Many actions took place across the globe as part of ICL’s month of action in solidarity with workers dismissed in Bangladesh by Dragon Group, between August 15th and September 15th.
Despite the difficulties imposed by the current health emergency, the response by our sections and contacts has been impressive. During the month, actions have taken place in Germany (Hamburg, Dresden, Freiburg and Bonn, among others), the Iberian Peninsula (Iruña, Valladolid and Aranjuez), Argentina, Brazil, Ireland (Belfast and Derry), Sri Lanka, Myanmar and the United Kingdom.
At the same time, and coincidental with the month of action, workers in Bangladesh have held a multitude of events, demonstrations and rallies, even laying siege to the labour ministry.
In addition, German comrades have created the website unitedagainstthedragon.info to make it easier to send complaints to the brands.
However, despite this pressure, the company refuses to make any concessions. Negotiations have broken down and the bosses are using a nationalist rhetoric, branding the workers “unpatriotic”.
For all these reasons, ICL’s Asia working group will maintain and increase the pressure on the company in the coming weeks, with different initiatives. We hope to have your solidarity for this endeavour, as has been the case this far.
Big thank you to all our internationalist comrades who have participated in the different actions. Without a doubt, solidarity is still our best weapon in these difficult times.
1. August 15th: Pickets at Lidl and ASDA stores across Ireland
2. September 8th: Picket at Lidl in Iruñea
3. September 15th: Third picket at New Yorker store in Hamburg
4. August 23rd: Pickets at Lidl in Ireland and Scotland
5. August 23rd: Solidarity from Colombo to Dhaka
6. August 29th: Pickets at Lidl stores in Ireland
7. September 12th: Picket at Lidl store in Freiburg
8. September 19th: Picket at Minto – shopping center with New Yorker store – in Mönchengladbach
9. Greetings of Solidarity from La Bisbal (Spain) to Dhaka
10. September 6th/7th: Textile workers rally and attempt to lay siege on factory owner’s residency in Dhaka
11. August 31st: Workers Rally and block Labor Ministry in Dhaka
12. August 28th: Workers in Dhaka say “Thanks!” for international solidarity.
13. August 22nd: Picket at NewYorker store in Bonn
14. September 22nd: Tour de Classe – Bicycle Rally to Lidl and New Yorker stores in Dresden
15. September 5th: Pickets at Lidl stores in Siegen (Germany)
16. August 22nd: Flyer attack at NewYorker store in Valladoid (Spain)
17. September 10th: Dragon Sweater workers rally after negotiations break down
18. September 2nd: Press coverage of international coordination in Bangladesh
19. September 17th: Workers lay siege to Labor Ministry in Dhaka
20. September 5th: Picket at Lidl store in Belfast
21. August 15th: Picket at BIG (Walmart) in Goiânia (Brazil)
22. September 3rd: Picket at Lidl store in Aranjuez (Spain)
23. August 15th: Rally in front of Lidl in Harburg (Hamburg, Germany)
24. August 29th: Rally held in front of shopping center Mercado (NewYorker) in Hamburg.
25. August 29th: Press Conference held by GWTUC announcing protests.
26. Yangon: Federation of Garment Workers Myanmar stands in Solidarity
27. August 29th: Picket at NewYorker store in Wuppertal
28. September 3rd/4th/8th: Solidarity from Lomas to Dhaka
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