Organizing Madagascar’s textile and garment industries23 May, 2022Under the theme - union organizing dynamics in the textile, garment, shoe, and leather industries in Madagascar - the unions that organize in the sectors met in Antananarivo 16-17 May to discuss how to sustain and build union power in a post-Covid economy.
Myanmar military arson attack leaves garment workers homeless 8 December, 2022The escalation of Myanmar junta’s military attacks in the Salingyi township has rendered scores of garment workers homeless. According to several news sources, the Myanmar junta torched houses in nine villages in the Salingyi township, Sagaing region, in early December. More than 40 houses of Industrial Workers' Federation of Myanmar members were burned down.
Deadly factory fire in Pakistan 31 August, 2021On 27 August, 17 workers in Mehran Town, Pakistan, were killed as a fire swept through an illegal factory producing bags. Exits and windows were barred, meaning the workers had no way out. The fire is a stark reminder that without implementation, protective laws are useless.
IndustriALL supports campaign for comprehensive economic sanctions against Myanmar junta31 August, 2021IndustriALL Global Union has announced its support for the campaign by Myanmar’s unions calling for comprehensive economic sanctions against the military junta.
Unions fear job losses if AGOA eligibility is withdrawn from Ethiopia20 October, 2021Ethiopian unions fear that millions of jobs will be lost if the United States withdraws the country’s eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which gives duty-free access to the country’s textile, garments, shoe, leather and other products.
Massive job losses reverse union gains in Ethiopia’s Hawassa Industrial Park21 July, 2022After a long and difficult campaign to gain access to organize and recruit members in Ethiopia’s biggest industrial park, Hawassa, the Industrial Federation of Textile, Leather, and Garment Workers Trade Union (IFTLGWTU) says its efforts are unravelling from the huge job losses caused by factory closures.
Eswatini police disperse workers petitioning for living wage17 March, 2022Over 5,000 workers from 15 factories in the textile and garment sector braved the rains to present a petition on living wages to the department of labour in Nhlangano on 15 March. However, the police dispersed the workers while denying permission for other marches planned for Manzini and Matsapha to take place.
Successful union building in Morocco18 March, 2022Long-term work in building union power in Morocco has resulted in two new national unions in the textile-garment and metal industries, the FNTSIME-UMT and the FNTTCCL-UMT.
Textile world conference vows to strengthen collective agreements 7 February, 2023More than 100 participants from IndustriALL affiliates in the textile and garment sector met online on 2-3 February for the first world conference since 2016. Discussions focused on advancing workers’ rights, building union power, confronting global capital, and ensuring sustainable industrial policy, as well as women in the sector.
Worker shot dead by police as minimum wage protests intensify in Bangladesh 30 October, 2023As thousands of garment workers take to the streets in Bangladesh to demand a minimum wage increase, police takes violent action to quell protest demonstrations, shooting dead one garment worker and injuring another earlier today.
