No sweat!

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No Sweat! The UK Campaign Against Sweatshops organised a protest on International Women’s Day against Puma, the German sportswear manufacturer.

In January this year 250 workers employed by Matamoros garment factory in Puebla, Mexico, initiated a one - day strike in order to draw attention to their disgraceful working conditions. The mainly female workforce of the US-owned factory were expected to work for three weeks without pay and in hazardous conditions. The company insisted on compulsory overtime and paid sub-minimum wages. They refused to supply protective masks and denied their employees the right to form an independent trade union.

Matamoros workers acted in defiance of their employer and established their own union, SITEMAG, on the day of the strike. They also contacted Puma, a major customer at their factory for support. Although Puma has a Code of Conduct which guarantees basic human rights including the right to freedom of association, its reaction to these events was to pull out of the Matamoros factory. The employers have refused to pay their workers any wages since they lost the PUMA contract.

SITEMAG are angry that PUMA is attempting to wash its hands of the human rights violations it has already profited from. The union is demanding that Puma positively intervenes on behalf of the Matamoros garment workers and are appealing for international solidarity.

This International Women’s Day, protests took place in support of SITEMAG throughout the world. In Britain, No Sweat organised activities in several cities. Stalls were held in London’s ‘streets of shame’ Oxford Street and Regent Street culminating in a rally outside Puma on Carnaby Street. If you want to take part in other protests in support of the Matamoros workers, contact : 07904 431959, london@nosweat.org.uk

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