Working conditions in the fashion industry: news and teaching resources round up

News round up: people mourn workers trapped inside the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh last month. Photograph: Andrew Biraj/REUTERS

The deaths of more than 1,100 garment workers when the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed last month, as well as those at a Cambodian shoe factory on Thursday, have forced consumers and retailers to re-examine the impact and ethics of fast fashion.

Here we round up the best news stories, multimedia, teaching resources and websites to help you study the working conditions of garment workers and the sustainability of the fashion industry in the citizenship and geography classroom, and beyond.

Cambodia shoe factory collapse kills workers
On Thursday 16 May a ceiling came down at Wing Star Shoes plant in Cambodia, killing at least two people. The latest in a long line of industrial accidents killing workers in the fashion industry making garments for the west.

Fashion chains sign to help finance safety in Bangladesh factories
Will the collapse of the Rana Plaza building lead to a change in practice? Some of the world's biggest fashion chains, including H&M, Zara, C&A, Tesco and Primark, have signed up to a legally-binding agreement to help finance fire safety and building improvements in the factories they use in Bangladesh. The government in Dhaka has also announced plans to raise the the minimum wage for garment workers.

Eight top fashion retailers fail to sign Bangladesh safety accord
A number of retailers failed to put their names to a Bangladesh safety pact, including Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's and New Look.

Bangladesh building collapse: woman rescued after 17 days speaks of ordeal - video
A woman found alive in the rubble of Dhaka's Rana Plaza after 17 days tells how she got rescuers' attention with a stick as she heard voices above her.

Bangladesh building collapse – pictures
Devastating photographs of the Rana Plaza collapse which killed more than 1,100 people in April 2013.

Fashion doesn't give a damn about garment workers
Thought-provoking comment piece by Lucy Siegle – author of To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out the World – which gives an insight into the fashion industry and how the world's 40 million garment workers work to try and complete near-impossible orders.

Was your T-shirt made in the Dhaka garment factory? You have no idea
Applying any ethical criteria is challenging when it comes to fashion – so isn't it time we had Fairtrade labelling for clothes?

Death in Bangladesh is too high a price for quick-fix fashion
Blog by 18 year-old fashion lover on how she has stopped buying cheap clothes. She points out teenagers' spending power is worth ￡7bn a year – imagine if that were channelled into buying fewer well-made clothes produced under fair wages.

Time for an international minimum wage
Bangladeshi writer Muhammad Yunus' insightful comment piece is great for sixth formers who want to delve deeper into the how foreign buyers can unite to lift workers out of 'slave labour'.

Desperate poverty behind the tragedy of Dhaka – The Day
An article from schools news service The Day on the terrible race to save victims in the worst recorded industrial accident in Bangladesh. The activity that goes with the article asks: are Western companies to blame?

Ethical clothing lesson
Excellent lesson written by citizenship and English teacher Charlotte Rashford which introduces the issues of sweatshop clothing factories. Also see the associated starter activity and group work plan.

Guide to becoming a Fairtrade school
Step by step guide to becoming a Fairtrade school including how to set up a steering group and adopt a Fairtrade policy.

Send my Friend to School PowerPoint
Many garment workers across the world are school-aged. This PowerPoint introduces the 2013 Send My Friend to School activities to primary school kids, including facts and figures and real life stories. Also find a PowerPoint for secondary.

Love fashion hate sweatshops
Some really interesting material here from the War on Want campaign for a fashion industry that respects workers' rights.

Blood, sweat and t-shirts
Six young fashion British lovers swap shopping for the factories and back streets of India, where they go to work making clothes and living with the workers - the result is a hard-hitting expose of the garment industry and the clips of each episode here are just tailor made to play in lessons.

Labour behind the label
A campaign that works to improve conditions and empower workers in the global garment industry. It's great site to explore, packed with advice, resources and action that can be taken.

In praise of sweatshops
It can be hard to find the pro-sweatshops view if your school debate club has to argue it. The Spectator kindly provides one in this blog by Alex Massie.

Anti-slavery campaign
Interesting info and action from this organisation which promotes the eradication of slavery and slavery-like practices, which include garment workers paid a pittance working in dreadful conditions.

Facts and figures on child labour by UNICEF
Many garment workers across the globe are children. Get the stats here.

View the original article here

Gay marriage: news and teaching resources round up

News and teaching resources to help you teach your students about same sex marriage. Photograph: Jacques Brinon/AP

The same sex marriage bill has divided the Conservative party, if not the whole country, but the House of Commons has now voted to allow gay marriage in England and Wales by 266 votes to 161 (with more than half of Tory MPs voting against it). The plans will now go to the House of Lords for further consideration and if passed by both Houses, the bill will become law.

We have rounded up the best news stories, multimedia, stats, teaching resources and websites to help you discuss the issues of same sex marriage in the UK and across the world – and by extension homophobia and homophobic bullying – in tutor time, your debate club, the citizenship classroom and beyond.

Right-wing Tory rebels call on peers to reject gay marriage bill
After more than half the Conservative party voted against the same sex marriage bill, opponents of the bill say peers have every right to oppose it because it was not in coalition agreement or any party manifesto.

Gay marriage bill may lead to 'lesbian queen and artificially inseminated heir'
The now infamous quotes on lesbian queens, artificial insemination and fathers marrying their sons are a must-read for sixth formers investigating this topic (but beware the swear words in Tebbit's warnings for younger students). The comments in response to the article also make interesting reading.

MPs debate gay marriage bill as it happened – live blog
What happened when, who said/tweeted what on Monday 20 May? Here's the whole story.

Gay marriage bill – data blog
Find out how your MP voted on the same sex marriage bill. How does the voting divide by party and gender? Interesting stats to play around with.

Gay marriage bill would be a 'major step forward' – video
The equalities minister Helen Grant talks about how the gay marriage bill is a major step forward for justice and equality and Tory MP Tim Loughton calls for a bill to allow heterosexual couples to get civil partnerships as well as their gay counterparts.

France's first same sex marriage fair opens its doors – video
A same sex wedding fair opens in Paris, four days after France legalises gay marriage in April this year. Francois Hollande was criticised for not consulting enough on the bill and many French took to the streets in protest as seen in this photo gallery.

New Zealand parliament breaks into song after legalising gay marriage – video
New Zealand becomes the first country in the Asia Pacific (the 13th in the world) to legalise same sex marriage and here the public gallery breaks into song in a truly heartwarming moment.

Divorce rates – data blog
Not wanting to pour any hot water on the joy of marriage, but how have divorce rates changed from 1858 to now? Get the charts, graphs and stats here.

Guide to challenging homophobic language
Stonewall's educational guide to challenging homophobic language provides information and advice for primary and secondary school staff.

First steps – the gay thing
Download this leaflet on why teachers should bother integrating lesbian, gay and bisexual issues into their lessons.

Starting a gay straight alliance in your school
A guide for young people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transexual. Also see this associated PowerPoint.

Children are never too young to know homophobic bullying is wrong
Powerful blog by primary deputy head Shaun Dellenty on how teaching gay issues to primary school pupils is not about sex, it's about acceptance.

The same sex marriage bill
Chart the official progress of the same sex marriage bill as it goes from first reading to, eventually, royal assent. Interesting for students to find out how and when a bill becomes a law.

BBC Q&A on gay marriage
Very clear explanation of the gay marriage bill, how it differs from civil partnership and how it relates to religious organisations.

Coalition for marriage
Anti-gay marriage campaigning group who want marriage to be the union between a man and a woman. Including a booklet outlining the impact of redefining marriage in primary schools according the Coalition for marriage here. Good material for debate clubs.

Inclusion for all
Primary school deputy head Shaun Dellenty works tirelessly to help schools tackle homophobic language and bullying and has created Inclusion for all to take his expertise into schools all over the world. Do have a read and get in touch with Shaun about inset.

Educate and celebrate
Find out more about how to make your school LGBT friendly under the education and celebrate program devised by Elly Barnes - and recognised by Ofsted as a best practice program for tackling homophobic bullying in your school - lots of great ideas and resources here.

Schools out
Organisation providing a formal and informal support network for all people who want to raise the issue of homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and heterosexism in education. Plus great resources in the classroom.

Stonewall education for all
Info, resources, teacher training, advice as part of Stonewall's campaign to prevent homophobic bullying in schools and colleges.

View the original article here

‘Ring-fenced’ schools budget at risk in next round of £11bn cuts

Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, whose spending on schools has been ring-fenced in previous Whitehall budget negotiations, is urging Mr Cameron to confirm that the guarantee extends to the 2015-16 financial year.

But George Osborne, the Chancellor, and some Liberal Democrat ministers are prepared to look again at the schools budget as talks get underway on what insiders admit will be a “very difficult” Cabinet battle before a government-wide review is published on June 26.

The row comes after The Independent revealed last week that ministers are to effectively abandon their pledge to ring-fence NHS spending by diverting more than ￡1bn to cover the spiralling cost of social care. One Cabinet source said: “Everyone knows the NHS is under enormous pressure. But the pressure on the schools budget is not quite of the same order.”

Ministers say many schools have money in their reserve funds and have been helped by the Coalition’s “pupil premium” for children from poor families, on which spending will rise to ￡2.5bn a year by the 2015 election.

Mr Gove, whose total budget is more than ￡50bn, is already facing a Treasury demand for cuts of about ￡2.5bn in 2015-16 in non-schools spending, which is not ring-fenced. That includes “early years” provision such as children’s centres, which have already been squeezed.?

On Monday, Mr Cameron did not mention schools when he defended the ring-fencing of the NHS budget.

Today Cameron aides played down this omission as a slip of the tongue, insisting he is sticking to his previous promises on ring-fencing. These covered health, overseas aid, defence equipment and schools.

However, Whitehall sources said there could be scope in the review to reclassify some spending in order to relieve the pressure on non-protected areas.??

Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, wants the Department of Health to pay for health care for service personnel and Mr Gove’s department to fund the education of their children.?

Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, wants Health to fund the Medical Research Council, which comes under his department. But these moves, if accepted by Mr Osborne, would leave less money for other health spending.

Mr Cable is arguing that ring-fencing means parts of Whitehall that have already suffered the biggest cuts now face another squeeze in 2015-16. Today Nick Clegg defended the previous decision to safeguard health, schools and foreign aid.?

He told BBC Radio 4: “It was a big decision, a controversial decision, but I think it was the right one to take and the right one to stick to.”?

Ed Miliband admitted that Labour’s plan for a temporary cut in VAT would mean a short-term rise in borrowing, a day after declining to confirm that in a bad-tempered radio interview.

Today he told ITV’s Daybreak programme: “I am clear about this – a temporary cut in VAT, as we are proposing, would lead to a temporary rise in borrowing. The point I was making was to get growth going by cutting VAT, then over time you will see borrowing actually fall.”

The Independent revealed this month that Labour is preparing to fight the 2015 election on a plan to spend more than the Coalition.

View the original article here