Development cooperation - Wil we keep chasing catastrophies or will we invest in better social protection?

We all know that strong social protection makes a country and its population more resilient to shocks. It is therefore undoubtedly better for people to receive a decent replacement income than to depend on emergency aid. Yet no less than 55% of the world's population does not benefit from any form of social protection and 71% is insufficiently protected throughout their life. COVID-19 and the measures taken to contain the virus make the shortages painfully clear. WSM analysed the development cooperation expenditure in Belgium and the EU for humanitarian assistance and social protection. We notice a lot of good intentions, but in practice (and budgets), the policy seems to have missed the right track with a lot more budget for the short term, (reactive) response than for the long term (proactive), stronger social protection. 

Read the full article here.

Nepal Express: experienced through the eyes of 16 Flemish

“I’m Phudoma (35) and I’ve been working as a trekking guide since I was 27. Coming to Kathmandu, I really didn’t know where to start. I first worked in hotels, making very little money. Then I went abroad for two years to work as a housekeeper. When I came back, I got an arranged marriage. My husband is also a trekking guide. Initially, I accompanied him on treks as assistant guide, making 5 EUR per day. After three years of marriage, I got a daughter. I didn’t get any maternity leave, because trekking is a seasonal activity. As a woman, I don’t get a lot of offers, maybe once or twice a season, making 1.700 NPR (17 EUR) per day. The months I do not work as guide, I often go back home to help my parents farming. Trekking is dangerous business and not a season goes by without some of us getting injured or dying. I was lucky enough never to have had any accident. Seven years ago I joined the trade union UNITRAV, affiliated to GEFONT, to improve my salary. Later I was elected as secretary of UNITRAV. They asked me to try to organize more female members, by training them as guides. We also try to organize the ladies working in the tea houses along trekking routes, as they can be potential guides or porters”.

This testimony was collected during the Nepal Express, a group trip organized by WSM in Nepal with 16 Flemish people from 21 Sept till 6 Oct. 2019. The trip, unlike many other immersion trips, focused on empathy, experience and challenges. Before even their arrival, each participant collected 2.000EUR to support WSM's Nepali partners. One of the portraits used by them to explain the realities in Nepal to their friends and family was of Doma Sherpa, a guide with UNITRAV, affiliated to GEFONT.

Having talked so often about her, the group was thrilled to have Doma be one of the guides while trekking. She explained that the bargaining power of guides used to be very little. Guides and porters would accept any offer. Since they became organized, they have made demands from the Travel Tours Association from Nepal (TAAN), which led to improvements in terms of salaries, insurance, shelter etc. In 2011, the salary for an assistant guide was 500 NPR (3,78 EUR). Since 2017, through negotiations, they obtained a minimum wage of 1.700 NPR (12,87 EUR) for guides and porters. Also the insurance for guides and partners had to be negotiated. Now, besides hospitality expenses, they have obtained fixed amounts per injury or death, which should apply automatically.

Afterwards one of the participants of the Nepal Express wrote this: “With mixed feelings, we return home. Happy for so many unforgettable experiences, but also a bit melancholic to leave this wonderful country and its incredibly friendly people. One thing is certain: each of us has a piece of Nepal in us for the rest of our lives.” See their pictures and updates form the trip on their Facebook page.

Looking back and forward to two years of Clean Clothes Campaigning in Belgium.

Looking back and forward to two years of Clean Clothes Campaigning in Belgium.

(In Dutch)

Video on the Global Charter for Social Protection Rights

The Social Justice Cluster of the Asia Europe People's Forum presents this video on social protection and on the Global Charter for Social Protection Rights. The video was made with the help of the NGO Forum on ADB. 

The Steering committee of our Asia Network on the Right to Social Protection (ANRSP) has decided to support the charter which will also be discussed at our Asia Seminar in Kathmandu in February 2019.

Please watch the video and distribute it if you can. You can access it by clicking on this link.

When civil society speaks, will leaders from Asia and Europe listen? AEPF in Belgium

Mid October 2018 leaders of states from Asia and Europe meet in Brussels, as part of the Asia Europe summit which happens every two years. In its wake, civil society meets at the Asia Europe People's Forum, as well as business representatives or other lobbying groups. For the very first time, the three networks working on social protection in Asia organised a joint session during this forum as part of the social justice cluster. Hence, a twelve people delegation was supported to attend the 12th AEPF which took place in Ghent, composed out of six Steering Committee Members and a representative from the Network for Transformative Social Protection (NTSP) and the Asian Round Table on Social Protection (AROSP) network.

Topics which were discussed were, among others, trade agreements, climate action, migrants in Ghent, human rights, Palm oil plantations and many more. A part from the overall declaration, the Social Justice cluster came forward with a charter which includes many of the topics our networks have been lobbying for and will be presented to European and Asian leaders, as well as used to advocate at a global level.

The three networks also organized an open session on The right to Social Protection for All: Strengthening the right to social protection for vulnerable people in Asia & Europe. According to the ILO World Social Protection Report 2017-2019, only 45% of the global population (38,9% in the Asia–Pacific region) is covered by at least one social protection benefit. The right to health is not yet a reality in many countries, especially in rural areas. Lack of social protection leaves people vulnerable to poverty, inequality and social exclusion across the life cycle. Coverage gaps are associated with significant underinvestment in social protection.

At the same time, the world of work is rapidly changing following demographic evolution, globalization of production, international trade, digital economy and automation, urbanization, workers mobility and increase of non-standard employment (precarious contracts, on call work, etc). This comes on top of persistently high levels of informal economy in many countries. Extending social protection and its benefits, and increasing the availability as well as improving the working conditions are already manifesting as major challenges in the future in Asia and in Europe. In a world with widening inequalities and enormous uncertainties, social protection is needed more than ever; it is a must.

Both in Asia and Europe social movements are mobilising and campaigning for the right to social protection for all to be respected and realized. They are also making the way by establishing own initiatives and mechanisms for social protection. In both Asia and Europe there are some good practices were social movements managed to convince governments to strongly expand social protection coverage introducing various schemes ranging from universal health care, work and livelihood guarantees, unemployment and disability income-support, work injury insurance, old-age pensions, maternity protection, calamity assistance and others.

But given the many challenges and gaps remaining to fully implement and guarantee the right to comprehensive social protection for everyone, current policies will need to be improved and upgraded. Social protection policies should be rights and solidarity based, strongly involve the representative social movements and integrate their initiatives in universal social protection mechanisms so they can cover social protection rights throughout the whole life cycle for the entire population.

We should maintain and fully implement the principles of Social Protection that are globally agreed by the world’s leading organization on social protection standards, the ILO, and its Convention 102 and Recommendations 202 and 204. These and other human rights treaties and declarations clearly state Social Protection is a universal Human Right. It is also well integrated in the Sustainable Development Goals.

In this open space workshop we focus on how social movements assert the right to social protection, and make the way by establishing own mechanisms of social protection and influencing their governments to largely improve their social protection policies in line with the above mentioned principles and international standards.

Brussels region sisters with Chennai, India and supports domestic workers there

Today, overlooking a gorgeous view of Brussels, our delegation composed out of Sr Vallar from Chennai and Sr Jeanne Devos from NDWM signed the agreement between WSM and NDWM to start a project supported by the Brussels Region. Hosted by State Secretary of Brussels Capital Region Bianca Debaets, this project of two years will be supporting the work done by the National Domestic Workers Movement in Chennai and Tamil Nadu to improve rights and skills of domestic workers. During the visit, Sr Vallar explained that even though the Tamil Nadu government, after decades of lobbying, finally adopted a minimum wage for domestic workers, it was at the rate of 37 INR per hour or 43 eurocent, which was the rate demanded by NDWM... in 2010, so hopelessly insufficient for domestic workers to live on! 

From right to left: Francina Varghese, Jeroen Roskams  and Bruno Deceukelier (WSM), with Sister Vallar and Sr Jeanne Devos (NDWM), with from the Brussels Region Ms Bianca Debaets and Emmanuel Boodts and Pieter-Jan Mattheus, Regional Secretary from Beweging

As comparison, neighboring state Kerala placed the minimum wage at 137INR, or 1,6€. While it is a good thing there is finally a minimum adopted and a mechanism to punish employers who don't respect this, this low rate might even turn out to be counterproductive, as employers paying more might feel they can now offer less. In short, still a lot of work to do, but NDWM feels up to the task, now also with this first ever project with the Brussels Region!

Asian Networks on social protection meet EU Parliamentarians

Members of the ANRSP, together with the two other Asian networks on social protection, NTSP and AROSP, met with European Parliamentarians on the 26th of October 2018 in Brussels. Taking advantage of their stay in Belgium for the Asia Europe People’s Forum, this exchange on the situation in Asian countries regarding human rights, free trade agreements and social protection was done with the Global Progressive Forum (GPF), which is a common initiative of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament and the Party of European Socialists. Their network sprang up from the success of the first World Social Forum held in January 2001 in Porto Alegre and aims to bring together a diversity of people from Africa, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America to discuss and propose alternatives to the negative aspects of the current Globalization process. The GPF had also invited members of the network of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, who contributed as Asian Parliamentarians. Invited by WSM, the Social Protection Expert of the European Commission DG DEVCO and a member from the Regional Affairs and South Asia of the European External Action Service (EEAS), also attended and explained their priorities.

 Our delegation highlighted the current situation in India and the dangers to the labour movement there, with an increasing criminalisation and deterioration of labour rights in the process of codifying the labour laws. NDWM also referred to the situation of domestic workers, with Sister Jeanne Devos explaining the history of their movement and their involvement in the process of the ILC189. Another big topic was the influence the EU can have through trade agreements which conditionalize import tariffs with the respect of human and labour rights, for instance in the Philippines (GSP+) and Bangladesh (Sustainability Compact). Bismo Sanyoto, Thematic and Political Coordinator of the ANRSP talked about the two issues of social protection: how to finance this (most countries still spend less than 2% of the GDP on social protection) and how to extend the coverage, also for informal workers.

Despite all the lofty declarations which put social protection as a priority for the development programmes of the EU, the representative from DEVCO said less than 1% of the overall DEVCO budget is dedicated to SP projects. He said the future global programme will focus on budget support, in 5 to 8 countries over the world, to link public finances and social protection. This would involve civil society organisations, also through the Global Coalition on Social Protection Floors, of which WSM is an active member.

How to pay to extend social protection?

 ITUC, with FES and WSM brought together 140 participants from over 30 trade unions and civil society organisations in the world to look at ways to finance social protection 17-18 September in Brussels. Worldwide, social protection is increasingly recognised as a priority: by the ILO (with Recommendation 202 on social protection floors adopted in 2012), the EU, the World Bank, the IMF and even the G20. As a result, it features very prominently in the Sustainable Development Goals (1.3).

Gijs Justaert from the policy department of WSM: “Though the consensus on the need for social protection grows, the main question remains: how to achieve universal social protection in each country?”. Alison Tate, Director of Economic and Social Policy at ITUC feels that “extending social protection shouldn’t be seen by governments as an increased expense, as many do - in an environment of austerity, but as an investment that pays off in terms of better skills, greater equality and inclusive economic growth.”

Several international organisations (ILO, WB, IMF, EU and OECD) and development partners shared their views on the question of sustainable financing. Bruno Deceukelier, Asia Coordinator for WSM sees “a big difference in approach between some of them. The World Bank and IMF want to assist the extreme poor or crises affected population, whereas Social Protection with a right based approach would ensure universal coverage, which would also gather larger support from all citizens.” The FES Social Protection Index and other research shows that in the short term, 71 countries could achieve social protection floors for all by investing an extra 2% of GDP or less.

Sulistri, from KSBSI

“In South Asia, the informal workers still have to be reached and covered by the newly adopted social security schemes, because they represent over 80% of the population, as well as labour migrants, both in the sending or the destination countries”, says Umesh from GEFONT in Nepal. 

Sulistri, from KSBSI, and also Steering Committee member for Indonesia of the Asia Network on the Right to Social Protection (ANRSP) echoes this: “As a union we successfully pushed for the inclusion of workers from the informal economy in the law on social security, but it is complicated because the contributions come only from the workers, and have to be paid regularly; if not, they lose their benefits. This seminar looked at eight options to finance Social Protection, and, hopefully with the assistance from ITUC, we can analyse which are most appropriate for us in Indonesia.” 

Prit SoUot from CLC Cambodia, highlights existing gaps: “the NSSF only covers employment injury insurance for the enterprises employing at least 8 workers and that the Cambodian Government’s plan to extend social insurance for disabled, unemployed and retirement needs to be closely monitored.”

Francisca Altagracia Jimenez
AMUSSOL-CASC

Francisca Altagracia Jimenez from AMUSSOL-CASC explained their efforts to cover the informal workers in the Dominican Republic, which wasn’t an evident choice for trade unions, but which has allowed them to increase their membership. “Today, more than 60.000 informal economy workers, 40% of them women, enjoy health care, employment injury insurance and an old age pension.” 

But social protection is not only for the workers, and Drissa Soare from CNTB, Burkina Faso highlights the importance of working together with other actors of civil society, like health cooperatives to help ensure the access to health: “with the support of WSM, we have been working together in a multi-stakeholder network to lobby for better legislation and extend the services and coverage to their members.”

 Drissa Soare from CNTB, Burkina Faso and Alison Tate, ITUC

In short, as Alison Tate, Director of Economic and Social Policy of ITUC says: “Promoting Social protection is part of the core business of trade unions, as it links directly to the fight against inequality.” This seminar allowed trade unionists and civil society representatives from Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe to share experiences and good practices. Several of them highlighted the need to work together in strategic alliances to address the huge challenges that remain.  Something WSM and its partners already do within their network on the right to social protection. Something ITUC, FES, WSM and several other civil society organisations do within the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors.

In short, the conference was an excellent opportunity for WSM and its partners to increase their visibility and highlight some of their work, not only to other trade unions, but also to stakeholders like the ILO, potential donors and partners which could support our rights-based approach to promote the right to social protection for all around the world.

EU can easily help promote an Employment Injury Scheme for Bangladeshi garment workers

While GK, one of WSM's partner in Bangladesh, focuses on a pilot project which is providing overall health insurance for over 35.000 garment workers, in the period since the Rana Plaza and Tazreen claims were paid, the ILO has spearheaded a project, funded by the German government, to develop concrete proposals for a national Employment Injury Insurance (EII) scheme that have been shared  and discussed with all relevant stakeholders. According to a paper published the Clean Clothes Campaign, the proposals as drafted also met with broad acceptance among the key parties, including the national trade union centres; most of the outstanding questions are  centred on how the scheme will be financed. Yet, over the last two years this work appears to have stalled and momentum towards meeting the 2020 deadline is being lost.

The establishment of a national employment injury insurance (EII) scheme in Bangladesh is the only way to ensure that the rights of those injured at work are protected and that their families receive the loss of income payments and medical care they are entitled to.  Any such scheme must be permanent and be set up to provide loss of income payments and medical care to any worker injured or killed at work, regardless of fault. The scheme needs to provide life time pensions,  rather than lump sums and to put in place a permanent  system for claiming and receiving such payments that is easy to access, difficult to corrupt and paid in a form that is most appropriate for low wage workers.

A meaningful EII scheme needs to be mandatory, state run and universal. Employer insurance schemes - where individual employers take out insurance to cover their own workers - are not in line with international standards and are particularly inappropriate in a context where the enforcement of basic employer obligations is weak and the employment relationships are often informal. Attempts to privatise the obligation to provide employment insurance is likely to leave the majority of workers – particularly those employed in smaller or subcontracted factories – without any protection and will do little to improve the measures already in place.



Bangladesh is no longer a country defined by its poverty and there is no excuse for the lack of social security provisions, which leaves workers permanently vulnerable to disaster or accidents. The garment industry has  played a vital role in bringing foreign investment into the country and its workers have the right to expect that some of these profits are invested into systems that will reduce this vulnerability and provide livelihood security.

With upcoming June meeting in Brussels on the Sustainability Compact between the EU and Bangladesh, this item should definitely be on the agenda.

Manila exchange GK-OKRA on elderly revisited

From 7 to 14 February 2018, GK and OKRA organized an exchange in Manila on the challenges of the elderly in Bangladesh and Belgium, which was facilitated by WSM. During this visit, through the assistance of COSE, both groups were also able to visit and exchange with elderly Philippinos, a very rewarding experience.

On the 11th of February, both organisations organized a successful mainstreaming workshop where GK and OKRA presented challenges of the elderly in Asia, Europe and the world, and where testimonies from elderly gathered by partners in different countries were read out. In a final panel discussion, the delegates of GK and OKRA not only presented their experiences in being a movement for, by and with the elderly but also the value added and the perspectives of their mutual partnership.

Yesterday, on 17th April, the results and conclusions of this exchange were presented to the daily board of OKRA in Brussels, who welcomed the outcome of the visit and confirmed their commitment to continue the partnership on the basis of the action plan that was drafted in Manila. A similar meeting will take place in the coming days in GK in Bangladesh. A video was also made of this visit which you can view here.

WSM would like to thank all those involved in making this exchange and partnership a success, in particular Dr. Kadir, coordinator of GK; Mieke Peeters, president of OKRA; Mark De Soete, General Director of OKRA; the daily boards of OKRA and GK, as well as the delegates of both organizations who were with us in Manila: Kamrun (Onu), Isahaque, Dulal, Maddie,  Bart, Ingrid, Niek, Jo. And with a special thanks to Jef Van Hecken for facilitating the preparations of the visit!

Brussels Secretary of State visits movement for domestic workers in India

Last Monday, April 16, the National Movement for Domestic Workers (NDWM) in India, a partner organization of World Solidarity, received the visit from Brussels Secretary of State Bianca Debaets. The state secretary was in Chennai, capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, as it has become one of the priority countries for Brussels development cooperation.

After the visit of King Filip and Queen Mathilde in November 2017, it is the second time in just half a year that the National Domestic Workers Movement (NDWM) receives such esteemed visit from Belgium. NDWM was founded in 1985 by the Belgian sister Jeanne Devos and has, for many years now with the support of World Solidarity, committed itself to improving the fate of the millions of domestic servants in India. It is a group of mainly women and children from the more marginalized communities of Indian society who work as domestic workers. The majority of them are Dalits or untouchables, mostly illiterate or with a low level of education, and work long days for very low wages in poor working conditions. Because domestic work still takes place in the informal economy, many are exposed to various forms of exploitation and discrimination, even sexual intimidation.

State Secretary Debaets was shown around the families of domestic servants living in the  Perumbakkam district. In recent months, some 14,000 families were forcibly moved here from the slums in the center of the city. Because of the move, the housekeepers have to cover a much greater distance to work and pay higher transport costs, while the children are left alone at home in the evening. Under the expert guidance of Sister Valar, NDWM in Chennai makes householders and their children aware of their rights towards their employers, their right to a decent wage and social protection. Sister Valar says: "By pointing out their rights, we want to make them more assertive and resilient, so that they are less vulnerable to abuses in the households where they will work. We also provide training to teach their technical skills as a domestic servant. In addition, we would like to offer an alternative income to the single mothers by giving them the opportunity to start up a small shop in the neighborhood". The Secretary of State, impressed by the solidarity between the home workers, emphasized the importance of good education for the children and the need for a more respectful attitude towards women, who are often victims of domestic violence in Chennai.

The ANRSP meets in Manila

Almost fifty participants, members of the Asia Network on the Right to Social Protection (ANRSP) gathered for six days in Manila to discuss the issues decent living income and social protection. With the input from various international experts, like from the ILO, WageIndicator, ITUC and ITUC Asia Pacific, as well as from experiences in the Philippines regarding the state of the health system, two members from each of the eighteen WSM partners from the six Asia countries agreed on elements to be included in a living wage, compared methodologies and applied them in their national context and found current minimum wages largely insufficient.
A common position on minimum living wage was drafted by the steering committee members, before the participants went on field visits organized by the WSM Filippino partners to a jeepney union and two public hospitals.

Before the second half of the meeting, which focused on social protection, started,  OKRA from Belgium and GK from Bangladesh jointly facilitated a session on the impact of elderly in society and the links it has with social protection. The two other networks in Asia focusing on social protection, the Network for Transformative Social Protection and the Asia Round Table on SP also explained their priorities and how we could complement each other’s work. At the end, plans for the international network on the right to social protection were also discussed as well as the action plan for the years to come and where the network would be advocating. Participants afterwards expressed a 84% satisfaction of the content and how useful it was for them, stating it “helps me a lot to understand the various issues affecting the lives of the people especially in terms of SP and DLI. It helps me to see the whole picture of what kind of SP we have in Asia.”

Meer dan 25.000 voor #cleanekleren: Tussenstand na 7 maanden campagnevoeren

© Nelle Devisscher

Na de “shirtcontrole” op de Ronde van Vlaanderen voor amateurs op 1 april ontplofte de campagne #cleanekleren*. Boegbeeld Philippe Gilbert won de dag nadien op een magistrale manier de Ronde: een voorteken. Overal zag je daarna #cleanekleren teams opduiken: in bedrijven, op honderden sportactiviteiten en op grote wielerwedstrijden tot zelfs op de Ronde van Frankrijk. #cleanekleren kreeg veel media-aandacht:  met als topper een tv-spotcampagne, na het winnen van de Fair Time Award van Medialaan en een reportage op Kanaal Z. Er werd gelopen, gefietst, gevoetbald, gewandeld en massaal de petitie getekend. Ook door heel wat BV’s en topsporters- en clubs. Het resultaat: meer dan 25.000 mensen supporteren voor #cleanekleren.



Topsporters tekenen voor #cleanekleren
Heel wat topsporters volgen het voorbeeld van Philippe Gilbert en tekenen voor #cleanekleren. Zoals Fabian Cancellara, olympisch kampioen Tia Hellebaut, hordeloopster Eline Berings, de nationale volleybalploeg Yellow Tigers en handbalploeg Red Wolves, kapitein van KRC Genk Thomas Buffel, enz. Verschillende voetbalspelers en -clubs uit de eerste klasse volgen. Dit is meteen een goede opwarming voor 2018 wanneer #cleanekleren zich gaat focussen op voetbal met het oog op het WK-voetbal in Rusland. Goed gezien van ACV-Sporta, die vele topsporters de petitie #cleanekleren lieten tekenen.

© Dirk Pierloot

Politici bewegen
Ook een rits politici en overheden scharen zich achter #cleanekleren: minister van Werk en Consumentenzaken Kris Peeters, Groen-politici als Tine Heyse die meteen het stadbestuur van Gent mobiliseerde en minister van Ontwikkelingssamenwerking De Croo. De Croo heeft wel oog voor ‘kleding’: hij trapte de zestiende Week van de Fair Trade af met een bezoek aan JBC dat inzet op ethisch geproduceerde kleding. De campagne #cleanekleren ging met een aantal beleidsvoorstellen naar ministers De Croo en Peeters en hoopt na sympathie binnenkort beleidsdaden te zien. Want een wettelijk kader dat stimulansen geeft naar de sector is heel belangrijk.

En Belgische sportkledingbedrijven?

© Mine Dalemans

Het doel van de campagne #cleanekleren is Belgische sportkledingbedrijven overtuigen om stappen te zetten richting ‘schone kleren’. Zowel Bioracer als Vermarc, producenten van wielerkledij voor teams, kregen #cleanekleren op bezoek.  Bij Bioracer kregen we onlangs nog te horen dat zij vanuit hun klanten geen vraag krijgen naar ethisch geproduceerde kleding en ze er commercieel ook geen meerwaarde in zien. Daarom dat we onze campagne onverminderd en vastbesloten verderzetten. Verspreid mee de oproep om te tekenen op www.cleanekleren.be





“Buy the change you want to see in the world”

© Nelle Devisscher

 “De acties lopen inderdaad goed”, zegt Jessie Van Couwenberghe die het beleidswerk doet voor #cleanekleren. “Maar sportkledingbedrijven als Bioracer voelen onvoldoende de druk van de klant. Elke euro die je uitgeeft, ook als organisatie, is een stem. En je kiest aan welk soort bedrijf je die geeft: zij die het echt goed doen op milieu en sociaal vlak of laat je enkel de prijs meespelen? Dan weet je dat het milieu of de werknemers elders de prijs betalen. Wij gebruiken als organisatie veel te weinig onze koopkracht die een echt hefboom kan zijn voor verandering. Wij staan als campagnepartners voor waarden en die moeten we ook doortrekken in elke aankoop die we doen.”

Op zoek naar ‘schone’ promo- of sportkleding met bedrukking op maat van je organisatie of club? 
Contacteer:
o ACP, Fair Wear & Fair Trade ambassador, info@acpinfo.be, 03/889 02 16. 
o Amitex, info@amitex.be www.amitex.be, 050/70 71 42
o Andere schone (sport)kleren aankopen: neem een kijkje op www.fairwear.org

© Claudio Montesano Casillo

Elke dag een marathon
“Voor wie doen we dit eigenlijk?” Voor Tahra en miljoenen anderen. Tahra is één van de 650.000 Cambodjanen die sportkleding maakt voor de grote sportmerken als Nike en Adidas. Tahra is 34.  Op haar 17de ging ze aan de slag als naaister in een Cambodjaanse kledingfabriek. Tahra werkt 10 uur per dag, 6 dagen per week en verdient 0,88 euro per uur . Elke dag moet ze een target van 1300 stuks halen. Een undercover tv-ploeg volgde haar  op een normale werkdag, met fitness gadgets om haar prestaties te meten. Ze verbrandt 2.439 kcal voor jouw sportshirt… Alsof ze elke dag een marathon zou lopen. Het resultaat van de metingen werd vertaald in een tv-spot die meer dan 1,7 miljoen kijkers te zien kregen op VTM, Q2 en twee andere tv-zenders. Tahra is lid van de vakbond C.CAWDU, een partnerorganisatie van Wereldsolidariteit en ACV. Deze Cambodjaanse vakbond interpelleert al jarenlang de internationale merken bij schendingen van arbeidsrechten en voor het uitbetalen van een leefbaar loon.

Sign the petition for clean (sports) clothes

The #cleanekleren campaign starts close to home. We engage in a constructive dialogue with Belgian sports brands, strengthened by athletes who indeed care how our clothes are made. But it can succeed only with your help! Therefore, just as Philippe Gilbert, sign our petition! It is a small effort, but one that can have a huge impact so sign #cleanekleren. The more signatures, the more Belgian sport brands and retailers know consumers care about the working conditions in which our clothes are made!

Persbericht: Kledingarbeiders in Bangladesh het zwijgen opgelegd

Reeds 34 mensen opgepakt in heksenjacht tegen vakbonden
Sinds in december stakingen uitbraken in 20 Bengaalse kledingfabrieken, worden bijna dagelijks mensen willekeurig opgepakt. Afgelopen weekend werden alweer 9 vakbondsleiders gearresteerd in Bangladesh. Vandaag staat de teller op 34. Er werd ook klacht ingediend tegen minstens 700 werknemers en vakbondsleiders. Vakbonden en ngo’s eisen dat de Bengaalse autoriteiten iedereen die opgesloten zit vrijlaat en de politiek gemotiveerde aanklachten laat vallen. De internationale kledingmerken die in Bangladesh produceren moeten de overheid en de werkgevers onder druk zetten om de rechten van werknemers te respecteren.

In december brak een spontane staking uit in de kledingfabriek Windy Apparels in Ashulia, een wijk in Dhaka, de hoofdstad van Bangladesh. De staking en de protesten deinden uit naar andere kledingfabrieken in de regio. Vele daarvan maken kleding voor bekende Westerse merken (H&M, Zara, Gap, Primark,...). In plaats van loonopslag, kregen meer dan 1600 werknemers hun ontslagbrief. Ze worden beschuldigd van vandalisme, plundering, bedreiging van medearbeiders en het aanvallen van fabriekskaders. Intussen werden al 34 vakbondsleiders en –activisten gearresteerd, terwijl de overgrote meerderheid niet eens betrokken was bij de stakingen.

De stakers eisten een hoger minimumloon, tussen de 15.000 en 16.000 taka (179-190 euro) per maand. Met het huidige minimumloon van 5.300 taka (63 euro), dat al dateert van 2013, moeten ze huur, vervoer, gezondheidszorg en eten betalen. De huur van een kamer kost echter al 2500 tot 4500 taka per maand. Zowel de Bengaalse regering als de werkgeversfederatie BGMEA weigeren een loonstijging. “Het totale gebrek aan vakbondsvrijheid is het grootste struikelblok voor een veilige en duurzame kledingproductie in Bangladesh,” zegt Sara Ceustermans van de Schone Kleren Campagne. “Werknemers kunnen nog steeds geen loonsverhoging vragen zonder gearresteerd of ontslagen te worden, terwijl net sterke vakbonden de enige écht duurzame garantie zijn op betere arbeidsomstandigheden voor de Bengaalse kledingarbeiders.”

Reactie kledingmerken ondermaats
De reactie van de kledingmerken met productie in Bangladesh was tot nu toe ondermaats. Op 4 januari verstuurden 21 internationale merken een brief naar de Bengaalse overheid over de onlusten in Ashulia, maar die brief werd niet publiek gemaakt. Sindsdien bleef het oorverdovend stil. Ook de Europese Commissie ging nog niet tot actie over. Bangladesh valt onder een gunstig handelssysteem[1] met de EU, waardoor het taxvrije toegang heeft tot de Europese markt. Ter vergelijking: kledingbedrijven die kleding laten produceren in China betalen hierop een importtax van 12%. Aan dat gunstige handelssysteem zijn wel een aantal voorwaarden verbonden, zoals het respecteren van de fundamentele arbeids- en mensenrechten. Vakbonden en ngo’s roepen de Europese Commissie op om deze hefboom te gebruiken en een onderzoek in te stellen naar de schendingen van de vakbondsvrijheid. Voorlopig lijkt de Europese Commissie daar niet toe bereid. De Bengaalse regering kan dus ongestraft de opgelegde voorwaarden blijven schenden.  

De les van Rana Plaza
De slechte werkomstandigheden in de Bengaalse kledingsector hebben herhaaldelijk geleid tot rampen. De dodelijkste was de instorting van Rana Plaza op 24 april 2013. 1.138 kledingarbeiders stierven, meer dan 2.000 anderen raakten gewond. Op 13 mei 2013 werd het bindende Akkoord over brand- en gebouwveiligheid afgesloten. Dat akkoord loopt tot 2018 en werd inmiddels door meer dan 200 internationale merken ondertekend. Andere problemen, zoals de extreem lage lonen en het gebrek aan vakbondsvrijheid, worden er niet mee aangepakt.

De Schone Kleren Campagne is een coalitie van verschillende organisaties: ABVV, ACV, Wereldsolidariteit, FOS, BBTK, LBC, ACV-Metea, ABVV AC, Testaankoop en Netwerk Bewust Verbruiken. De Schone Kleren Campagne maakt deel uit van het internationale netwerk Clean Clothes Campaign, met 17 coalities in Europa en meer dan 200 partners wereldwijd.

Meer info: Sara Ceustermans, coördinatrice Schone Kleren Campagne 

Developing alternatives for Indian agricultural workers: solar panels for irrigation

 AREDS in India looks to develop alternatives for agricultural workers by creating and promoting a model farm which uses a more sustainable approach. WSM facilitated a grant from the Energy fund in Belgium, so that they could purchase solar panels for the irrigation in this very dry area of Tamil Nadu. As this is a fairly innovative technique, it required some research and experts analyzed the existing wells, and made recommendations. Next, three tenders were requested from companies, which all had similar prices, but the quality of the equipment varied, like the type of motor and pump. Once the choice made, the order went through the bank and fifteen days later it was installed, with concrete pillars already set up by AREDS according to the specifications provided beforehand. The Company installed the four sets of 10 panels next to each near the four wells and then engineers erected the pumps inside the wells. Currently, the plot has five horsepower motors which can run for ten hours. The system is self-sufficient and not connected to the electrical state grid, except one which was close to the grid. Plants are kept alive despite a severe drought this year in Tamil Nadu. AREDS also practices intercropping, with specific measures per crop. Through a rain harvesting programme, there is no danger of the wells running dry.


Of course, the goal is now to share these techniques, so AREDS reached out to farmers, government and universities. Four groups of twenty small-scale farmers, majority women have been trained in first 2016, with a three day training to learn how to maintain the panels, do minor repairs, measure the watts produce and when to switch them on. At least ten people have applied for the state grants for solar panels, which can take some time. A delegation from the local government agriculture department was invited and decided to support this initiative. The Agriculture university of Trichy is also attending training on this farm, and an exchange program runs with French students and soon VIVES, a farmers higher education institute in West Flanders.

Solidarity across borders: trade unions from Nepal to Belgium

To look into adapting trade unions to a federal state, social elections and social security, the leadership of the three main Nepali trade unions came to Belgium end of October 2016 with the support of World Solidarity (WSM) and the largest Belgian trade union, ACV-CSC. 

India partners express their support to campaign of Social protection for all

75 participants of the CWM 35th Annual General Assembly Meeting Photos in India on 24th till 26th June 2016 expressed their support to the campaign Social Protection for All. It aims to make universal and comprehensive social protection a policy priority for national governments and the international community.

 More details on the campaign here.

Video on exchange regarding elderly in Belgium and Bangladesh: GK meets OKRA

In this video, you can see how enriching international exchange can be. In May 2016, 4 representatives of health care organization GK from Bangladesh came to Belgium for an exchange week with OKRA, the elderly movement of the Christian Workers Movement in Belgium.


They exchanged on how to make sure elderly people get what they deserve (ex. a decent pension, access to health care, etc.) and on how to organize the elderly.

Find out in this video what they learned from this experience.

Clean Clothes Campaign puts out fires at H&M shop in Belgium

Foto: Jürgen Doom

Terwijl de aandeelhouders van H&M vandaag verzamelen in Stockholm, roept de Schone Kleren Campagne het bedrijf op om meer vaart te zetten achter de noodzakelijke renovaties in de fabrieken in Bangladesh die H&M bevoorraden. Activisten van de Schone Kleren Campagne voerden een veiligheidscontrole uit in het H&M-filiaal in Leuven en overhandigden een brandblusapparaat aan het management. Gelijkaardige acties gebeurden in 27 steden wereldwijd.

Drie jaar nadat H&M als eerste bedrijf het Bangladesh Akkoord voor gebouw- en brandveiligheid ondertekende, staan bijna al hun leveranciers achter op schema om renovaties uit te voeren. De internationale Schone Kleren Campagne en drie andere ngo’s hebben gisteren een update gepubliceerd van een eerder rapport  over de vertraging in de veiligheidsrenovaties bij 32 van H&M’s strategische Bengaalse leveranciers. Ook de vooruitgang bij 22 bijkomende strategische leveranciers werd onderzocht.

Uit het onderzoek blijkt dat bij 70% van hun 54 strategische leveranciers, nog niet alle branddeuren geïnstalleerd werden die een veilige uitweg garanderen aan werknemers in geval van brand. Daardoor kan een brand catastrofale gevolgen hebben, zoals de brand bij Garib & Garib zes jaar geleden, waarbij 21 werknemers die kleren stikten voor H&M omkwamen. Dat percentage is zelfs hoger dan bij de vorige update in januari, omdat sindsdien nog meer deadlines verstreken zijn. Andere renovaties werden afgekeurd door de inspecteurs van het Akkoord.