Anita Roddick, the charismatic founder of The Body Shop, recently investigated working conditions of young women in the garment industry in Bangladesh.


Huddled in dingy dark rooms, earning a pittance in wages, these young women sew clothes that are sold in America and Europe earning massive profits for corporations such as ASDA’s owner, Wal-Mart, the world’s largest company, with $256.3 billion in sales last year.

Anita was puzzled. Why aren’t we gripped by a sense of moral outrage? I was equally puzzled. Why do we allow these powerful companies to get away with exploiting people?

In these times, we are continually made aware of the rights of others. Try suggesting we copy software. Try selling imitation trainers with Nike’s logo, fake GAP jeans, pirated chart CDs and DVDs. It would be unthinkable, wouldn’t it? We would be outraged.

The Brands and businesses that originate and market such products are protected by tight global trading rules. We accept that our clothes, toys, trainers, computers, TVs, CDs stereos, etc are made out there somewhere and mysteriously arrive at a superstore near us. But the young people who work on these very products that earn huge profits for the Brands are denied their rights, treated like slaves, and have no voice in the panorama of our global marketplace.

The companies at the top use their power to pressure local suppliers to produce products both ‘cheaper and faster’; they, in turn, squeeze their workers, in many cases, the poorest of the poor.

In Bangladesh, women comprise the majority of textile workers – a staggering million and a half workers – while garments accounted for two thirds of Bangladesh’s export revenue during 2003, making it the single most important item for export income. But factory workers complaints are discouraged and met with dismissal. Even the World Bank advised the government in Bangladesh to ‘flexibilize’. In other words, don’t make waves. Don’t upset the Brands.

Anita has launched a campaign to end sweatshops abuse and has written an article especially for Just Right – see page 10. We understand that things won’t change overnight but we must take the first step.

Our first campaign is to seek maternity rights for young mothers in the garment industry in Bangladesh and for foreign companies to accept this human right as their policy. At the moment, these huge corporations cheat women of their legal right to full maternity leave as factories dismiss women who fall pregnant. Would a corporation refuse women maternity rights for their work force in Europe or America? Why should it be any different in Bangladesh?

We are talking about pennies as some women earn 10 cents [6 pence] an hour. For young women in Bangladesh, it’s a matter of life and death. For the companies, it’s about corporate greed and executive power.

Please join our campaign for mother’s rights. Isn’t it outrageous that Wal-Mart can deny mothers this right?

In Bangladesh, there’s a mother with an unborn child who needs our help. Let’s make her day.

source: http://www.jubileeaction.co.uk/justright.html

DANNY

Danny Smith is the founder member and director of Jubilee Action and Jubilee Campaign. .