Picking cotton in Uzbekistan. Chris Shervey/Flickr. (CC 2.0 by)
Cotton: we all wear it. Its trade has contributed to the evolution of the global economy, and abusive, exploitative, and unfree labour have plagued its production from the outset. This continues today in the cotton sectors of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. This is why we’re urging the governmental, employer, and worker members of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to discuss Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan during the 2016 International Labour Conference (ILC) session on decent work in global supply chains.
More than one million citizens and farmers are forced to pick cotton and deliver production quotas every year, all under the threat of punishment.
