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Next Collections Ltd. 1323-1325, Beron, Ashulia Dhaka-1341 Bangladesh Head Office (Ha-Meem Group) 241, Tejgaon Industrial Area Dhaka, Bangladesh
Despite the mind-numbing mandatory overtime, if an exhausted worker arrives even a minute late to work, he or she will be docked their entire attendance bonus. If a worker punches his or her timecard out a minute early, he or she will be docked an entire hour’s wages. Physical punishment is the norm at Next Collections. No matter how many hours a worker has toiled, if she makes an error in production, she will be slapped, shoved or even punched. Anyone who dares challenge the gross human, women’s and workers’ rights violations will be immediately fired. When a young woman helper makes a mistake, management humiliates her in front of all her co-workers, forcing her to stand in front of her sewing line for oneand-a-half hours. Young women are routinely robbed of their legal, paid maternity leave. Once a woman is six months preg-
nant, management begins to harass and bully her to “get out.” These women are fired (or forced to resign) with nothing — denied their maternity benefits, paid vacation days they have earned, their severance pay and sick days. We will provide many concrete examples of how young women workers have been abused and robbed. On Saturday, June 22, 2013, buyers from Gap and Old Navy arrived at the Next Collections factory at around 10:30 a.m. Workers said the buyers looked like us: like “white foreigners.” As always happens before Gap auditors arrive, workers were alerted by management over a loud speaker that buyers were coming. Workers knew the routine and were ready to respond with lies, as instructed: “We work just two hours of overtime a day... We are always paid double time for these overtime hours... Factory conditions are very good... We are given face masks and caps... Yes, there are needle guards...”
Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights