[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 57 (Thursday, April 14, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2101-S2102]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 426--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT THE 
UNITED STATES SHOULD SUPPORT AND PROTECT THE RIGHT OF WOMEN WORKING IN 
    DEVELOPING COUNTRIES TO SAFE WORKPLACES, FREE FROM GENDER-BASED 
                 VIOLENCE, REPRISALS, AND INTIMIDATION

  Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Markey, and Mr. Brown) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 426

       Whereas women in developing countries who join the 
     industrial workforce suffer from, or become increasingly 
     vulnerable to, economic violence, including forced overtime, 
     wage theft, abusive short term contracts, discrimination, 
     sexual harassment, and violence at work;
       Whereas women typically make up the majority of the 
     workforce in industries in which the rights of workers have 
     been restricted, including--
       (1) export manufacturing (including the global apparel 
     industry); and
       (2) other export sectors (including the cut flowers and 
     fresh produce industries);
       Whereas sexual violence is often used by a male manager as 
     a means of intimidation or punishment when a female worker 
     makes a mistake, fails to meet a production target, asks for 
     leave, or arrives late to work;
       Whereas women are particularly vulnerable to violence and 
     intimidation at work due to--
       (1) the frequently disproportionate number of male 
     managers;
       (2) the lack of policing and reporting of sexual 
     harassment; and
       (3) common cultural norms that assert male dominance and 
     place disproportionate pressure on women to maintain their 
     income and support their children and elders;
       Whereas a survey of female garment industry workers in 
     Bangladesh revealed that--
       (1) nearly \1/3\ of respondents had been a recipient of an 
     unwelcome sexual overture, inappropriate touching, or a 
     threat of being forced to undress; and
       (2) nearly \1/2\ of respondents had been beaten or struck 
     in the face by a supervisor;
       Whereas some of the most deadly accidents in industrial 
     history have occurred in export processing industries in 
     which female workers predominate, including--
       (1) the fire at Ali Enterprises in Pakistan in 2012, the 
     deadliest apparel factory fire in history, in which the lives 
     of 259 workers were lost; and
       (2) the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in 2013, in 
     which the lives of 1,134 Bangladeshi workers were lost and 
     2,500 more workers were injured, the majority of whom were 
     women;

[[Page S2102]]

       Whereas these and other industrial accidents have occurred 
     in facilities that were monitored and certified as safe and 
     decent workplaces by private, voluntary corporate social 
     responsibility initiatives invested in by global brands from 
     the United States and Europe;
       Whereas female workers are often knowingly exposed to 
     dangerous and life-threatening machinery or toxic substances 
     that are no longer used in developed nations due to their 
     reproductive or general health effects, without even simple 
     safety measures like gloves or face masks; and
       Whereas research shows that--
       (1) workers who are well-informed about health and safety 
     facilitate safer workplaces; and
       (2) legal protections that allow elected labor union 
     representatives of workers to raise safety and other concerns 
     without fear of reprisals are essential for worker safety: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the 
     United States should--
       (1) support policies that create safe and decent jobs in 
     developing countries, which are critical to ensuring peaceful 
     and sustainable economic growth and development in a 
     globalized world;
       (2) support policies that reduce gender-based violence, and 
     other forms of discrimination, at work, and that improve the 
     ability of women workers to speak out in defense of their 
     rights without fear of reprisals;
       (3) encourage the development of an International Labour 
     Conference Convention to address gender-based violence at 
     work;
       (4) promote labor rights in trade agreements and enforce 
     the right of women and other workers to join a labor union to 
     defend their other rights and safety;
       (5) use diplomatic means and international aid--
       (A) to end violence against women in the workplace; and
       (B) to empower women and other workers to participate fully 
     in their economies and to protect their safety; and
       (6) encourage United States companies with international 
     supply chains, and Federal agencies involved in procurement, 
     to increase transparency and accountability in order to 
     ensure that products are produced in workplaces that--
       (A) work aggressively to end gender-based workplace 
     violence; and
       (B) respect the rights of women workers.

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