Blog: March 2010

Is the BBC Fair to Fair Trade?

No certification program can offer a 100% guarantee that these labor rights abuses do not occur in certified facilities.  A critical component of a strong certification program is that a reliable system is in place to identify violations when they occur and that there is an appropriate process to remediate violations.  (For more information, please see ILRF's "Roadmap for Ethical Product Certification and Standard Setting Initiatives.")

Human Trafficking - International and National Implications

It’s not uncommon to get riled up when you realize that what you’re talking about isn’t some piece of meat but rather an actual person; someone’s daughter, mother or neighbor. This was all too obvious inside the Rayburn Home Office Building room that I found myself in. One extra hot topic: Vietnam. Tempers flared as the pressure was directed towards the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons to move Vietnam’s 2009 tier ranking from Tier 2 to Tier 3 in the soon to be released 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report (Can’t wait? See the 2009 report here). U.S.

Oil palm worker's physical vulnerability

Additionally, it should be noted that companies exert great pressure on the Professional Risk Insurance (Aseguradora de Riesgos Profesionales -ARP), so that they do not recognize a score according to the real needs of worker’s injury or illness. At the same time, the ARP finds this convenient because such a certification means a great cost. Thus, they complicate the situation by losing the correspondence from the ARP, or by assigning an incorrect score or even attributing mistaken injuries and in most cases, declaring that the injury is part of a degenerative disease.

Global Advocacy Days 2010: Advocates From Across the Country Descend on Capitol Hill in an Effort to Re-Abolish the Slave Trade

Human Trafficking is defined as “the recruitment and transportation of persons within or across boundaries by force, fraud or deception for the purpose of exploiting them economically.”  (For a more in depth definition of the issue, check out Understanding Slavery and Trafficking).  As the definition implies, modern slavery knows no geographical or social boundaries.  It affects citizens of every country and people of every race and religion.  For many trafficking victims, it is the promise of a good job and education that induces them to leave their homes and families only to end up half way around the world trapped in someone’s basement to be farmed out as a domestic servant during the day or forced to work in

Prominent Environmental Lawyer speaks about Stop Firestone Campaign

While the current class action lawsuit against Firestone is still pending, the time has come to strengthen Liberia’s civil society. Brownell stated the implications of these cases are great – “when you take a company to court, you cause the country to believe in the spirit of the law.” One of the many challenges that exist is creating a trickle-down effect of information to the rubber plantation workers so that they have the educational tools to be empowered.

Rights for Working Women on International Women's Day

For years, ILRF's Rights for Working Women campaign has worked to end the abuses women face in the workplace.  For example, our Fairness in Flowers campaign focuses on eliminating sexual harassment, forced pregnancy tests, poor occupational health conditions and violations of trade union rights in the production of cut flowers in Ecuador and Colombia.  You can learn more about the abuses women face in this industry by reading this report by ILRF and USLEAP.  You can find out how to supp

Attend Public Hearing on DC Sweatfree Purchasing on March 23

Last year, DC city government began efforts to reform the current system used
to purchase goods and services for the District, known more formally as the
system of contracting and procurement.  Every year the city spends millions,
sometimes billions, of dollars (primarily tax payer dollars) to purchase, or
procure, the goods and services needed to keep the city up and running.   Early
this year, Councilmember Mary Cheh introduced the “Omnibus Procurement Reform
Amendment Act of 2010
” and shortly after the administration introduced its own bill known as the

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