The CCC is pleased to report that workers at the BJ&B garment factory in the Dominican Republic have succeeded in obtaining a satisfactory severance agreement.

Thanks to everyone who wrote letters to Nike and adidas urging them to press their supplier to negotiate a fair settlement for the workers! The settlement provides for three months' severance pay above what is legally required by Dominican law, and includes a donation of 200,000 pesos to the union and its parent federation for organising and educational programs.

The agreement was welcomed by the union and represents a significant achievement given that the factory's parent company, Yupoong, originally refused to negotiate with its employees. However, the underlying circumstances of the factory's closure remain a serious concern. BJ&B became a unionised factory after a long and difficult struggle. As a result, it was one of the few suppliers in compliance with codes of conduct. The closure appears to be part of a planned strategy by Yupoong to move operations to factories where workers have no representation. The case points up the need for companies to make good on their claims of corporate responsibility by making sourcing decisions that value fair labor conditions, the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining.