Anti-sweatshop activists in Alberta and across Canada are taking part in an ongoing campaign calling on the Hudson’s Bay Company to deal with sweatshop abuses in clothing factories in Lesotho, Africa.

In the spring, HBC announced that it was cutting and running from the Sun Textiles factory, which has been accused of sweatshop abuses in the manufacture of "Truly" label clothes for Zellers, which is owned by the Bay.

The company made the decision to stop producing clothes at Sun Textiles despite the fact that management had just signed an agreement with the Lesotho Clothing and Allied Workers Union (LECAWU) to make improvements in working conditions.

Ramon Antipan, chairperson of the AFL Human Rights Committee, which has conducted information pickets at Bay and Zellers stores in Calgary and Edmonton, say that by stopping orders when conditions are improving sends the wrong message to workers.

"The message from the Bay to workers is that unless you work for less than minimum wage and accept abuse in the workplace, you’re not going to get a job. It’s more than unfair, it’s unjust."

Ethical Trading Action Group (ETAG), which is coordinating the campaign, has documented serious sweatshop abuses at Sun Textiles and three other factories which produce clothes for Zellers, including verbal and physical abuse, sexual harassment, forced overtime, wages below minimum wage, and the use of child labour.

ETAG spokesperson Bob Jeffcott has urged the Bay to not cut and run from the factories, but to stay and help fix the problems. "Cutting off suppliers whenever workers report abuses discourages workers from acting and virtually guarantees that sweatshop practices will be buried rather than addressed."