By telling police they were rapedby factory bosses, two braveseamstresses have focused an internationalspotlight on the sordidside of the U.S. free trade agreement withJordan.The USW and the union-supported Institutefor Global Labour and Human Rightshelped the women guest workers reportthe rapes and organized an internationalcampaign against abuses that appear to berampant in Jordan’s garment industry.The campaign threatens to close downClassic Fashions, Jordan’s largest garmentexporter to the <strong>United</strong> States, and mayultimately force government and industry toimprove conditions for thousands of foreignguest workers in Jordan, mostly womenfrom South Asia.Jordan has become a magnet for apparelmanufacturing in the 10 years since the<strong>United</strong> States ratified a free trade agreementallowing American companies to importgoods from Jordan without duties.The campaign has sought help fromQueen Rania of Jordan and launched anon-line petition that demands protectionfor foreign workers in Jordan, removal ofabusive factory managers and compensationfor those workers who have been harmed.Incredible courageInstitute Director Charles Kernaghansaid it took incredible courage for a27-year-old Bangladeshi seamstress he calls“Nazma” to identify Classic manager AnilSantha to Jordanian police as her attacker,and for a second victim he calls “Anowara”to identify Classic production managerFaruk Miah as her attacker.“Now, it is our turn to stand up andmake certain that no one, ever again sexuallyabuses any of the thousands of youngguest workers who are sewing garments atClassic for duty-free export to the <strong>United</strong>States,” said Kernaghan, who was recognizedat this year’s USW Convention for hiswork in helping disenfranchised workersaround the world.“Nazma,” a pseudonym used to protectthe rape victim’s identity, swore to policethat Santha ripped her dress off, repeatedlyraped her and bit her in shabby hotel roomsin Irbid, a city near Jordan’s border withSyria. She said the attacks occurred once inMarch and twice in May.Kernaghan and USW Political DirectorTim Waters were in Jordan and witnessedSantha’s arrest. The 46-year-old Sri Lankanfactory manager faces up to 15 years inprison if convicted of rape.Anil Santha, a Sri Lankan manager at aClassic Fashion factory in Jordan, deniesrape charges brought against him by ayoung Bangladeshi worker.AP Photo/ Mohammad Hannon36 USW@Work • Fall 2011
Santha denied the allegations in an interviewwith The Associated Press (AP)as did Sanal Kumar, Classic’s owner.Kumar blamed U.S. labor unions andIsrael for the scandal.U.S. retailers drop ordersClassic, with annual exports of $120million and some 4,900 employees, isJordan’s largest garment exporter tothe <strong>United</strong> States. It produces garmentsfor Wal-Mart, Hanes, Target and Sears.Shortly after the allegations emerged,Macy’s, Land’s End and Kohl’s pulledwork from Classic, Kernaghan said.Kumar told the AP that Classic lost$10 million in orders within four weeksafter the allegations were made publicand said the company would close if itloses the business permanently.Conditions, however, have apparentlyimproved for Classic workers. Paywas increased by 18 percent to 75 centsan hour, take home. And for now, atleast, guest workers are no longer beingslapped, punched, groped, cursed at orraped.Kernaghan said Classic managementput the factory into lockdown and movedsenior male workers to other facilities.The women workers remain terrified andfearful of being spied upon.Report details sufferingThis June, the institute issued a scathingreport, “Sexual Predators and SerialRapists Run Wild at Wal-Mart Supplierin Jordan,” that claimed scores of youngwomen who worked at Classic have sufferedsexual abuse, repeated rapes, and insome cases, torture.“It is our intention along with the<strong>United</strong> <strong>Steelworkers</strong> and our women’srights colleagues in Sri Lanka to rescuethe women who have been victimizedand return them safely home to theirfamilies,’’ Kernaghan said in the report.“We expect Wal-Mart, Hanes and theother labels to pay significant compensationto the rape victims to restore somedignity to their lives,” he added. “This isthe least they can do.”Altogether, Jordan’s largely foreignownedgarment factories employ morethan 30,000 foreign guest workers, mostpoor and female. They come from SriLanka, Bangladesh, India, China, Nepaland Egypt.The standard work week at Classicis 13 hours a day, six and seven days aweek, with 18-hour shifts common beforeclothing must be shipped to customersin the <strong>United</strong> States.No heat or hot waterAccording to witness testimoniescited in the report, workers were routinelycursed at, hit and shortchanged of theirwages for failing to reach productiongoals. Women were groped and fondledby managers.The workers are housed in primitive,bug-infested dormitories with no heator hot water. Freedom of movement islimited with women allowed to leavethe compound just once a week for sixhours.Sri Lankan women used cell phonesto tape testimonies in their native Sinhaleselanguage. The tapes were given tothe institute in December 2010 during avisit to Jordan and were translated intoEnglish back in the <strong>United</strong> States.“When we were finally able to watchthe tapes, we sat there and cried,’’ Kernaghanwrote in a preface to his report.“We were stunned at how these youngSri Lankan women had been raped andtortured while sewing clothing for thelargest retailer on earth, Wal-Mart, andfor Hanes, the most popular label in the<strong>United</strong> States.”The women said they were motivatedto testify by the desire to keep othersfrom the same fate, and if they couldsave one person from experiencingwhat they had suffered, they would feelvindicated.Little has been doneThe institute and its predecessor organization,the <strong>National</strong> Labor Committee,have made the Jordanian Minister of Laborand others aware of the sexual abuseallegations, but little has been done.Most U.S. retailers have been usingthird-party monitors to pay surprise visitsto the foreign factories that manufacturetheir products. But Kernaghan said theexperiences in Jordan prove that usingmonitors to ensure factories comply withhuman rights doesn’t work.A supervisor stands inside the ClassicFashion factory in Irbid, Jordan.AP Photo/Mohammad HannonUSW@Work • Fall 2011 37
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