Surpêche - la fin du poisson à foison
Depuis des dizaines d’années, une armada de bateaux sillonne sans interruption les mers du globe. La pêche toujours plus intensive des poissons nuit à la biodiversité. Selon les spécialistes, cette surpêche se pratique sur 90 % de la Méditerranée, tandis que 40 % des espèces de poissons du nord-est de l’Atlantique sont menacées.
Lidl: Pay a Living Wage
Lidl's Code of Conduct says it aims to pay a living wage and that its suppliers should too. But according to Fairfood International, the discount chain is linked to exploitation of the most vulnerable workers in Thailand's shrimp processing industry. The retail giant is keen to shed the negative image of a discount supermarket, adopting slogans like "high-quality, good value, sustainable", and spending millions on marketing campaigns like #LidlSurprises. Now imagine what a surprise it would be to Lidl if we said we would hold the company to its word! If workers are not paid a living wage, they cannot afford basic needs, such as food and medicines. The shrimp industry is plagued by exploitation--enough to make anyone despair. ********** More information: Caught in a trap – The story of poverty wages behind Asian shrimp sold in European supermarkets Fairfood International, April 9, 2015
France : adoption de la loi sur le devoir de vigilance des entreprises
Après des années de mobilisation de la société civile en France comme à l’international, les grandes entreprises françaises pourront enfin être reconnues légalement responsables des violations de droits humains et des dommages environnementaux que peuvent provoquer leurs activités ainsi que celles de leurs filiales, sous-traitants et fournisseurs à l’étranger. Les députés français n’ont pas fait l’autruche dans la soirée du 30 mars 2015 : ils ont adopté une loi qui imposera aux entreprises de développer des plans de vigilance pour prévenir les atteintes aux droits humains et à l’environnement qui pourraient être liées à leurs activités. La responsabilité des entreprises pourra ainsi être engagée devant le juge en cas de manquement à cette obligation de vigilance. Pour autant, et en dépit des demandes de la société civile française, le contenu du texte n’a malheureusement pas pu être renforcé à l’Assemblée nationale. Lire aussi : la loi sur le devoir de vigilance des entreprises
Labor conditions are awful at chicken plants, according to big report
We’ve long known that the chicken industry is pretty awful for chickens themselves, so perhaps it should come as no surprise that conditions for workers at poultry processing plants aren’t much better. Lives on the Line, a new multimedia report from Oxfam America, details the harsh conditions chicken workers face in the U.S. Oxfam interviewed poultry workers in North Carolina, Arkansas, and Mississippi, and found they typically processed between 35 and 45 birds per minute — that’s more than 2,000 chickens an hour and 14,000 chickens in a workday. This type of repetitive labor is hard on the body: A Tyson worker told reporters on a press call that his hands swelled up so badly that he had to wear 3XL gloves. For this, Oxfam reports, Tyson pays an average of $11 an hour. Think Progress on the report: Oxfam also found that workers often had to wait up to an hour for bathroom breaks. Riiiiight.
Your Tetley tea won’t taste so good after you read this
India’s reputation for producing delicious teas stems mostly from vast plantations in the northeastern state of Assam. Tourists admire the beauty of the region, but life is hard as hell on the plantations. Undernourished workers, including children and the elderly, toil from dawn until dusk for pittances, often spraying industrial pesticides with little protection and enduring unsanitary conditions. They retire at night to overcrowded homes. It is suffering such as this, which was chronicled a year ago in a complaint filed by three Indian nonprofits, that now has the World Bank investigating a company called APPL, which supplies tea to Tetley and other brands. “We want the company to comply with the labor laws and upgrade the working and living conditions,” Jayshree Satpute, an official with Nazdeek, a nonprofit that helped draft last year’s complaint, told Grist. The abusive conditions for APPL workers are consistent with conditions in the sector as a whole.
Peuples Solidaires - ActionAid France | Pressés comme des oranges ?
Un marché mondial fondé sur une exploitation régionale Au Brésil, trois multinationales contrôlent 80% du marché mondial du jus d’orange : Cutrale, Citrosuco/Citrovita et Louis Dreyfus. Environ 40% des oranges pressées proviennent de leurs propres plantations, le reste est acheté à des petit-e-s et moyen-ne-s producteurs-rices. Officiellement, la semaine de travail dans les plantations d’oranges est de 44 heures et la pause déjeuner dure une heure. 1 tonne ½ par jour pour le salaire minimum légal Pour espérer gagner le salaire minimum légal à la fin du mois (690 réals soit 150 euros en octobre 2015), les employé-e-s doivent récolter au moins une tonne et demie d’oranges par jour. « Nous sommes sous pression 24h sur 24 », témoigne un travailleur agricole de la région de Duartina. Dans les usines de transformation de jus d’orange, les températures sont extrêmement élevées, la lumière est insuffisante, l’air est saturé par les fumées de combustion et il n’y a pas de ventilation.
New Lawsuit Says Indiana Packers Corp. Hired Undocumented Workers
Despite many of the horrors that undercover pork plant investigations bring to light, the demand for pig products continues. According to Indy Star, Indiana Packers Corp. (IPC), which is jointly owned by Mitsubishi Corp. and Itoham Foods Inc., processes 3.5 million pounds of fresh pork daily and exports its products to (mostly) midwest United States, Japan and Mexico. “Many Workers Openly Admit They are Illegal” The lawsuit filed by former employee Andrew O’Shea is seeking class-action status in the U.S. The lawsuit also claims that the HR professionals failed to verify employer histories and that Martinez would fill out the employer portion of applicants’ I-9 forms for them during orientation. Love This? The Undocumented Workers We Never See While IPC’s case is still developing, the truth is that the industry relies heavily on undocumented workers. Fatigue, repetitive-motion injuries, serious accidents on the job, and high turnover followed. Take Action!
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A new lawsuit against two human resources professionals at Indiana Packers Corp. (IPC) claims that hundreds of undocumented workers were hired with fake Social Security numbers and identification cards over four years. According to the lawsuit, the HR professionals failed to verify employer histories and one of them would fill out the employer portion of applicants' I-9 forms for them during orientation. The former employee who filed the lawsuit argues that the company's rampant practice depressed the wages of legal employees. Sadly, the meat and poultry industry relies heavily on undocumented workers. Please sign and share this petition urging Indiana Packers Corp. to investigate the claims in the lawsuit against its human resources professionals. (Photo Credit: U.S.
