Press Releases

For media inquiries please contact Rachel Cohen: racohen78 [at] gmail.com

Thai Court Ruling Against Thai Railway Union Leaders Continues Setbacks on Freedom of Association and Health and Safety Protections

10/23/20

The October 21, 2020 conviction of 13 State Railway Union of Thailand (SRUT) leaders by the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases in Bangkok continues setbacks on Freedom of Association and health and safety protections in Thailand.  We call on U.S. brands to ensure freedom of association in their supply chains in Thailand. Too many U.S. companies are profiting from the repression of workers’ rights including the chilling of freedom of association, expression, and assembly that cases like this create.  Now more than ever, workers must be free to individually and collectively refuse unsafe work as allowed by the ILO’s International Labor Standards without fear of retaliation and reprisals. 

Global Trade Unions and Labor Rights Organizations Call for an End to the Retaliation Against Union Leaders at World Bank Funded Marriott-Sheraton Grand in Conakry, Guinea

10/13/20

As Global Labor Justice - International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF), we call on the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation to act in accordance with their mandates to block union busting and respect freedom of association and collective bargaining where workers have chosen to be represented.  This must include the reinstatement of hotel union General Secretary Amadou Diallo and Deputy General Secretary Alhassane Diallo, who were both terminated on October 7th, 2020 as leaders of the newly elected union, raising awareness around fundamental workplace issues, including health and safety. 

NGOs Applaud US Customs and Border Protection’s Ban on Palm Oil Imports from FGV Holdings Berhad (FGV) But Warn of Potential for Failed Enforcement

Palm oil supplier to major brands including Procter & Gamble, Nestle, Mondelez, and Colgate-Palmolive sanctioned for use of forced labor
09/30/20

Washington, D.C.— On September 30th, US Customs and Border (CBP) announced a ban on palm oil imported from FGV Holdings Berhad (FGV) — one of Malaysia’s largest palm oil companies and a joint venture partner and major palm oil supplier to Procter & Gamble — due to its use of forced labor. 

Human Rights Groups Call on US for Regional Ban on Imports from China Made with Uyghur Forced Labor

08/31/20

 

Groups file petition with Customs and Border Patrol for a regional Withold Release Order on cotton products from the Xinjiang Region 

Today a group of human rights, labor and investor organizations, filed a formal petition with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), urging it to issue a regional withhold release order (WRO) on all cotton-made goods linked to the Xinjiang region of China based on evidence of widespread forced labor. Under U.S. law 19 U.S.C. §1307 it is illegal for the United States to allow entry of goods, “produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in any foreign country by convict labor or/and forced labor or/and indentured labor.” 

180+ Orgs Demand Apparel Brands End Complicity in Uyghur Forced Labour

07/23/20

Today, 72 Uyghur rights groups are joined by over 100 civil society organisations and labour unions from around the world in calling on apparel brands and retailers to stop using forced labour in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (“Uyghur Region”), known to local people as East Turkistan, and end their complicity in the Chinese government’s human rights abuses. The groups have issued a call to action seeking brand commitments to cut all ties with suppliers implicated in forced labour and end all sourcing from the Uyghur Region, from cotton to finished garments, within twelve months.

ILRF and Global Labor Justice Are Joining Forces to Defend Worker Rights and Build Worker Power in the Global Economy

07/01/20

Today, I am excited to announce the merger of two allied organizations — the International Labor Rights Forum and Global Labor Justice.  Developed over many months with the strong support of our allies, board, and staff, our new partnership is coming together at a critical time. As quite literally every person in the world faces a common threat in the form of a global pandemic, workers are simultaneously more isolated and connected than ever before.  At a time when state and corporate responses leave workers around the world in crisis — locked into dangerous working conditions or locked out of jobs with essential wages and benefits — it is clear we must work together to build durable transnational alliances that advance a new strategic vision with labor and human rights in the foreground. Progressive economy efforts can no longer be seen as a parochial, national issue. Transnational movements and strategic campaigns are fundamental to a future that includes decent work, development, and democracy in the U.S. and around the world.  Together we will strengthen the force behind these efforts by providing greater strategic capacity, support, and momentum.

Uzbekistan: Fair Recruitment, Effective Accountability Needed to End Forced Labor as Independent Labor Monitors Harassed, Arbitrarily Detained

06/23/20

June 23, 2020 (Washington, D.C. / Berlin) – A new report released today by Uzbek Forum for Human Rights (formerly Uzbek-German Forum / UGF) on the 2019 cotton harvest in Uzbekistan documents both meaningful progress toward ending forced labor and the persistence of government-organized forced labor, said the Cotton Campaign.

ไอแอลอาร์เอฟ ร้องสิทธิรวมตัวของแรงงานข้ามชาติ ยุติปัญหาใช้แรงงานบังคับในอุตฯอาหารทะเลไทย

05/01/20

ในวันแรงงานสากล  สภาสิทธิแรงงานนานาชาติ ไอแอลอาร์เอฟ (International Labor Rights Forum, ILRF) เรียกร้องให้ รัฐบาลไทย บริษัทอาหารทะเลต่าง ๆ และผู้ซื้อในระดับโลก รับรองสิทธิที่จะมีเสรีภาพในการรวมตัวและการร่วมเจรจาต่อรองของแรงงานข้ามชาติ เพื่อยุติปัญหาการใช้

Remembering the Rana Plaza Workers by Continuing the Fight for Workers’ Rights During the Pandemic

04/24/20

Seven years ago today at least 1,134 workers died in the garment industry’s deadliest factory incident in history. Today, we remember the workers who died in the Rana Plaza collapse, sending our thoughts to those affected by this tragedy. While we commemorate this crisis, workers’ lives are again at risk.

The Covid-19 pandemic crisis sweeping through the garment industry and across the world is undermining the ongoing worker struggles for social protection, living wages, freedom to organise, and safe factories in Bangladesh.

Covid-19: A Global Approach to Protecting Garment workers in Supply Chains

04/22/20

Apparel companies around the world responded to the Covid-19 crisis with an immediate resort to the risk-mitigating measures built into global supply chains. Their mass cancellation of orders has left factories around the world without cash to pay their workers. A statement by the International Organization of Employers (IOE) and Global Unions published today provides a collective approach to mitigating the massive loss of life, jobs and income in garment supply chains caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Plantaciones de Fyffes al Descubierto

Los grupos de derechos laborales, los sindicatos exhortan a Fyffes a asumir la responsabilidad de las condiciones de trabajo y a comprometerse a un acuerdo vinculante y exigible con el sindicato STAS para defender los derechos de los trabajadores
04/21/20

Un informe conjunto del Foro Internacional de Derechos Laborales, el Proyecto Mundo Justo y la Secretaría Regional de América Latina de la Unión Internacional de Trabajadores de la Alimentación (Rel-UITA), con el apoyo de 3F International, publicado hoy revela violaciones de derechos humanos y laborales a largo plazo en las meloneras de Fyffes en Honduras.

New Report Exposes Toxic Chemicals, Human Rights Abuses on Fyffes Melon Farms

Labor rights groups, unions call on Fyffes to take responsibility for working conditions and commit to binding, enforceable agreement with the STAS union to uphold worker rights
04/21/20

A joint report by the International Labor Rights Forum, Fair World Project, and the International Union of Food Workers (IUF) Latin America Regional Secretariat, with support from 3F International, published today reveals long-term, ongoing human and labor rights violations on Fyffes’ melon plantations in Honduras.

Brands and Retailers Need to Step Up Now to Protect Garment Workers

04/09/20

The COVID-19 pandemic is exposing the grossly unequal power relations that define global garment supply chains, with workers paying the price. Today the many organizations behind the world-wide Clean Clothes Campaign network are calling for action from brands and retailers -- as well as governments and other stakeholders -- that aims to mitigate the impact of this crisis on those already most exploited in supply chains and to build towards a future in which workers have access to living wages and a social safety net.

Covid-19 Continues to Ravage the Health and Livelihoods of Garment Workers

04/03/20

The global Covid-19 pandemic continues to grow and spread. Half of the world’s population is under some form of lock-down or movement restriction in order to control the spread of the novel coronavirus. Garment workers in global supply chains, who already grapple with poverty wages and precarious living situations, face increasing insecurity as factories close in response to steep drops in orders and as governments shut down manufacturing to protect public health.

Covid-19 Related Worker Protections Needed for Garment/PPE Production in US

04/03/20

In a joint letter together with 28 other organizations, the International Labor Rights Forum and the Garment Worker Center in Los Angeles, the center for garment producton in the U.S., shared recommendations on worker health protection and workers’ rights measures for brands/manufacturers producing or sourcing apparel, textiles, and/or PPE from factories in the United States.

Pages