Behind the brand names

Abstract

This report focuses on the experiences of workers in the zones, mainly young women, who are often employed in low skill repetitive work in enterprises with poor labour standards and harsh working conditions. It includes a series of case studies, commissioned from journalists, who investigated employment practices and labour rights in export processing zones in Bangladesh, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka. We also have added to our report two case studies from the aid agency CAFOD which investigated labour practices in the electronics industry in China and Mexico in 2003. All the case studies show how workers in the zones, struggling to set up trade unions to improve wages and working conditions, face hostility and resistance from governments and employers.