. Especially lower wage workers hardly get along.
Therefore GWTUC, which unites hundreds of thousands of garment workers across the country, fights for an increase in wages for garment workers of more than 200%!
Look out for a call of international solidarity in the future.
Hello, Mingalarbar. I’m reaching out to seek assistance from fellow members of international unions. I work in the garment industry and hold a leadership role within the union. I’m a part of both the Federation of General Workers (FGWM) and a leading position in a garment factory’s union. These unions have been actively combating labor exploitation and advocating for workers’ rights through united efforts. The recent military coup has turned our workplaces into unbearable environments. Under the leadership of FGWM, our trade unions initiated campaigns (inside factories) against the military dictatorship on February 5, 2021, immediately after the coup. On February 6, our union federation, FGWM became the pioneering group to voice opposition against the military rule in Yangon. Unfortunately, this led to their identification and subsequent capture by the military. Many workers have also become jobless as they fled their workplaces to escape danger. Some have been imprisoned due to the military’s arrests. At present, amidst extreme challenges and the oppressive actions of employers within the workplace, we are seeking aid for fellow workers. These individuals include those spearheading the movement for labor rights and federal democracy, as well as those imprisoned for advocating human and women’s rights in the workplace. We earnestly request support from our international unions and comrades to help with solidarity. We have only a limited time left to participate in the fundraising campaign aimed at supporting our comrades inside factories.
message by a factory worker shared on August 23rd, 2023
The FGWM consists of 40 (factory) labour unions and keeps uniting thousands of members. It is one of the very few labour federations known to us in Asia, which follows a grassroots approach. The FGWM has its roots in the textile factories of the industrial zones in Myanmar. The vast majority of secretaries had to flee to escape pocecution by the military junta and now operates from a house in exile. Some of the comrades who initiated this fundraising met them at their house last year. They emphasized they some of them only managed to escape with the support provided by the previous fundraising done last year. Despite the military dictatorship they continue with their efforts. The FGWM supports workers to get organised, follows labour fights (like the recent strike at Sun Apparel), which still take place under great danger, and also tries to support members facing state repression, for example seeking refuge or supporting them in prison as far as this is possible. Another focal point is to provide training opportunities for factory workers in regards to organising and labour struggles. All of this can’t be upheld without external support. Due to the extremely precarious living conditions, which evolved especially after the military coup in February 2021, the income of membership fees collapsed. Their supportive partners on the international level are the ICL Working Group Asia as well as the Solidarity Center.
First of all, you can support the work of FGWM by simply contributing to the fundraising. You can do so with a credit card using the firefund page or by transfering to the account of FAU Hamburg.
Account name: AS FAU Hamburg IBAN: DE43 4306 0967 2070 7898 00 BIC: GENODEM1GLS Bank name: GLS Bank Purpose: FGWM solidarity
In the end all contributions will be added to the firefund page. The amounts submitted via firefund will only be deducted from your account, if the fundraising is successful, i.e. in case the goal of 15 000 EUR is reached. Furthermore you can help to inform many others about this effort by spreading the links listed at the beginning. Furthermore you can order a stylish solidarity shirt at DNA Merch. They will take orders until August 31st 2023 and then ask a textile/ printing collective in Croatia to make them.
Workers at Sun Apparel Myanmar Co. Ltd garment factory have been on strike since June 6, 2023. Almost the whole factory workforce, totalling just more than 400 workers, united in the strike action. One of their main demands is an increase of the basic daily wage from 4,800 MMK (approx. 2.09€) to 6,000 MMK (approx. 2.61€) per day. According to the minimum wage law, the minimum wage should be reviewed every 2 years and the last time the minimum wage was set in 2018. Since then, no review took place. In the industrial zone, there are a number of factories which have recently increased the minimum daily wage to 5,600 MMK per day, which also motivated the workers to go on strike. The increase in wages is vital due to the significant inscreases in prices for basic commodities. Not increasing wages since 2018 is like cutting your wages each month!
According to sources close to the military council, M.T.W., the leader of the Sun Apparel Myanmar garment factory protest workers, has been arrested by the military council. M.T.W. was arrested a day before the scheduled date to negotiate the demands.
The sources also said that it was known that M.T.W. was arrested at around 11:00 p.m. on June 14, and was taken to the No. 1 Army Military Affairs Security Support Unit for questioning.
Another main demand is the increase of attendance bonus from 20,000 MMK (approx. 8.70€) to 40,000 MMK per month. This bonus was deducted during the Covid pandemic to 10,000 MMK and still remains at 10,000 MMK. In addition to these two main demands, there are several other demands related to serious violations of labour rights.
Those include:
Factory management calls for meetings during the workers’ lunch break.
Although there is no clause prohibiting to bring your mobile phone to the workplace, they are confiscated during work hours and not even stored properly, so that in some cases they are returned damaged.
For those workers who can’t or don’t want to work overtime after an eight-hour work day, the factory does not arrange return ferries to their homes. Furthermore the management refuses to pay the piece rate fees for the completed pieces during these eight hours.
The factory owners don’t provide a proper dining place for lunch breaks and therefore workers must eat at the car parking space.
The drinking water that the factory owners provide to the local workers is unclean and the drinking water tank is located just 3 feet away from the toilets for the female workers. In contrast, the factory provides commercial clean drinking water bottles to the foreign staff at the workplace.
Two leaders of the factory union were arrested so far, in an attempt to crush the strike. The factory union at Sun Apparel is part of the Federation of General Workers Myanmar (FGWM).
Sun Apparel Myanmar garment factory is located in industrial zone 5 in Hlaingthayar township in Yangon and it is operating with a workforce of more than 400. According to the data collected since January 2022, Sun Apparel is a regular supplier to the JAKO sports clothing brand based in Germany.
UPDATE
For a few weeks there was an intense exchange between JAKO, the FGWM, the factory owner as well as the ICL Working Group Asia and the Solidarity Center. In the end the factory owner and JAKO confirmed to approach the military junta and call for the release of the two arrested workers. The generated pressure was successful and the two workers were finally released in September 2023!
Following the replacement of the factory manager in August 2023, conditions generally improved. Due to the release of the two workers and the improved working conditions this particular labour struggle is considered over for now.
Sidenote: JAKO announced to seize sourcing from factories in Myanmar from April 2024 onwards.
The Federation of General Workers Myanmar (FGWM) shares the following updates:
Myanmar industrial workers, especially garment workers are in the front line against military dictatorship in Myanmar since the start of the coup and until now. They are still participating in every possible way in the struggle against the military junta, such as participating in flash mob strikes, online campaigns and funding the resistance forces.
The majority of garment workers are women. At the workplace, they face the violation of labour rights on various levels; e.g forced overtime without compensation, higher production targets demanded by bosses, pressure on permanent workers to resign and be employed again as daily wage workers. Recently a new trend can be observed: owners close their factories, re-open them again with another name, and re-hire workers as daily wage workers. Factory owners want to get rid of permanent workers to avoid having to pay legal entitlements. This is one way of how factory owners worsen working conditions and the life of workers in Myanmar. Due to the social and economic hardships, and lack of employment opportunities, an increase in child labour can be observed in the garment sector.
In the past two years the world was able to witness the brutality of the military towards the people in Mynamar. Thousands of civilians were killed and villages attacked. Many of which burnt down during air strikes.
The Federation of General Workers Myanmar (FGWM) and Myanmar Labour Alliance (MLA), together with over 200 other civil society organizations, keep calling for the support of comprehensive economic sanctions on Myanmar. This is the only way to stop flow of money to the Myanmar military.
Brands are taking advantage of the political instability. In factories producing for major brands such as H&M, Lindex and Mark Apparel, workers are being attacked by supervisors, for example with a hot iron. These violent acts are part of a structural problem. They aim to put workers unter pressure to finish production targets. There are no mechanisms in place to prevent this kind of power abuse.
The FGWM joins Global May Day 2023 and will created t-shirts with these prints:
An alliance of 11 federations and unions in the garment sector of Bangladesh joined the Garment Workers’ Trade Union Center (GWTUC) in their call to fight for an increase in minimum wages to 25 000 BDT (approx. 215€ / 235US$) per month. That might not sound like much. But considering that the current minimum wage for garment workers in the country is a meager 8 000 BDT, an increase of more than 200% would be a real mile stone for the four million workers in that industry. The vast majority of which are female workers.
In Bangladesh you can find aroud 4000 garment factories, most of which produce for brands like Adidas, H&M, Nike, Marc O’Polo and Zara.
The GWTUC calls on fellow unions and individuals to stand in solidarity with the garment workers. See the call below. GWTUC has been involved with the Global May Day network in the past few years and also supports the call for Global May Day 2023.
Let’s bring their struggle to our streets and cities! Their fight is our fight! #unionisethefight #1world1struggle
