In August, Sento Chang was sentenced to 12 months in prison after taking to social media to share discussions the union had with the employer... An IndustriALL delegation met with his family, speaking to his parents-in-law about the very difficult circumstances the family is now finding itself in.

Sento is 25 years old and had been working at E-Toile S.A for six years when he was sentenced to jail over reporting on union elections, the poor food quality at the company, as well as workers’ rights to holidays and sick leave. His union, SVS, says Sento is a wrongly and unjustly imprisoned shop steward, whose rights to freedom of opinion, expression and association have been seriously violated.

Sento’s parents-in-law...have had to indebt themselves to be able to hire a lawyer...The family describes his time in prison as very difficult, with Sento feeling deceived and disappointed.

...Atle Høie, IndustriALL general secretary says: “We are appalled by this conviction and jailing of a trade unionist for reporting to co-workers about discussions at a meeting with management. This is unacceptable, and we would like to remind E-Toile management and the government of Madagascar that they must respect national and international labour standards on freedom of association and trade union rights. The employer and the government should engage in social dialogue with trade unions instead of intimidating workers with trumped up charges and imprisonment.”