Every business owner hates a trade union. They go on strike, they demand more money and profits suffer! The voice of 30 unionised people is a lot harder to ignore and more powerful than just one of that the owner. But when the owner uses violence and aggression to silence the workforce, how do workers demand better treatment?
Delhi factory ‘Viva Global’ saw workers stand up against their factory owner who was making them work up to 16 hours and only paying them a measly 5000 rupees (£69 a month). Sixteen women were beaten and Anwar Ansari, a trade union leader was kidnapped.
Mr Ansari body was found dumped near his home covered in signs of severe beating. He’s been warned that he must never go back to the factory or he will be killed.
The three culprits who kidnapped Mr Ansari were caught and arrested. Workers are continuing a protest outside the factory as the owner of the factory has already declared “no agreement is going to happen between the union and the management.”
How much blood, violence and injustice does the owner of the factory need to see, before he listens?
Guess who’s at the heart of this scandal? M&S, Gap and Next. I was most surprised to see M&S’s name there as they have been marketing their recent products with fair-trade and ethical labels. How could the label be so far from the truth? M&S had even taken the steps of drawing up an ethical code of practice called Plan A. This just shows how messy and complicated the supply chain is, even if a brand wants to do the right thing, they can’t. They need to take MORE care to make sure they are not supporting any unethical practices.
Harassment of union members, including threats of dismissal, violence and even death has been increasing at the factory in recent weeks. On Monday 23rd August Viva Global management attempted to prevent workers from entering the factory and made threats against union leaders and workers, who were warned they would be beaten or even shot if they continued their campaignLabour behind the Label
Here in the UK fire-fighters, British Airways, tube and rail staff have all been on strike many times. Can you imagine any of them being beaten, kidnapped and tortured for simply raising their voices? Is it so wrong to demand fair treatment?
To read the compete article follow the link at the Observer and to see recent updates go to Labour being the Label
This is why some people do not see the point of picking out certain places to shop simply because they claim their clothes are of fair trade. You never actually know if the money is going to the right place, and you might end up spending double the money, but not helping anybody, except the managers of the companies.
ReplyDelete