Two and a half years after having jointly set up in November 2014 the 'German alliance for a sustainable textile sector', which also gathers companies and NGOs together the German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Gerd Müller and the president of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) Reiner Hoffmann have decided to go even further. On 19 July they secured a partnership aimed at supporting the creation of strong unions, initially targeting Asia (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan, and Myanmar). For this the Development Ministry will fund a coordination center that will be managed by the global union federation, IndustriALL Global Union with support from DGB experts. The DGB experts are tasked with helping local unions to negotiate decent salaries for workers. According to the DGB president this partnership opens a 'new chapter in development policy.'
Strong trade unions. Children working down the mines, textile companies with no fire protection, miserable wages paid to coffee plantation agriculture workers… during signing of the partnership declaration the German Development Minister Gerd Müller recalled that our prosperity came at a cost and that it was coming about to the detriment of workers in developing countries.
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