Bangladesh 🇧🇩: Women garment workers protest 14 months of unpaid wages | Weekly Update 14 May
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
We are an international NGO that tracks the human rights impacts of over 10,000 companies in over 180 countries.
Dhaka Tribune
Around 1,800 garment workers at two separate factories in Bangladesh have staged protests to demand the payment of 14 months of wages from their employers, Style Craft Limited and Young Ones BD. During the demonstration, which took place in front of the factories, five female workers were injured in an attack allegedly carried out by individuals associated with the owners.
Representatives of the Gazipur branch of the Bangladesh Garments and Sweaters Workers Trade Union said that workers were forced to protest and demonstrate because of the factory owners’ failure to pay their wages, and that furthermore, the owners have deliberately filed false cases against workers instead of paying their dues.
The protesting workers said that factory authorities had paid Tk 20,000 (USD165) each to some workers during the last Eid. At that time, the authorities had announced that all outstanding dues would be cleared by Wednesday. After waiting for three days with no response from the owners, they began protesting in front of the factories last Sunday morning (11 May).
Style Craft Limited and Young Ones BD did not respond to journalists’ enquiries.
BUSINESS & HUMAN RIGHTS IN FOCUS
LITHIUM MINING THREATENS COMMUNITY WATER ACCESS
As demand for water-intensive lithium surges, mining operations around the world are linked to concerns over access to water and community consultation. In Zimbabwe, local residents living near mines, the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa), local government officials and environmental experts are calling for sustainable resource management as communities face displacement and dwindling water supplies. The Eastern Herald reports that more than 3,200 hectares of rural land were reclassified without public review, with executive orders in several districts enabling land transfers to Chinese-owned firms operating through offshore shells, allegedly without consent from local councils or landholders.
In Brazil, mining operations in Jequitinhonha Valley, home to the country’s largest lithium reserves, are linked to concerns over water disruption and social conflict. Local communities say that the arrival of the mining company Sigma Lithium brought new issues with their water supply, and community conflicts resulting from allegedly insufficient consultation processes.
❌ We invited Sigma Lithium to respond; it did not.
NORWAY SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND DIVESTS FROM ISRAELI PETROL COMPANY OVER SUPPLY TO ILLEGAL SETTLEMENTS
Norway's sovereign wealth fund – the world's largest – announced that it had sold all of its shares in Israel's Paz Retail and Energy (PAZ.TA) due to the company owning and operating infrastructure supplying fuel to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The divestment is the second of its kind by the fund, after its ethics watchdog adopted a tougher interpretation of standards for businesses that aid Israel's operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The fund divested from telecoms company Bezeq in December 2024 over its services to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Meanwhile, pressure is mounting in Europe for a review of the EU Israel Association Agreement: in May 2025 and in light of the ‘catastrophic’ Gaza aid block, the Netherlands proposed a review of the trade deal, saying that Israel is violating the association agreement. Ireland and France backed the Dutch proposal, which will be examined when EU foreign ministers convene in Brussels on 20 May.
AROUND THE WORLD
INTERNATIONAL
Spotlight:
New York Times
Cybersecurity firm NSO Group has been ordered to pay USD167 million in damages to Meta, after it hacked 1,400 WhatsApp accounts belonging to journalists, human rights activists and government officials.
After a six-year legal battle, In December, a California district court ruled that NSO Group had broken cybersecurity laws by using its Pegasus spying software to target phones with WhatsApp installed in 20 countries. WhatsApp said that ‘the jury’s verdict to punish NSO is a critical deterrent to the spyware industry’. NSO Group’s response to the verdict can be read here.
AFRICA
Spotlight:
Mongabay
Villagers in Cameroon have reported that Socapalm (part of Socfin) has expanded oil palm plantations into cultivable areas used by communities without adequate consultation or consent. In Apouh, residents claim that since the plantation was established in 1969, the company’s activities have steadily encroached upon their ancestral lands, leaving them with little space for farming, housing or burials. People protesting against the company’s alleged replanting of oil palm trees on disputed land were reportedly dispersed with tear gas by local law enforcement.
💬 We invited Socapalm and Socfin to respond to the allegations. Socfin responded; its responses are available here.
Other news from the region:
AMERICAS
Spotlight:
Migrant Justice; Portland Press Herald
Migrant rights organisation Migrant Justice has filed an OECD complaint alleging ‘grave human rights violations’ in Dutch-Belgian multinational Ahold Delhaize’s supply chain and a ‘failure to align with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises’.
The complaint says that migrants on farms in Hannaford’s (part of Ahold Delhaize) milk supply chains have been subjected to labour rights violations, including poor living conditions, violations of the right to privacy, unreasonable working hours, safety violations, discrimination and other abuses. It argues that Ahold Delhaize is ‘directly linked and contributes’ to these adverse impacts, and that it has leverage over Hannaford and therefore responsibility over its supply chain practices.
💬 We invited Ahold Delhaize and associated supply chain companies to respond. Ahold Delhaize, Agri-Mark, HP Hood and Navex responded; their responses are available here. ❌ Dairy Farmers of America did not respond.
Other news from the region:
ASIA & PACIFIC
Spotlight:
India: Fears of escalating conflict trigger exodus of migrant workers amid fears of lockdown and job loss
Times of India
As tensions continue following several days of conflict in India and Pakistan, many internal migrant workers in India are reportedly leaving their jobs to return home amid fears of conflict and blackouts in some areas.
Some workers are said to fear a pandemic-style lockdown, during which they may be left without food or accommodation, since they live in labour quarters and earn a daily wage. Workers also fear being left without work during periods of uncertainty.
Other news from the region:
EUROPE & CENTRAL ASIA
Spotlight:
Sherpa
The indictment of Vinci Constructions Grand Projects (VCGP) concerning the use of forced labour among migrant workers on its Qatari construction sites has been confirmed by the French Supreme Court. VCGP’s appeal was rejected, meaning that the indictment was upheld.
In 2014, testimony was heard on the working conditions of certain construction sites operated by the Qatari subsidiary of Vinci, including working in 45°C heat with insufficient water and shade, withholding of passports, having to pay considerable amounts of money to recruitment agencies, fainting, insufficient access to showers in accommodations, and lack of adequate food.
Laura Bourgeois, Litigation and Advocacy Officer at Sherpa, which raised the initial complaint ten years ago, said that ‘by confirming the French judge’s power to investigate the actions of the multinational, the court is sending a very positive signal in the fight against corporate impunity.'
Other news from the region:
MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA
News from the region:
ANNOUNCEMENTS
OTHER NEWSLETTERS
Actualización Semanal 08 de mayo de 2025 | Colombia: Guardianas del río Cauca analizan impactos de represa Hidroituango tras diez años de funcionamiento
EVENTS
Details of these & other future events can be found here.
Company responses
Company non-responses