Wages Not Warrants! Demonstration and Walking Tour
When: Wednesday 24 April, 18:15-20:00 (BST)
Where: Soho Square Gardens, London, W10 3QP
44,000 Bangladeshi garment workers are currently at risk of arrest for protesting against the minimum wage – which is not enough to live on – after the Bangladeshi government issued unnamed arrest warrants to create a climate of fear and stop people from unionising. Garment workers are now facing punishment and retaliation, including violence, arrests, contract terminations – and even killings.
Join War on Want and the Rana Plaza Solidarity Collective as we take to the streets of London in solidarity with garment workers in Bangladesh. We are calling for an end to the threat of mass arrest; the withdrawal of all unsubstantiated charges against workers and trade unionists; the release of all protest prisoners; and fair pay for garment workers.
The protest will start with a one-minute silence to mark 11 years since the Rana Plaza Disaster in Bangladesh, which killed 1,100 garment workers in an entirely preventable building collapse. Rana Plaza factory workers, who made clothes for several UK high-street fashion brands, raised concerns about safety standards – but were not listened to by fashion brands putting profits above workers’ safety. While safety standards have improved, Bangladeshi workers still face unsafe working conditions, and now, persecution for demanding fair pay. The protest will include a walking tour and demonstration outside major fashion brands on Oxford Street, London.
Join us on Wednesday 24 April to stand in solidarity with those facing repression in Bangladesh, and around the world.
