Stop Harassment of Worker Rights Advocates in Bangladesh

If you look through the labels in your closet, chances are that you own at least one article of clothing made in Bangladesh. This South Asian country has some of the lowest wages in the world for garment workers and is heavily reliant on the industry, as garments make up over 80% of Bangladesh's export earnings. Millions of workers, predominately women, work long hours for the legal minimum wage of $24 per month. However, this wage is so low compared to rapidly increasing food prices that workers struggle every day to feed their families -- and they need your support today.

In late June, workers began to organize massive protests calling for the minimum wage to be raised to the modest amount of $72 per month. In response to the rallies, the government beat and injured scores of workers, including children under the age of 14 who, while not legally allowed to work, still stitch the garments that end up in stores around the world.

In addition to attacking protesters, the government has harassed organizations that work to protect labor rights in Bangladesh. For example, the Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity (BCWS) which documents labor abuses and strengthens workers' capacity to advocate for their rights, had their legal status canceled in June for allegedly "fomenting unrest and agitation in the garment sector." While BCWS has had to deal with tapped phone lines, surveillance of their e-mails and searches of their offices in the past, the repression has recently increased to intolerable levels.

In the last two months, the government seized BCWS office property and closed their bank account for donations. BCWS staff member Aminul Islam was detained by the government and, according to his account, was blindfolded, beaten and threatened with death in an attempt to extract false testimony against BCWS. One of the leaders of BCWS, Kalpona Aker (pictured here and appearing in the Al Jazeera report below), has also been targeted by authorities for her work to support labor rights.

These brave workers and organizations are fighting to earn a wage where they can sufficiently support their families and for basic respect in the workplace. Sadly, the exploitative conditions they face are a result of the global drive for the cheapest labor costs in order to produce the cheapest clothing for U.S. and European consumers for companies like Walmart, Gap, H&M, Tesco and Marks & Spencer. Solidarity from around the world is urgently needed to ensure that these workers can organize freely in Bangladesh. Please take action NOW to call on the government of Bangladesh to stop harassing worker rights advocates.

Photo credit: BCWS