Date of publication: March 9, 2009
Source: Clean Clothes Campaign
» http://www.cleanclothes.org/urgent/09-03-09.htm [1]
A worker from a Turkish factory that supplies Prada and other luxury brands is touring Europe this week to share her story of union repression and exploitation. Emine Arslan was a valued worker in DESA’s Sefakoy factory for eight years until she started talking to other workers about joining a union.
Fed up with long hours, low wages and appalling conditions, she and hundreds of workers at Turkish leather manufacturer DESA decided to join the Turkish leather workers union, Deri Is, last year. After receiving three warnings on the same day, Ms. Arslan was fired. But she persisted by filing a court case against the company, demonstrating outside the factory, refusing to accept bribes offered by the management, and enduring the attempted kidnapping of her daughter. Is this the price of luxury?
Join us by sending a worldwide message to Prada, one of the primary buyers at the DESA factory, that union organising is a right not a luxury.
Take action now! [2]
The Clean Clothes Campaign has called on the factories’ buyers to put a stop to repression and discrimination in their supply chains. Many of the buyers, including Prada, have failed to take responsibility for the workers who produce their goods.
Ms. Arslan, who is joined on the tour by Deri Is union organiser Nuran Gulenc, will speak with government officials, trade unions and NGOs in Italy, France and Spain.