Transfield Services AGM Protest

Press Release 05/11/2014

Transfield Shame: Stop the Cruelty at Offshore Detention Centres – Blood money boosts Transfield Profits

Refugee Action Coalition Sydney, along with Corner Link, gather in front of Museum of Sydney today to protest at Transfield’s  AGM against its inhumane and cruel management of the offshore refugee detention centres located in Nauru and Manus Island.

According to Guardian Australia, Government’s policy of mandatory detention for asylum seekers has benefited contractors by up to $10bn since mid-2007. Of this, Transfield Services Limited has nine contracts worth a total of $2.46bn, including a contract for $2.1bn to manage the offshore detention centres on Manus Island and Nauru.  An estimate of government spending on each asylum seeker which considered all costs (rather than just contracts) and put the cost of offshore detention per person at about $440,000 in 2013-14, and onshore at $239,000.

However, the protest organizer, Ian Rintoul of the Refugee  Action Coalition points out, “Transfield is trading in human misery and profiteering from the human rights abuses of the Government’s off-shore processing regime.

“The company cannot even maintain basic supplies of water and electricity on Nauru or Manus Island. Manus Island is an unsanitary hell-hole that killed Hamid Kezaie.

“Transfield is also responsible for routinely using physical force to intimidate and suppress peaceful protests inside the detention centres it controls.

“In recent weeks, peaceful protests in the family camp of Nauru have been attacked by Transfield thugs, who have also been responsible for assaults carried out during forced searches in the camp.

“We call upon Transfield to end its collaboration with the Australian Government’s offshore processing regime.

“The government’s current mandatory detention and offshore processing policies ignore Australian humanitarian obligations to provide protection to refugees. Blood money is boosting Transfield’s profits. It is a stain Transfield will never recover from.”

Transfield has already been the target of boycott by artists associated with the Biennale of Sydney that resulted in the Biennale terminating its links with Transfield earlier this year. Transfield is also the target of a superannuation disinvestment campaign because of its complicity in violating the human rights of asylum seekers.

Joyce Fu, from Corner Link said, “As a public company listed on ASX, Transfield Service has the obligation to meet its corporate social responsibility agenda. What has happened in detention centres on Nauru and Manus Island is not acceptable.

“This type of inhumane and cruel practice has seriously damaged its reputation and has shown its incompetence to fulfil a humanitarian role. Furthermore, it is obvious that mandatory detention and  offshore processing is based wholly on deterrence and the systematic denial of the protection that asylum seekers need.”

Contacts:

Ian Rintoul, Refugee Action Coalition, +61 (0) 417 275 713, rintoulian10@gmail.com (wwwrefugeeaction.org.au)

Joyce Fu, Corner Link- Taking actions to promote environmental and social justice, +61 (0) 405 365 493, jfu@cornerlink.asia

Sydney Stands with Cambodian Garment Workers

Join the International Call to Action: Fight for a Living Wage in Solidarity with Cambodian Garment Workers!

The Cambodian Garment Workers Fashion Show “Beautiful Clothes, Ugly Reality!” (25 May 2014)

Sep 17th (Wed) 12PM

Starting at ZARA, then Adidas and GAP (Pitt Street Mall, 188 Pitt St Sydney)

This call to action follows Cambodian unions’ general strike to increase the national minimum wage in January, in which 5 workers were killed, 40 seriously injured and 25 workers arrested. Despite the violence and repression, Cambodian garment workers are continuing to fight to lift the minimum wage from $100 to $177 USD per month for workers who produce for international brands like ZARA, Adidas and GAP who profit off poverty wages and sweatshop conditions in Cambodia.

Eight multinational companies have been targeted for this campaign. Five of them have a store in Sydney, including Zara, Adidas, The Gap, Levi Strauss and Puma. Because the first three are all located at Pitt Street Mall, we decide on taking action against them. We will meet in front of ZARA/Pitt Street Mall on Pitt St. at 12pm. Since Westfield Shopping Mall is a private property, demonstrators are not allowed in. Representatives from the group will deliver our letters to the nearby Adidas and GAP.

Please spread the word and share this to your network. We need to have a strong voice against sweatshops and show our support toward garment workers in Cambodia.

Welcome to bring your own signs/posters with messages to the stores and the customers.

Please RSVP on Eventbrite website under the event name. Or, register your interest on our Facebook Page.

Fair Wages for Fair Work

Many world famous apparel brands are produced in Cambodia, including (but not limited to) H&M, Zara, Puma, Levi’s,  Adidas/Reebok, Old Navy/GAP, C&A and Walmart.  These brands are known globally for their quality, attractiveness and price. Their CEOs such as GAP Inc. earned up to US$19 million per year – sometimes a thousand times more per hour than the workers in their retail stores, and far more than that when compared to the garment workers’ wages. Furthermore, these companies make tremendous annual profits such as Adidas made of approximately US$1.5 billion and H&M made about US$2.62 billion in 2013.

The Cambodian Garment Workers Fashion Show “Beautiful Clothes, Ugly Reality!” (25 May 2014)

Cambodia’s textile industry employs about 700,000 workers, and most are young women migrating from rural areas. They work 10 to 12 hours a day, six or seven days a week, earning a minimum wage of US$100 per month. Compared to the brand companies, workers in the factories only get tiny. Based on a government calculation of the minimum wage needed to cover basic necessities in Cambodia, US$177 per month is demanded for survival.

Garment workers want dignity and a decent living, just like everyone else. A living wage of $177 per month and better working conditions have been advocated by the labor unions. However, these demands have been ignored. Instead workers face horrible treatment from the government and security forces such as repression, imprisonment, and even deadly violence.

Garment workers in Cambodia deserve to live in dignity and receive a fair wage. Poverty wages mean that many workers are undernourished and compelled to work exhausting overtime hours to survive. The income gap between garment workers and the selected CEOs of brand companies needs to be closed.

Please join the International Call to Action: Fight for a Living Wage in Solidarity with Cambodian Garment Workers on Sep 17. Please find a place near you. 

Taiwan’s Defense Department Against Manufacture and Investment in Mass Destruction Weapons

Legislature Bi-khim Hsiao asked the Ministry of National Defense about their attitude towards domestic financial institutions’ (Hua Nan Commercial Bank, Land Bank of Taiwan, E. Sun and Taipei Fubon) continued investment in the U.S. cluster bomb manufacturer ATK (Alliant Techsystems)

On 26 December 2013, during the Parliament questioning time, Deputy Defense Minister Andrew Hsia in the Legislative Yuan expressly pointed out that, although Taiwan is unable to sign onto the international conventions, based on a responsible member of the international society, Taiwan will not develop, neither produce, the mass destruction weapons which prohibited by the international treaties/conventions, including nuclear weapons. In the meantime, Taiwan’s financial institutions should comply with the relevant international norms and should not be involved in providing loans to or investing in the foreign arms companies which are in violation of any international conventions, or manufacturing mass destruction weapons.

[youtube http://youtu.be/UpaMSljPyLQ]

1212 “Stop Explosive Investments” Global Day of Action

Press Conference Media Release (12/12/2013)
“Stop Explosive Investments” Global Day of Action

Three Taiwanese Banks Asked to Stop Investments in Cluster Munitions Producer

December 12 is the “Stop Explosive Investments” Global Day of Action. Corner Link, Taiwan Labor Front, Taiwan Friends of Global Greens and Green Consumer Foundation, together with Legislature Bi-Khim Hsiao and Legislature Chiu-Chin Tien, host the press conference to ask Chang Hwa Commercial Bank, First Financial and Hua Nan Financial to stop providing loans to ATK (Alliant Techsystems Inc.) for producing cluster munitions.

Press Conference, Left to Right: Joyce Fu, Congresswoman Chiu-Chin Tien, Yu-Lian Son, and Han-Chiang Pan (Photo taken by Tzuying Wu)

A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapons that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Because cluster bombs release many small bomblets over a wide area, they pose risks to civilians both during attacks and afterwards. They cannot distinguish civilians from soldiers. In recent years, cluster munitions were still used in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria. The unexploded rate could reach as high as 30%. Long after a conflict has ended, unexploded bombies can still kill or injure civilians, and most of them are kids. After 40 years of Vietnam War, Laos is still suffered from the cluster bombs dropped by the Americans.

According to “Worldwide Investments in Cluster Munitions: a shared responsibility”, in October 2010, ATK secured a US$1,000 million five-year credit facility, comprising a US$600 million revolver and a US$400 million term loan. Chang Hwa Commercial Bank, First Financial and Hua Nan Financial were parts of the syndicate of 20 banks and provided US$10, 10 and 15 millions respectively. According to ATK 2013 Q3 Financial Statement, as of 29 September 2013, Chang Hwa Commercial Bank has invested US$6.125 millions, First Financial US$6.125 millions and Hua Nan Financial US$9.1875 millions.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions entered into force on 1 August 2010 which prohibits all use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions. As a responsible member of the international society, as well as CSR (corporate social responsibility) of the financial institutes, we ask these three Taiwanese banks to change their investment policy and promise not to invest in any cluster munitions producers in the future.

*Please check out the link to the video shown at the press conference. Thanks to Avis Chang for editing it.