News for October 2012

The Indian NGO SAVE has produced a short drama telling the story of a young girl working in a textile mill in Tamil Nadu, South India.

The film, which draws on the real life experiences of many women textile and garment workers draws attention to the poor treatment, lack of health and safety, overwork and harassment experienced by young women on ‘Sumangali’ or other camp labour schemes.

Homeworkers Worldwide is working with partners in Tamil Nadu to support garment workers in fighting for their rights and improving their living and working conditions. Find out more in the ‘What we do - Grassroots projects’ section of our website.

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On Tuesday 11th September almost 300 workers were killed when a fire ripped through the Ali Enterprises factory in Karachi, Pakistan.

At the time of the fire the factory was producing jeans for the German low cost retailer, KIK, which has more that 3000 stores in eight European countries.

Although the cause of the fire is still under investigation, it is clear that the high death toll was caused by appalling health and safety conditions at the factory. At the time of the fire windows were closed with bars, fire exits were locked and there was no equipment available to fight the fire.

The factory had been regularly audited in recent years, yet the factory itself was not legally registered and had failed to provide employment contracts.

Although KIK was forced to acknowledge their role in the tragedy, they have since refused to engage in meaningful discussion and have taken no action to provide remedy in this case.

Now is not the time for excuses: call on KIK now to demand they:

  ensure transparency;
  ensure compensation to the victims;
  take all measurements to prevent future disasters;
  support and participate in the investigation.

Please, take a moment to sign the Clean Clothes Campaign Urgent Appeal - link below.

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