Freds Inc - Justice for workers in Burma and USA

LabourStart.

In recent months, Fred's Inc, a popular discount chain store found primarily in the southeastern United States, has come under close scrutiny on an international level. Following the harassment and eventual dismissal of union activists at the company's distribution center in Memphis last year, Fred's has drawn fire from both labor and civil rights communities for its apparent disregard of labor rights around the world.

Amidst the swirling allegations of harassment, racism, and unfair labor practices domestically, Fred's tacit support of the brutal military regime in Burma has come to light, adding to the company's dismal labor record.

In late May 2003, United Students Against Sweatshops and UNITE jointly released a report linking Fred's Inc. and the brutal regime in Burma, a nation whose tarnished and battered human rights record is known world wide. Well documented reports of slave labor, sweatshops, systematic rape, and the military conscription of children in the Southeast Asian country have sparked global protest, and many major retailers, including Tommy Hilfiger and Wal-Mart, have pulled their business from Burma. Even the American Apparel and Footwear Association has officially withdrawn from Burma, calling for a "law banning apparel and footwear imports from Burma until the human rights of its people are respected."

Despite this international trend, Fred's continues to support the military regime of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) through its use of Burmese contractors. According to a UNITE report, Fred's imported $2.7 million worth of apparel from Burma in a recent one month period, roughly 6% of all apparel and textile imports from Burma to the U.S. in that month.

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