<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><br class=""><div><div class="">Begin forwarded message:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);" class=""><b class="">From: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">"Eric Gottwald, International Labor Rights Forum" <<a href="mailto:laborrights@ilrf.org" class="">laborrights@ilrf.org</a>><br class=""></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);" class=""><b class="">Subject: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class=""><b class="">Rights abuses in Peru confirmed by Dept. of Labor</b><br class=""></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);" class=""><b class="">Date: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">March 22, 2016 at 6:29:21 AM EDT<br class=""></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);" class=""><b class="">To: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">Citizen Trade Campaign Citizen Trade Campaign <<a href="mailto:info@citizenstrade.org" class="">info@citizenstrade.org</a>><br class=""></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);" class=""><b class="">Reply-To: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">"Eric Gottwald, International Labor Rights Forum" <<a href="mailto:laborrights@ilrf.org" class="">laborrights@ilrf.org</a>><br class=""></span></div><br class=""><div class=""><table class="socialMediaTable" style="width:600px;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td align="right" valign="top" height="32" class=""><!--NEON_TELL_FRIEND_SATRT--><span class=""><a title="Tell a Friend" href="https://laborrights.z2systems.com/nps//servlet/DisplayLink?orgId=laborrights&emailId=acfcbc6b7e6407bcf9bd82aa562d5038am6090072acf&secureId=koOKCI5VvqJjYIZFoccbWA%3D%3D&linkId=6210&targetUrl=http://laborrights.z2systems.com/np/clients/laborrights/tellFriendCampaign.jsp?emailId=acfcbc6b7e6407bcf9bd82aa562d5038am6090072acf&url=http://laborrights.z2systems.com/np/clients/laborrights/viewOnlineEmail.jsp" class="urlDisableClick" target="_blank"><img height="32" width="32" src="https://laborrights.z2systems.com/np/images/tell-friend.png" class=""></a></span><!--NEON_TELL_FRIEND_END--></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" style="width:600px;font-family: Arial" class=""><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td style="font-size:xx-small;" class="">If you're having trouble viewing this email, you may <a href="https://laborrights.z2systems.com/nps//servlet/DisplayLink?orgId=laborrights&emailId=acfcbc6b7e6407bcf9bd82aa562d5038am6090072acf&secureId=koOKCI5VvqJjYIZFoccbWA%3D%3D&linkId=6202&targetUrl=http://laborrights.z2systems.com/np/clients/laborrights/viewOnlineEmail.jsp?emailId=acfcbc6b7e6407bcf9bd82aa562d5038am6090072acf" class="urlDisableClick" target="_blank">see it online</a></td></tr><tr class=""><td align="center" valign="top" height="" style="" class=""><p class=""><img alt="" height="38" src="https://laborrights.z2systems.com/neon/resource/laborrights/images/donations%20short%20header%20850%20pixels.jpg" style="width: 650px; height: 38px;" width="650" class=""></p></td></tr><tr class=""><td align="left" valign="top" style="" class=""><p class="">Dear Citizen Trade Campaign,</p>
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</table><p style="text-align: justify;" class="">In Peru, it is perfectly legal for companies that export clothes and fresh produce to the U.S. to hire workers on short-term, temporary contracts that can be renewed indefinitely. Employers regularly use this practice, allowed under Peru’s Non-Traditional Export Promotion (NTEP) Law, to <strong class="">bust unions</strong>. It happens like this: if workers attempt to organize to improve wages and working conditions, their bosses just <strong class="">refuse to renew their contracts</strong>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="">On Friday, the <strong class="">United States Department of Labor (DOL) responded to a trade complaint filed last summer by ILRF </strong>and Peruvian trade unions to challenge the NTEP law and other abuses. DOL <a href="https://laborrights.z2systems.com/nps//servlet/DisplayLink?orgId=laborrights&emailId=acfcbc6b7e6407bcf9bd82aa562d5038am6090072acf&secureId=koOKCI5VvqJjYIZFoccbWA%3D%3D&linkId=6209&targetUrl=http://ilrf.org/releases/us-department-labor-releases-report-finding-serious-labor-rights-abuses-key-peruvian-export" class="">released a report</a> that <strong class="">confirms what we’ve known for years</strong>. The report suggested that the NTEP law “embolden[s] employers who seek to undermine” workers’ rights to unionize, because companies “have little fear of…repercussions.” As a result, DOL acknowledged, workers could “find it more difficult to exercise their…rights without <strong class="">fear of retaliation</strong>.” The report also highlighted concerns around Peru’s systematic failures to enforce its labor laws.</p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="">ILRF welcomes DOL’s findings on Peruvian labor law, and we stand behind the report’s recommendations on how Peru should fix its laws to protect workers’ union rights. But ultimately, what matters most is <strong class="">what happens next</strong>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="">Despite DOL’s strong findings, <a href="https://laborrights.z2systems.com/nps//servlet/DisplayLink?orgId=laborrights&emailId=acfcbc6b7e6407bcf9bd82aa562d5038am6090072acf&secureId=koOKCI5VvqJjYIZFoccbWA%3D%3D&linkId=6201&targetUrl=http://ilrf.org/releases/us-department-labor-releases-report-finding-serious-labor-rights-abuses-key-peruvian-export" class="">the report</a> provides <strong class="">no deadline for Peru</strong> to make the suggested legal and policy reforms. The U.S. Government commits only to reviewing the progress Peru “may make” in nine months. This <strong class="">lack of urgency is disappointing</strong>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="">Right now, the controversial <strong class="">Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)</strong> – a mega-trade deal that includes Peru - is stalled in Congress until after the November elections. If the TPP is enacted, <strong class="">Peru will immediately be in violation of the agreement’s labor standards unless it implements the necessary reforms. </strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="">We’ll keep you posted on Peru’s response, what it all means for workers, and how you can help in the months to come. In the meantime, you can read <strong class="">ILRF’s full statement</strong> on the report, and the report itself, <a href="https://laborrights.z2systems.com/nps//servlet/DisplayLink?orgId=laborrights&emailId=acfcbc6b7e6407bcf9bd82aa562d5038am6090072acf&secureId=koOKCI5VvqJjYIZFoccbWA%3D%3D&linkId=6205&targetUrl=http://ilrf.org/releases/us-department-labor-releases-report-finding-serious-labor-rights-abuses-key-peruvian-export" class="">on our website</a>.</p><p class="">Thanks so much for your support of ILRF’s work for trade justice!</p>
<div class="">In Solidarity,</div>
<div class="">Eric Gottwald</div>
<div class="">Legal and Policy Director</div></td></tr><tr class=""><td align="center" valign="top" height="" style="background-color: #e3e3e3" class=""><p style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size:11px;" class=""><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); line-height: normal; text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size:12px;" class="">This email was sent by the</span> </span><a href="https://laborrights.z2systems.com/nps//servlet/DisplayLink?orgId=laborrights&emailId=acfcbc6b7e6407bcf9bd82aa562d5038am6090072acf&secureId=koOKCI5VvqJjYIZFoccbWA%3D%3D&linkId=6203&targetUrl=http://laborrights.org" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: normal; text-align: center;" target="_blank" class="">International Labor Rights Forum</a><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); line-height: normal; text-align: center;" class="">. </span><br class="">
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