And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: >Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1998 07:37:18 -0600 (CST) >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Chiapas95-english) >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: En;HR Watch:Maquiladoras Abuse Women's Rights,Dec.30 > >This message is forwarded to you as a service of Zapatistas Online. > > >Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1998 16:39:23 -0800 >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >From: Commandante Null <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: Multiple recipients of list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Maquiladoras Abuse Women's Rights, Says U.S. Group > >Maquiladoras Abuse Women's Rights, Says U.S. Group > >By ANDREW DOWNIE >CR 1998 By ANDREW DOWNIE > >MEXICO CITY, Dec. 29, 1998 � Top international companies running >"maquiladora'' factories along Mexico's border with the United States are >flouting Mexican and international law by forcing women to undergo >pregnancy tests as a condition of employment, Human Rights Watch said today. > >A host of companies require female job applicants to produce urine samples >to be used for pregnancy tests, while some have company doctors and nurses >examine the applicants or ask for confidential information concerning their >contraceptive practices, the New York-based organization added. > >Women found to be pregnant are refused employment, the group said in a >report on the discrimination allegations. "This is flagrant sex >discrimination that these corporations would never dare to defend or >practice in their own countries,'' said Regan Ralph, executive director of >Human Rights Watch's Women's Rights Division. "The Mexican government has >abandoned women workers to the discriminatory employment practices of >"maquiladora" operators. Women are left having to choose between a job and >their rights.'' > >Citing the cases of 53 women who reported discrimination in the cities of >Ciudad Juarez, Reynosa, Rio Bravo and Tijuana, the report said some >companies required women to take pregnancy tests after being hired and >claimed a few even forced female employees to produce evidence of >menstruation to prove they were not pregnant. > >Among the companies carrying out the tests are: > >Landis & Staefa, > >Samsung Group, > >Matsushita Electric Corp., > >Sunbeam-Oster, Sanyo, > >Thomson Corporate Worldwide, > >Siemens AG, Lear, > >Johnson Controls, > >Tyco International and Pacific Dunlop, > >the report said. > >Human Rights Watch criticized the legal recourses available to affected >employees and called on the Mexican government to do more to protect its >workers. > >The report's authors said the Mexican government claims that pre-employment >pregnancy testing does not contravene its laws because its legislation >covers job holders, not job applicants. > >Rejecting that interpretation, Ralph said: "When corporations say that this >discrimination is permissible under Mexican labor law, they are in fact >hiding behind Mexico's own negligence. The Mexican government's defense is >weak and phony. It is reinterpreting Mexican law to suit its case.'' > >Officials at Mexico's Commerce and Industry Ministry, the government branch >that oversees the "maquiladora'' industry, did not return telephone calls, >and representatives of the companies cited could not be reached for comment. > >Last change: Dec. 29, 1998 > > > >To share your thoughts about this article or any other in LatinoLink, send >email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please indicate whether your words are for >publication. Gracias! > >NPC Information Associates >[EMAIL PROTECTED] >770-457-6758 >"Intelligence for the Underdog!" > >-- >To unsubscribe from this list send a message containing the words >unsubscribe chiapas95 to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Previous messages >are available from http://www.eco.utexas.edu/faculty/Cleaver/chiapas95.html >or gopher://eco.utexas.edu. > <<<<=-=-=FREE LEONARD PELTIER=-=-=>>>> If you think you are too small to make a difference; try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito.... African Proverb <<<<=-=http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ =-=>>>> IF it says: "PASS THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW...." Please Check it before you send it at: http://urbanlegends.miningco.com/library/blhoax.htm
