Workers Rights news and archive

Nike shareholder expresses concern over brand’s failure to address forced labour

An activist shareholder of sportswear giant Nike has outlined in an open letter that it is concerned about the company’s lack of response surrounding forced labour in its supply chain. Tulipshare, a shareholder activist investment platform and a long-term shareholder of Nike, addressed the company’s board of directors in the letter, in which it...

Mar 14, 2023

Retail

Violence and abuse against retail workers nearly double pre-pandemic levels

A new report has found that violence and abuse against people working in retail has almost doubled on that of pre-pandemic levels. Figures from the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) Crime Survey showed that incidents, including racial and sexual abuse, physical assault and threats with weapons, rose from the pre-Covid high of over 450 per day in...

Mar 3, 2023

BusinessFeatured

PVH to pay out one million dollars to Haitian garment workers

PVH Corp, the owner of Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, is set to provide back pay to over a thousand garment workers in Haiti after one of its factories in the region abruptly closed last year. The sudden closure left workers at the factory without severance and pension benefits, said the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), a lobby group which...

Feb 7, 2023

Business

Inditex aiming to double number of disabled employees in two years

Inditex, the owner of Zara, Bershka and Pull&Bear, has announced a new goal to significantly increase the number of employees with disabilities worldwide within two years. The group’s endorsement of the ILO Global Business and Disability Network was signed by its CEO Oscar García Maceiras during a meeting with the director-general of the...

Jan 26, 2023

BusinessFeatured

UK court rules against allegations that government failed to halt Xinjiang imports

The UK’s High Court has ruled against human rights campaigners that brought forward a case claiming British crime and customs authorities had failed to stop the importation of cotton from China’s Xinjiang region, which has been at the centre of allegations of forced labour. In the filing, the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) and World Uyghur...

Jan 23, 2023

Business

US labor board upholds landmark Amazon union vote

Amazon's objections to a landmark unionization vote by workers in one of the retail giant's US warehouses have been thrown out, the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled Wednesday. The federal agency tossed out the arguments put forth by Amazon against the 2022 vote at its warehouse in Staten Island, New York, and said in a statement...

Jan 12, 2023

Business

UK Amazon workers to strike for first time over pay

Amazon workers in the UK have announced plans to strike against the tech giant for the first time over a pay dispute. The action was announced by GMB Union, who said employees of Amazon’s Coventry warehouse are set to stage a walk out on January 25. According to the union, a December ballot saw the majority of workers vote in favour of the...

Jan 5, 2023

BusinessFeatured

Shein pledges 15 million dollars to upgrade supply chain factories

Fast fashion e-tailer Shein has said it plans to spend 15 million dollars on upgrading the hundreds of factories in its supply chain over the next three to four years. In a release, the controversial retailer said the investment would focus on physical enhancements to suppliers’ factories as part of its Supplier Community Empower Programme...

Dec 5, 2022

Fashion Featured

Boohoo responds to fresh reports of poor warehouse working conditions

Fast fashion giant Boohoo has once again found itself responding to reports of poor working conditions at one of its UK warehouses. Workers at the group’s site in Burnley, Lancashire say they work like “slaves” and are subjected to racism, sexual harassment, and ill-fitting safety equipment, according to an undercover investigation by The Times...

Nov 24, 2022

Business

Marks & Spencer to stop sourcing from Myanmar over human rights concerns

British retailer Marks & Spencer has said it will stop sourcing from Myanmar over concerns of human rights abuses in the country. The company said it is working towards a “responsible exit” from the country, and plans to have completely exited by March 2023. “At Marks & Spencer, ethical trading is core to the way we do business,” the retailer...

Oct 12, 2022

BusinessFeatured

Garment workers disclose worsening human rights issues in new report

A new report by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHHRC) has highlighted allegations of union-busting and human rights abuses against garment workers at the suppliers of a number of global fashion retailers. As part of the report, the organisation interviewed 24 trade union leaders and surveyed 124 union activists and labour activists...

Oct 11, 2022

Business

MP fears garment workers in Leicester may be exposed to abuse under changed regulations

Leicester East MP Claudia Webbe has expressed her concerns towards the city’s garment industry after Treasury minister Chris Philip suggested the government was planning to scrap regulations for businesses with fewer than 500 employees. During an event for the Taxpayers’ Alliance, Philip said that the UK government “will be reducing business...

Oct 6, 2022