Sept 15,
2006 Chinese
activists tour Europe
Eyewitness
accounts of working conditions in Chinese garment
factories.
Jenny
Chan
September 15th through October 6th, the Clean Clothes
Campaign hosts Chinese activists and workers in
Europe. In seven countries they will be meeting
with press, public and peers to discuss the current
situation in the Chinese garment industry, the possible
role of European organisations in improving those
and the future priorities of the Chinese organisations.
Their visit coincides with the European premiere
of the new documentary about life in a Chinese jeans
factory CHINA BLUE. In many countries our guests
will appear at events organised around this internationally
acclaimed film.
Austria, the Netherlands and Sweden
First stop is Austria. From September 15th
until 17th, the Austrian CCC Clean Clothes Kampagne
hosts two guests: Yuk Yuk Choi from Worker Empowerment
– a worker centre - and Jenny Chan of the Chinese
Working Women Network (CWWN) and Students and Scholars
against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM). Yuk
Yuk Choi has been involved in development
work for more than ten years, working on poverty
alleviation in rural China as well as labour rights
of migrant workers. Through the Worker Empowerment
she works directly with migrant workers, reaching
out to workers with the aim of empowering and strengthening
them through capacity building. Jenny
Chan has been active at CWWN – a labour
and women’s rights organisation - since 1996.
At SACOM, she does research (including on Walt Disney
and Wal-Mart suppliers), campaigns and educates,
to monitor corporate misbehavior and to advocate
for workers' rights in South China.
In Austria, the start off by giving a press conference,
followed by the Austrian premiere of CHINA BLUE.
The film session will end with a panel discussion.
A seminar on the Chinese garment industry will
be organised to exchange information with Austrian
NGOs.
Next Yuk Yuk Choi and Jenny Chan travel to the
Netherlands (September 18th – 21st), for
a packed programme of CHINA BLUE promotion debates,
meetings with the press and Dutch labour rights
organisations, as well as exchanges with Dutch
companies to give input on how they can do business
in China without violating human rights.
Last stop is Sweden. Between September 22nd till
24th Swedish CCC Kampanjen Rena Kläder organises
get-togethers with journalists, organisations
and an open seminar on trade unions and human
rights, bringing the Chinese guests together with
two women activists from The Colombian Women's
Initiative for Peace.
CHINA BLUE – Micha
X. Peled,
China Blue takes us inside a blue-jeans
factory, where Jasmine and her friends are trying
to survive a harsh working environment. But when
the factory owner agrees to a deal with his Western
client that forces his teenage workers to work
around the clock, a confrontation becomes inevitable.
Shot clandestinely in China, under difficult conditions,
this is an account of what both China and the
international retail companies don’t want
us to see – how the clothes we buy are actually
made.
- IDFA (Amsterdam) - Winner: Amnesty Human Rights
award
- IDFA (Amsterdam) – Nominated: Joris Ivens
award
- Vancouver film festival - Honorable Mention
- Toronto International Film Festival - Official
Selection
Expert meeting on China
The tour continues
in the United Kingdom, with a two day seminar
– September 27/28 - on the Chinese garment
industry. This event sees the arrival of new guests
from China.
Cheung Lai-ha was born in Hong Kong. At
the age of 13 she started working in a garment
factory as an apprentice. During 18 years she
was a garment worker. She worked hard and was
promoted to the position of “samples-maker”.
In 1988, the factory decided to close and moved
all production to Southern China. The factory
owner refused to give severance payment to the
employees. Lai-ha joined the Clothing Industry
Workers General Union (CIWGU), to fight for her
and her colleagues’ severance payments. In
1992 she was made full-time official of the CIWGU.
Her organisation is a founding member of the Hong
Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU). Since
1996 Lai-ha has been the vice-chairperson of HKCTU.
Since 2000 she has also served as the chairperson
of the Women’s Affairs Committee of the HKCTU.
Lai-ha is very active in the independent trade
union movement, labour rights, human rights and
especially the struggle of women workers at their
workplaces and in society.
Vicki Chan is the
Training and Education Coordinator of Labour Action
China (LAC) - a Hong Kong based labour NGO that
focuses on labour issues in China. LAC works on
labour research, capacity building programmes
as well as campaigns for the protection of labour
rights in China. Vicki’s work includes conducting
factory-based workers training and worker representation
programmes, and capacity-building schemes for
NGO activists.
Patrick Poon is researcher
and website editor of China Labour Bulletin (CLB)
(www.clb.org.hk),
a Hong Kong-based labour rights group. CLB's work
includes advocacy, research and providing legal
assistance for Chinese workers.
Staphany Wong was
born in China. She received a master’s degree
on intercultural studies, with her thesis on migrant
workers’ literature, at the Chinese University
of Hong Kong. She currently is researcher and
campaign coordinator at IHLO (the Hong Kong liaison
office of ICFTU/GUF/HKCTU/HKTUC). She undertakes
research on labour issues in China, Macau and
Hong Kong and coordinates campaigns with the Brussels
headquarters of the ICFTU.
Chris Chan has been
working in several labour organisations in Hong
Kong and mainland China and currently works for
CWWN. In October 2006, he begins a Warwick Postgraduate
Research Fellowship to carry out research in the
University's Centre for Comparative Labour Studies.
The seminar in the UK focuses on how labour rights
groups in Europe can work concretely with the
Hong Kong and mainland Chinese partners to support
their strategies. Also, a possible campaign on
the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, a follow up of
2004’s Play Fair at the Olympics campaign
(by CCC, Oxfam and the Global Unions) will be
discussed. How do the Chinese groups see such
a campaign, and what are the risks and opportunities?
UK,
Belgium, France and Spain
While in the UK, Cheung Lai-ha, Patrick Poon,
Vicki Chan, Staphany Wong and Chris Chan meet
with tutors of fashion colleges, with unions and
NGOs and visit the annual general meeting of the
UK CCC. Then, from October 1st until 4th they
travel through Belgium, for a seminar on the garment
industry, meetings with the unions and a factory
visit to a work wear company with an office in
Shanghai.
The group splits up, and will be in France and
Spain at the same time, from October 4th till
6th. In France, one group will be meeting with
organisations from the French CCC (contact Maude
Feral at maude.feral@peuples-solidaires.org),
while in Spain the other group will explain the
Chinese situation to government work wear buyers,
meet with several organisations and promote CHINA
BLUE.
For general information, please contact Marieke
Eyskoot at the international secretariat of the
CCC via marieke@cleanclothes.org / +31 204122785
You can also visit the websites of the national
CCCs who organise this tour:
