Blog: August 2009

Discrimination Still Exists

August 26, 2009

In South Korea, female workers are not seen as independent individual who are working as a result of their own passion for a specific field or working in order to earn a living.  South Korean female workers are seen as a secondary source of income to a household, because the concept that South Korean women can live independently of a men is not really accepted yet.  As a result of this societal perception, female workers in South Korea are often discriminated against in the workplace with lower wages (when compared to a man who was offered the same job) and part-time job offers.  Female workers in South Korea are more likely to receive only part-time jobs because a vast majority of companies believe that female workers will not be

Get Ready for Reverse Trick-or-Treating!

August 21, 2009

Reverse Trick-or-Treating is a fun way to inform others about child labor and unfair conditions in the global production of cocoa while promoting positive alternatives and inspiring action.  While you are waiting for your Reverse Trick-or-Treating kit to arrive and planning out your Halloween costume, you can also take action by participating in our Fair Trade S'mores action this summer -- all the details are online here!  There are a number of aspects of this campaign you can get involved in:

Financial Crisis Creates New Difficulties for Export-Oriented Labor

August 20, 2009

The investigation identified four widespread trends:

1. Poor working conditions: Migrant workers cannot take the decision to leave their jobs lightly. Since the advent of the economic crisis, workers have had to tolerate increasingly poor working conditions. Workers at some factories in the investigation had to work 14 hours every day in order to retain their jobs, and at times, working hours extended through the night to the following day.

Workers Responding to Crisis #4: Updates from Cameroon, Egypt, South Korea and more!

August 14, 2009

Egypt

The Center for Trade Unions and Workers Services (CTUWS) recently released their fifth report analyzing the impact of the economic crisis on Egyptian workers.  The report monitors ongoing layoffs and ways the crisis is spreading to new sectors at the expense of workers.  There is also a table in the report that shows all of the recent major layoffs and how workers have responded including organizing protests and sit-ins.

South Korea

Students protest Russell Athletics

August 12, 2009

In addition to the work of students, ILRF and other anti-sweatshop organizations have been quite active in supporting workers.  ILRF helped introduce a shareholder resolution at Berkshire Hathaway’s meeting this year given that Berkshire is the parent company of Russell.  Another avenue utilized included ILRF and  several other organizations in filing a petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights concerning freedom of association violations within Russell’s supply chain.  ILRF has also continued to follow this issue as you can see in a

Child Trafficking in the Cocoa Industry Continues, but There's a New Way to Take Action!

August 5, 2009

ILRF is joining many other organizations across the country to saying "We Want More from our S'mores" this summer.  We've had enough of abusive child labor and trafficking in the cocoa industry.  We want justice and fairness for cocoa farmers and their families.  Part of the answer is to ensure that cocoa farmers get a fair price for their cocoa beans, so we are calling on Hershey to start purchasing Fair Trade Certified cocoa for their chocolate.  This summer, people across the country are P1011054

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