The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) recently sent letters to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed and its main garment trade association expressing concern over criminal charges against labour leaders, mass firing of workers and the future of worker safety. The letter urged Dhaka to withdraw all criminal charges against labour leaders. The letter, signed by AAFA president and chief executive officer Rick Helfenbein, requested the Bangladesh Government to end the uncertainty over the future of Western worker safety initiatives and redouble government efforts to have the Remediation Coordination Cell (RCC) inspect and remediate all factories in the garment industry as soon as possible, according to an AAFA press release. It also requested the government to encourage factory owners to reinstate the over 1,000 workers fired as a result of labour protests over the minimum wage earlier this year.
