What are the rights of workers in the textile sector?
Much is said about respecting the rights of workers in the textile sector, but do we know what those rights are? Decent working conditions are essential to establish an optimal and healthy work environment, although it is not the only aspect to be highlighted.
Resolution 217 A (III) of the General Assembly of the United Nations recognized in December 1948 the rights of workers as fundamental rights of all people. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment” .
In addition, the UDHR states that "every person has the right, without any discrimination, to equal pay for equal work" and that "he has the right to fair and satisfactory remuneration, which ensures him, as well as his family, an existence in accordance with the human dignity, and which will be supplemented, if necessary, by any other means of social protection .
The theory is very nice but what about the practice? After the fatal accident of the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in the town of Dhaka -Bangladesh- in 2013, where 1,127 people died and about 2,440 were injured, a large part of society began to become aware of the reality and movements such as Fashion Revolution , whose objectives are based on providing workers in the textile sector with those rights that were taken from them. It is about demanding from brands both training and decent working conditions for their workers, as well as information on the origin of their products, working conditions, production processes, and ultimately, transparency.
However, the Clean Clothes Campaign points out that the pillars on which the rights of workers in the textile sector are based are:
- Freedom to choose a job.
- Non-discrimination in employment.
- Absolute prohibition of child labor.
- Freedom of association and the collective right to strike.
- Living wage.
- Not doing overtime.
- Decent working conditions.
- Stable employment contract.
As a textile industry, at Capitán Denim we are aware of the impact we generate on the environment and therefore, from the beginning we have been clear about the responsibility that this entails, guaranteeing decent working conditions and respecting the rights of workers at the highest level.
Join us and defend the labor rights of workers in the textile sector so that incidents like the one at Rana Plaza do not happen again anywhere in the world!