Interviews
TUWB criticizes clothing firms
18 Aug '05
3 min read
The codes of conduct implemented by big international brands sourcing goods in Uganda stipulate that factories must be visited by 'independent' consultants who should check whether or not certain criteria for working conditions are being met. Ugandan workers' accounts provide confirmation, if it were really needed, that these visits are biased. "When labour inspectors or foreign visitors come to the factory we are not allowed to talk to them", says Rose, a Southern Range employee in the new ICFTU Trade Union World Briefing published today.
The Ugandan trade unions are doing their utmost to help clothing workers, but in this sector, as in many others, they are often confronted by the vehement hostility of the employers. The highest authorities of the land don't do anything to curb these ardent anti-union attitudes and sometimes they are even complicit in them. Y. Museveni, the President of Uganda in fact declared following a strike of TriStar workers: "I sacked those girls because their action would scare off investors".
It is in this climate that NOTU, the ICFTU's Ugandan affiliate manages to achieve some successes. This new Trade Union World Briefing shows how the Ugandan unions are effectively contributing to the fight against HIV/AIDS, as well as how they have succeeded in recruiting more women workers. The briefing also demonstrates the difficulties of organising in the informal economy and of fighting child labour.
The ICFTU represents 145 million workers in 234 affiliated organisations in 154 countries and territories. The ICFTU is also a member of Global Unions: http://www.global-unions.org
The Ugandan trade unions are doing their utmost to help clothing workers, but in this sector, as in many others, they are often confronted by the vehement hostility of the employers. The highest authorities of the land don't do anything to curb these ardent anti-union attitudes and sometimes they are even complicit in them. Y. Museveni, the President of Uganda in fact declared following a strike of TriStar workers: "I sacked those girls because their action would scare off investors".
It is in this climate that NOTU, the ICFTU's Ugandan affiliate manages to achieve some successes. This new Trade Union World Briefing shows how the Ugandan unions are effectively contributing to the fight against HIV/AIDS, as well as how they have succeeded in recruiting more women workers. The briefing also demonstrates the difficulties of organising in the informal economy and of fighting child labour.
The ICFTU represents 145 million workers in 234 affiliated organisations in 154 countries and territories. The ICFTU is also a member of Global Unions: http://www.global-unions.org
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
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