“The European Union cannot take an ambiguous position towards Bangladesh. Preferential trade relations must be directly linked to full respect of labour rights and the freedom of association. Detained trade union leaders must be released now and the European Commission must push for this” added Luc Triangle, General Secretary of IndustriALL Europe.
In solidarity with trade unionists and garment workers who have been jailed for trade union activity in Bangladesh, following demands to increase the minimum wage, industriAll European Trade Union supports IndustriALL Global Union together with UNI Europa and the ITUC campaign ‘#EveryDayCounts’ to put an end to this repression. Garment workers in Bangladesh have the unequivocal right to organise!
“The European Union cannot take an ambiguous position towards Bangladesh. Preferential trade relations must be directly linked to full respect of labour rights and the freedom of association. Detained trade union leaders must be released now and the European Commission must push for this” added Luc Triangle, General Secretary of IndustriALL Europe.
“Trade union rights are a fundamental human right and it is simply unacceptable that these are being so systematically dismissed in Bangladesh,” said UNI Europa Regional Secretary Oliver Roethig. “UNI Europa calls for the immediate release of all workers jailed for their trade union activism and activities, full respect for workers’ right to organise, and a guaranteed living wage and safe working conditions for all.”
LBC-NVK’s Deputy General Secretary Veerle Verleyen pointed out that ‘the legitimate demand for a pay rise in the garment sector may not be undermined by arresting, intimidating, and firing trade union leaders and activists: trade union rights are human rights and therefore universal. LBC-NVK supports Bangladesh garment workers in their fight for recognition of their trade union rights.’
‘The Bangladesh government needs to turn away from cheap labour and deplorable working conditions. Trade unions are a necessity to avoid a repetition of the Rana Plaza calamity,’ said Erwin De Deyn, President of SETCa BBTK.
Sara Ceustermans, Coordinator Schone Kleren Campagne (Clean Clothes Campaign) concluded: “This is the biggest setback for the garment industry since the collapse of Rana Plaza in 2013 and might cause the Bangladeshi government to lose their key export market. It’s not possible to talk of a safe or sustainable industry in Bangladesh when even peaceful attempts to ask for workplace improvements are met with such disproportionate violence and repression. Garment workers in Bangladesh have the unequivocal right to organise and must be paid a living wage on which they can survive.”
Background:
Letter to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh
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