In the News

Paramilitary leader charged in 2 mine killings in Colombia

Associated Press
05/03/2007

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA — A feared paramilitary boss has been charged with ordering the murders of two union leaders at a coal mine owned by Drummond Co. Inc., an Alabama company being sued in a U.S. court for alleged complicity in the killings.

Rodrigo Tovar Pupo, better known as "Jorge 40," is accused of ordering hit men to kill the two men, the federal prosecutor's office said Thursday.

Liberia’s May Day Marked by Strike at Firestone Tire Company

Voice of America
05/01/2007

By Nico Colombant

As workers around the world mark May Day, in Liberia, a strike is ongoing at the rubber plantations of the Firestone tire company, highlighting long standing problems between the country's biggest private employer and its workforce. VOA's Nico Colombant has the story from Dakar, with additional reporting by Prince Collins in Monrovia.

Angry workers at Firestone have clashed several times with police during a strike now entering its second week.

A protest leader, Ida Collins, expressed her dismay.

The Cost of Cotton

BBC News
05/01/2007

Listen to ILRFs Bama Athreya's radio interview with BBC

Cotton and white t-shirt

Cotton and white t-shirt

This two-part BBC World Service series brings you an exploration of the cost and value of two commodities - coffee and cotton - via workers' stories at each stage of production.

By mapping the journeys of goods from the farm to the shop floor in two vivid soundscapes of trade, it captures the real cost of cheap crops.

Part One: Cotton

Letter from Liberia

The Observer (UK)
04/29/2007

By Zadie Smith

Liberia is a country mired in its past. But, as Zadie Smith discovers when she meets its traumatised boy soldiers, struggling rubber workers and children desperate to learn, it is taking its first tentative steps to a better future. In the second part of the Observer and Oxfam's 'Words in Action' initiative, the prize-winning writer finds hope amongst the heartbreak

Monday

Striking workers at Liberian rubber plantation clash with police

International Herald Tribune
04/27/2007

HARBEL, Liberia: Striking workers at the Firestone Rubber plantation in the West African nation of Liberia clashed with police Friday, and at least six people were wounded, officials said.

Between 6,000 and 8,000 workers at the plantation, which is run by a subsidiary of Japan-based tire giant Bridgestone Corp. and is Liberia's largest employer, have been striking since Tuesday. They are demanding the removal of a top manager, Labor Minister Kofi Woods said.

Major clothing labels criticise Cambodian labour violence

Agence France Presse
04/25/2007

Several international clothing manufacturers have demanded Cambodia investigate the recent murder of a top labour leader, saying swift justice was key to their continued presence in the country's key garment sector.

“We are quite concerned about what appears to be a pattern of violence against union leaders in the country,” said a letter received Wednesday from labels Eddie Bauer, Gap, H&M Hennes and Mauritz, Liz Claiborne and Phillips-Van Heusen... 

EPA Confirms Pollution At Firestone

Public Agenda
04/19/2007

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says its investigation team sent to Margibi County to probe reports of pollution in the area has returned confirming the report.

According to the head of the EPA, Ben Donnie, his team reported certain level of pollution in the Farmington River and said there was also air pollution in the Firestone area.

Mr. Donnie told journalists that the air in the Firestone area contains the smell of ammonia which he said is dangerous to the eyes.

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