19 December, 2013Some Australian companies are yet to sign the Bangladesh Accord and continue to profit from workers’ misery and hide behind sham commitments. Join the Australian unions’ online campaign for Just Group to sign the Accord here and write to CEO Mark McInnes.
On Saturday 14 December 2013 unions, community groups and members of the public held a protest in front of the Just Jeans store in Bourke Street, Melbourne urging the Just Group to do the right thing and sign onto the Accord.
Australian unions say:
Bucking the trend for Australian retailers, the Just Group, whose brands include Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Jacqui E, Dotti, Peter Alexander and Portmans have not signed onto the Accord. Instead they have joined with Walmart, a world leader in violating its workers’ rights, in signing a cynical, non-legally binding cop out called the “Alliance for Bangladesh worker Safety”.
Be part of the campaign to get Just Group to sign the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Accord.
Sign the petition http://www.act.australianunions.org.au/just_jeans
or for further information visit https://www.facebook.com/EthicalWork
Jyrki Raina, General Secretary of global union IndustriALL said:
The two fundamental flaws of the Alliance are the total absence of workers in the initiative, and the total lack of legally binding enforcement of its commitments. Without these two vital aspects, which are both central to the Accord for Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh signed with IndustriALL and UNI global unions, the Alliance is nothing more than a toothless, voluntary corporate initiative. Voluntary, corporate-led social audit programmes were part of the systemic problems that made Tazreen and Rana Plaza possible.
The Accord covers 2 million garment workers in Bangladesh and 75 percent of all garment exports from the company. Our full effort and focus in 2014 will remain on implementing the Accord which can bring an historic breakthrough in making the garment sector in Bangladesh safe and sustainable. We want to make the "Made in Bangladesh" label a label of pride."