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By Laxmi Murthy At a small but vibrant session at the World Social Forum 2004 held recently in Mumbai representatives from around 40 countries wove resistance and struggle into global campaigns. Conducted by Sweatshop Watch, the session brought together garment workers, union representatives, lawyers and activists from industrialised countries, where products from sweatshops are largely marketed, and the so-called developing countries where sweatshops are located. In the garment industry, retailers sit at the top of the industry ladder and subcontract production to manufacturers and sewing contractors or factories. This subcontracting shields multi-million-dollar corporations from all responsibility for the conditions in sweatshops, allowing them to reap huge profits off the backs of sweatshop workers. Sweatshop workers across the globe make the brand-name jeans, garments and shoes that many of us buy. The workers are poorly paid, lack health benefits and toil in dirty, often dangerous conditions. The apparel industry is one of the most important industries in the world, employing tens of millions of workers in over 200 countries. It is a vital entry point into the workforce for immigrants in the US and for women all over the world. At the session, participants from Sri Lanka spoke about the inhuman conditions of garment workers in Sri Lanka , and attempts to organise them under the banner ALARM (APEC Labour Rights Monitor). Participants from Tamil Nadu , India , described their workers' education programme and focus on women's health. Activists from Eastern Europe revealed that Bulgaria was home to sweatshops that produced for more than 40 major firms in the US , dispelling the notion that sweatshops were purely a 'southern' phenomenon. Activists from the US discussed whether the boycott of prominent labels was an effective campaign tool. As idea that crystallised at the session was the Campaign to Fight Walmart -- the largest retailer and second largest corporation in the world, responsible for taking away business from small retailers, or 'mom and pop stores' the world over. It's believed that the setting up of a single Walmart store forces any grocery shop within a 30-mile radius to shut down. Walmart owns more than 60% of all retail spending in the US , and is the world's largest employer, with 1,244,000 workers. This mammoth chain store does not contribute to the local economy; it accounts for huge numbers of non-unionised workers. What if workers and activists from the US , Asia, Latin America, Africa and Europe got together to fight Walmart? The results could be stupendous! Sweatshop Watch was founded in 1995, in California , as a coalition of over 30 organisations and individuals committed to eliminating the exploitation that occurs in sweatshops. Sweatshop Watch started out serving low-wage workers nationally and globally, with a focus on garment workers in California . Its campaigns are founded on the belief that workers should earn a living wage in a safe, decent work environment. Those responsible for the exploitation of sweatshop workers must be held accountable. For more information, contact Nikki Bas, Sweatshop Watch (
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). -- Laxmi Murthy is a Delhi-based journalist (InfoChange News & Features, January 2004)
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