Likewise General Secretary of the Home-Based Women Workers Federation of Pakistan, Zehra Bano, spoke out against the unfair treatment that many home based garment workers, bracelet craftsmen and soccer ball stitchers in Pakistan face.  Although such workers use their homes as a factory, they are not paid for the additional electricity or other costs that arise from using their homes for work. As informal workers, these women are prohibited from forming unions and filing court cases since they are not recognized as workers by law. Such status prevents home based workers from receiving the fair living wages, health benefits and job security that come with being a registered worker.

By Vanessa León, Intern, International Labor Rights Forum

Harassment: sometimes sexual, other times verbal, often times both.
Attempts to organize unions result in termination of employment.
Pregnancy tests or proof of sterilization as a condition for hiring.
Pesticides and fungicides causing respiratory and eye problems, skin rashes and miscarriages.
Years of faithful, grueling work only to be denied basic worker's rights. Basic human rights.

By: Garat Ibrahim

The following is a post from the Imagine 2050 a
group of activists, immigrants, artists and students who are invested
in a future nation that embraces multiculturalism and tolerance.  

It is very difficult to have a good understanding of the hands that feed us every day and the harsh reality that workers undergo daily in the meat packing industry. These are some of the hardest jobs in the food industry and most dangerous in any industry. So it falls to the newest immigrants, refugees and people of color in general to fill these jobs and bear the burden of their risks.

As we have explained in the past, government procurement can have major effects on workers here in the district and abroad.  Using government procurement we can either perpetuate abusive practices by paying immoral and criminal companies millions of dollars for their services or we can protect DC employees and workers abroad by supporting companies that treat their workers fairly or who source their products, such as apparel and footwear, from Sweatfree factories.  By refusing to buy apparel and footwear made in sweatshops, the district is also helping to create a market for sweatfree goods which will make treating workers fairly a profitable business model.  To learn more about government procurement and Sweatshops and the campaigns working to end their connection check out