Bangladesh: union leaders arrested as garment wage board meets5 November, 2026At least ten union leaders have been arrested in Bangladesh after weeks of protests by thousands of garment workers demanding a higher minimum wage, as the country’s Minimum Wage Board held its first meeting.
Union networks take due diligence to the bargaining table19 October, 2026Union networks at Pou Chen, Crystal and Coats are using their cross-border links to write human rights due diligence into collective agreements. This gives workers in Bangladesh, Cambodia and Indonesia a common route to enforce their rights across the same multinational employer.
Investors urged to push brands to sign ACT-Cambodia agreements16 October, 2026Investors must press brands to sign the ACT-Cambodia agreements if garment workers are to make progress towards living wages, Cambodian union leader Yot Seang told PRI in Person in Amsterdam this week. The binding agreements are a proven alternative to failed social auditing and more brands must join to ensure more workers are covered.
Adidas shirts made for about US$1 an hour13 October, 2026Workers making official Adidas shirts for some of Europe’s biggest football clubs earn a basic wage of about US$1 an hour and work in temperatures above 35°C, a BBC Sport investigation has found. Adidas is refusing to sign an agreement that would let Cambodian garment workers bargain for higher wages and protection from heat stress and harassment.
Ugandan textile union wins gender-based violence clauses in collective agreements11 October, 2026Four collective agreements in Uganda’s textile and garment sector now contain enforceable clauses on gender-based violence and sexual harassment. This comes after women in the Uganda Textile, Garment, Leather and Allied Workers’ Union took the lead on human rights due diligence.
UniFirst targets union in Nicaragua6 October, 2026US workwear company UniFirst has launched legal proceedings to dissolve the union at its plant in Nicaragua, after 293 members resigned in less than a week and five were dismissed. Workers allege that management pressured them to leave the union. The case comes as US uniform giant Cintas prepares to acquire UniFirst.
Women garment workers protest India’s pension changes5 October, 2026More than 2,000 women garment workers in Karnataka, India, have taken to the streets to demand access to their own savings. Led by IndustriALL affiliates KIGWU and Unions United, workers from Shahi Exports and Laguna Clothing are protesting new rules that make them wait three years, instead of two months, to withdraw their pension savings from the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS).
300 brands commit to worker safety—but the real test lies ahead16 September, 2026300 garment brands and retailers have now signed the International Accord. The legally binding agreement on worker health and safety across textile and garment factories covers over 3.4 million workers across 2,000 factories in Bangladesh and Pakistan.
YKK workers denied fundamental rights: brands must take responsibility27 August, 2026For over two years, 670 workers at YKK's Çerkezköy factory in Türkiye have been systematically prevented from exercising their basic right to unionize and bargain collectively. YKK management has used threats, coercion and disciplinary action to crush the union, despite workers' successful organization with Petrol-İş and the union's official recognition from Türkiye's labour ministry.
FESITEX Nicaragua secures benefits for 249 workers10 August, 2026FESITEX, Nicaragua's national federation of textile, clothing, leather and footwear trade unions, has won an agreement with BTF, securing outstanding benefits for 249 workers made redundant in 2025.
