Approximately 6,000 workers used to earn a living in the Dragon Sweater factory located in the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka. In March 2020, the factory closed down using the CoViD-19 pandemic as a pretext. The owners decided to terminate the workers without severance pay, owed wages, owed provident fund amounts and owed bonus pay. The action to fire workers without the pay and benefits owed to them is illegal.
The factory owners are part of a large conglomerate called Dragon Group, which also has an office in London. Until now they reject to cooperate with the workers. Most of them are organized with the Garment Workers’ Trade Union Center (GWTUC) and they have been taking their struggle to the streets since the factory closure was announced.
So far, we can confirm that the workers were sewing, ironing and packing for New Yorker, Walmart and Lidl in huge numbers in 2019! Those brands directly profited from the exploitation of those workers. Therefore, we want to carry this struggle to where the big bucks are made with their work – the sales markets in Europe, North America and around the world. Some ICL sections and contacts have already organised solidarity actions, such as IWW Bristol
[https://globalmayday.net/2020/07/01/solidarity-from-bristol-to-dhaka/]
FAU Hamburg
[https://globalmayday.net/2020/07/05/solidarity-from-hamburg-to-dhaka/]
and FAU Freiburg
[https://globalmayday.net/2020/07/18/solidarity-from-freiburg-to-dhaka/].
To break the wall of silence by the owners as well as brands and support the garment workers in this struggle, we call for the International Month of Solidarity with the Workers at Dragon Sweater!
Solidarity is our weapon!
This call was initiated by the ICL Working Group Asia together with GWTUC and IWW Ireland.
Do let us know of any activities you might plan as part of this call and also submit reports, so they can be shared with the workers in Dhaka.
To join this call and submit any related materials, send an email to asia@icl-cit.org!
Best of lucks and thank you in advance for your support.
In solidarity,
ICL Working Group Asia
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