"CCC for dropping cases against worker groups", 24 October 2024

The Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) has called for dropping lawsuits against worker groups and protesters and also exhorted global fashion brands to stand up for them in Bangladesh.

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The global rights groups claimed in a statement on Wednesday that one year is on since a violent crackdown by state actors and employers against Bangladeshi garment workers protesting for higher wages.

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Nearly 40,000 workers are facing risk of arrest due to repressive legal charges against them in the form of blank arrest warrants.

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The statement also reads that the CCC has linked 45 fashion brands to suppliers who filed 36 cases against garment workers in Bangladesh and have been pushing these brands to ensure the cases are dropped for the past year.

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The CCC is launching a new action tracker exposing which brands are linked to the outstanding warrants, including H&M, Zara, Next, Matalan, Levi's, Bestseller and more.

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As a result of the violent police response against protesters, four workers lost their lives, hundreds were severely injured and 131 were arrested.

The 36 largely 'baseless criminal cases' are held against 40,000 'unnamed individuals', the CCC said, adding labour representatives are warning these blank arrest warrants could be used against any workers who raise concerns with factory bosses, or as a tool for settling personal or political grievances.