The past three months have been a difficult time for all of us, but it has been devastating for workers who have lost their jobs or are being forced to work under hazardous conditions in order to feed and house themselves and their families.

From personal support workers caring for our elderly friends and relatives, to migrant workers harvesting our food in southern Ontario and BC, to garment workers sewing our clothes in factories around the world – low-wage workers are bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related economic crisis.

Throughout the period of the pandemic, MSN has been working with our allies in garment producing countries in Latin America and Asia, and with counterparts at the international level, to help mitigate the disastrous impacts of the crisis on workers’ lives and livelihoods.

As a consequence of COVID-19, many garment and sportswear brands have been cancelling their orders, and thousands of factories have closed, sending workers home en masse, often without pay. Those factories that have remained open have done so despite the significant health risk to workers.

As other factories begin to reopen, the lack of adequate health and safety measures is exposing more workers and their families to the risk of contagion.

Defending Workers’ Rights and Livelihoods in the Time of the Pandemic
As an active member of the Clean Clothes Campaign global network, MSN is calling on brands and retailers to “Pay Up” in full for all orders placed with suppliers and to provide assurances to the workers who make their products that they will receive their full wages and benefits, while their workplaces are closed. Access campaign information here.

In Central America, MSN is working on several cases where workers report that their employers are not complying with legal requirements on wage payments during temporary factory closure or appropriate health and safety protocols when they reopen. In Guatemala, the country with the highest number of deaths in the region, we are supporting labour partners in developing a coherent set of demands for government, employers and brands to ensure healthy workplaces and provide workers with adequate financial support.

For regular updates on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on garment workers around the world, and how labour rights groups are mobilizing support for those workers through the crisis, visit our COVID-19 webpage.  

A new era for labour rights in Mexico?
MSN continues to monitor and report on Mexico’s progress in implementing its long-awaited labour justice reform, which has been delayed due to the pandemic, and whether Mexico is complying with the labour provisions of the new tri-national trade agreement, called USMCA in the US, CUSMA in Canada, and T-MEC in Mexico.

On July 1, that agreement came into effect, and two days later, MSN published a new Briefing Paper on Labour Rights Enforcement in the USMCA. The briefing paper is available here. 

One disturbing development that has called into question Mexico’s commitment to genuine labour justice reform was the arbitrary arrest and detention of independent labour lawyer, Susana Prieto Terrazas, on June 8 in the northern border city of Matamoros. Prieto Terrazas has been actively involved in the struggles of maquila workers in that city for decent wages and a democratic union. Recently, she provided support to workers protesting unsafe working conditions due to exposure to the coronavirus.

In response to mounting national and international protests leading up to the inauguration of the USMCA, on July 1, Prieto Terrazas was released from prison by the state government. However, the conditions set for her release include unjust restrictions on her freedom of movement and ability to provide support to maquila workers. You can find more information here. 

Our MSN team -- working virtually from our home offices in Toronto, Mexico and San Salvador -- would like to thank you for your continuing support for our efforts to ensure that the rights of garment workers to decent and safe working conditions, wages that meet their basic needs, and freedom to form or join unions of their free choice are fully respected.

In solidarity,

Lynda Yanz, for the MSN team