As this edition of the newsletter was going to press many
of the workers who survived the April collapse of the Spectrum
factory in Bangladesh and the families of those who died were
still with-out money, food, and housing. They were left in
the lurch by their employers and by the companies whose garments
they were producing, many of which claim to respect good labour
standards where their garments are made. The magnitude of
this tragedy is immense - the horrifying way in which the
Spectrum workers died, the sheer number of dead and injured,
and the impact of subsequent joblessness on the workers and
their families. Once confronted with the details of the collapse
the failure of Spectrum's European clients to take timely
and decisive action to meet their supply workers' needs can
only be considered a travesty of corporate social responsibility.
Governmental indiffer-ence to the fate of the workers and
the need for sweeping changes in the sector, particularly
in relation to health and safety issues, compounds the problems
at hand. The reality of the Spectrum workers demonstrates
again how much more needs to be done to improve conditions
in the global garment industry, and to improve the systems
intended to facilitate that process.
Many of the Clean Clothes Campaigns in Europe have taken
up the case of the Spectrum workers and will continue to
push for their demands to be met (for more on this case,
please see page 20). This is an example of the CCC's urgent
appeals work; news on other recent urgent cases that the
CCC has taken up is included inside. We urge readers to
regularly visit the urgent appeals section of the CCC website
(http://www.cleanclothes.org/appeals.htm)
for news on urgent cases - suggestions for action that can
be taken are always included and provide a clear way for
people to demonstrate their support of garment workers'
rights.
This edition of the newsletter features an article about
complaint mechanisms - systems set up to raise workers'
grievances with the companies and initiatives that are intended
to address problems in the sector. A commitment to better
developing complaint mechanisms, and then following up in
a timely fashion the plans to solve the problems that are
reported, is one way that companies can take positive action
to make real their promises on respecting workers' rights.
A functioning complaint and remediation system can have
the potential to better address some of urgent cases and
get justice for garment workers.
This edition of the newsletter also includes reports on
other activities underway at the various CCCs, including
the many initiatives to get communities to commit to being
responsible consumers. With work moving forward on Clean
Clothes Communities, the CCC hopes that local governments
will use their purchasing power to push for better working
conditions where their garments (things like police and
fire department uniforms) are produced.
The Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) aims to improve working
conditions in the garment industry worldwide. The CCC is
made up of coalitions of consumer organisations, trade unions,
re-searchers, solidarity groups, world shops, and other
organisations. The CCC informs consumers about the conditions
in which their garments and sports shoes are produced, pressures
brands and retailers to take responsibility for these conditions,
and demands that companies accept and implement a good code
of labour standards that includes monitoring and independent
verification of code compliance. The Clean Clothes Campaign
cooperates with organisations all over the world, especially
self-organised groups of garment workers (including workers
in factories of all sizes, homeworkers, and migrant workers
without valid working papers).
Editors: Celia Mather & Nina Ascoly
