News

RemakeWalmart.org is a new website which features the global campaign efforts to hold Walmart accountable for labour and human rights violations.  The UNI Global Union Alliance @ Walmart is featured on the website as well as the issues concerning Walmart’s supply chain and  irresponsible expansion into places like India.

Here are some things you may not know about Walmart and its workers:

United States: If Walmart paid workers at least $25,000 US a year to workers in the US and provided full-time work, our families, our stores, our economy would improve. Studies show that if Walmart and other retailers paid $25,000 US a year for full-time work, almost 1.5 million workers in the US would be lifted out of poverty or the margin of poverty, retail sales would increase, and 100,000 new jobs would be created.

Brazil - Walmart has a number of pending fines at local and national levels in Brazil which could amount to more than US10 million US dollars.  Walmart is on record in its first 2014 Quarterly Report that the company is receiving far more than the anticipated number of worker claims.

Mexico – Bribery and corruption allegations have continued without any accountability within Walmart being made public; over $400 million spent by Walmart so far on these investigations.  Calls for Walmart’s Chairman of the Board, Rob Walton to stand down are increasing over the company’s failure to deal transparently with widespread corruption allegations which were first brought to light in 2012 by a New York Times investigation.

India – There is widespread opposition in the country to Walmart entering the market because of fears it would put smaller India retailers out of business. The Walmart model is not wanted in India by the majority of the public, small businesses, traders and vendors. If India’s e-commerce regulations are changed to allow Walmart and other retailers to sell to individual consumers and sell through the “back door”, these laws will be challenged.

Bangladesh –UNI Global Union affiliates joined in the global day of solidarity on April 24th to demand that Walmart  pay full and fair compensation to the victims of the Rana Plaza building collapse and the Tazreen fire: to the children who were orphaned, to the injured workers, and to the families of the people who were killed. UNI and its partners are calling on Walmart to pay a total of $17 million to the Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund. As the largest buyer from Tazreen, it’s urgent that Walmart immediately pay $5 million to the Tazreen victims. Walmart should sign onto the legally-binding Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, an agreement between more than 150 companies with UNI and IndustriALL global unions and ten Bangladeshi unions.