Asia
According to a new report by
the Clean Clothes Campaign, Asian garment workers are owed almost $ 12 billion
in unpaid income and severance in the first year of the pandemic.
The report
named ‘Still Un(der)paid’, estimates that workers are owed $ 11.85 billion for
the period from March 2020 through March 2021 as employers withheld or reduced
wages and international fashion brands and retailers cancelled orders, refused
to pay for goods or demanded price reductions.
The Clean
Clothes Campaign said that it estimated its wage gap figures based on available
information such as statements from employers, industry and worker surveys, and
media reports. As per the report, an estimated 1.6 million garment workers were
dismissed across Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar,
and Pakistan.
The Campaign
stated that many dismissed workers were not paid their full legal entitlements
to severance pay, and those on furlough were only paid a small percentage of
their usual wages.
Workers in
all researched countries, except Indonesia, had lost pay equivalent to almost
twice the average monthly wage.
The Clean
Clothes Campaign is calling on apparel brands to negotiate an enforceable
agreement to assure wages, establish a severance guarantee fund and ensure
respect for basic labour rights.
According to
Ineke Zeldenrust from the Clean
Clothes Campaign,
not enough has been done to help workers despite over 100 fashion brands
joining together in a ‘Call to Action’ for the garment industry since the
beginning of the pandemic.
Source: Fashion United
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