Creating a Sweatfree World Wal-Mart Campaign
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Wal-Mart Campaign
En EspañolBecause of Wal-Mart's sheer size, it has been a central focus for ILRF's work since 2004. The company has grown to become the world's largest retailer and corporation, with over 60,000 suppliers, yet it has not developed a policy of social responsibility to match its economic power. Instead, it has released vague and misleading reports on its labor conditions, while its constant price pressure has continued to force suppliers to disobey local regulations.
Wal-Mart has a long history of high-profile labor rights violations, starting with the Kathie Lee Gifford exposé. ILRF has learned from trade unions and allied labor NGOs in countries like China, Bangladesh, and Swaziland that they have seen major labor rights violations in Wal-Mart factories. Though Wal-Mart now releases a yearly "ethical sourcing" evaluation, it refuses to specify how it measures improvements and downplays persistent problems like work hours. Its labor inspections are still overwhelmingly pre-announced and, partially as a result, ineffective.
In late 2005, the ILRF on behalf of factory workers from Indonesia, China, Bangladesh, Nicaragua, and Swaziland filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores charging that Wal-Mart knowingly and systematically violated its Standards for Suppliers. This lawsuit is now held by the International Rights Advocates on behalf of the workers.
ILRF identified the following labor violations at Wal-Mart factories:
FORCED LABOR
In violation of the law, workers are routinely forced to work overtime, often 16-18 hours a day.
MINIMUM WAGE VIOLATIONS
Many workers are paid up to 30 percent below their country's legal minimum wage.
MATERNITY LEAVE VIOLATIONS
Most female workers are denied their legal maternity leave and their benefits.
OVERTIME PAY VIOLATIONS
Workers are rarely, if ever, paid overtime. Although they often work more than twice the legal number of hours in a week, they are not paid more than their regular wages.
HEALTH CARE VIOLATIONS
The health clinics that many countries require their factories to have often do not exist and workers are NOT provided with basic safety equipment, such as dust masks.
RIGHT TO FORM INDEPENDENT UNIONS DENIED
More than 80 percent of Wal-Mart's merchandise suppliers are in China, where workers do not have the right of freedom of association.
BATHROOM BREAKS VIOLATIONS
In many of the factories, workers need a ticket and permission to use the bathroom. Their breaks are timed.
ILRF has demanded that Wal-Mart reform its purchasing policies that have such a negative impact on workers by reforming its pricing policy, integrate independent grassroots monitoring into its monitoring program, and prioritize sourcing from unionized facilities.
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End Wal-Mart Sweatshops!
Wal-Mart wants a world where it makes all the rules. But workers need a world that respects their rights.
Child Labor Poster Series
Order educational child labor posters for a classroom, congregation, or community space. These posters are full of bright colors and clear action steps that can be taken to end child labor.
About the Photo
Image of a shirt sold at Wal-Mart produced by a Cambodian worker that makes about $1.50 a day.
Credit: Hanh Nguyen
Sweatshop Hall of Shame
The Sweatshop Hall of Shame features apparel companies that have consistently flouted labor laws and basic worker protections. Most, if not all, of the companies listed in this year’s Hall of Shame pay workers poverty wages for long, hard hours of work under appalling conditions.