Impacts of COVID-19 on garment supply chain workers continue

As apparel supply chain workers protest over unpaid wages in Cambodia and Bangladesh, the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) launches its COVID-19 Apparel Tracker which monitors global brands’ actions in response to the pandemic, and the impact on workers in their supply chains. The tracker, which draws on a survey of 35 companies (of which 26 responded) seeks to link the vulnerability of workers at this time to brand’s purchasing practices, including requests for discounts and extended payment times.

Key findings from the BHRRC:

• The impact on workers in Asian supply chains has been unprecedented, with millions left without wages for March and April, laid off without severance, or working with reduced pay (e.g. 67% wage drop for suspended workers in Cambodia; 75,000 workers in Bangladesh not paid wages for March). £2.5 billion represents the amount of orders cancelled in Bangladesh by UK retailers
• 40% of companies (14 companies) surveyed have made no public commitment to pay for all completed orders
• 23% of companies (8 companies) have requested a retroactive ‘discount’ from suppliers for orders already placed
• 23% of companies (8 companies) have delayed payment, extending their usual payment times to suppliers, while some companies (Hermès, N Brown, Zalando) have shortened payment times for some suppliers to help support their cashflow during the crisis
• 18 brands (including H&M, Inditex and Burberry) have moved towards transparency of their purchasing practices by disclosing order payment times
• 17 companies have signed the International Labour Organization’s Call to Action to support garment manufacturers during the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic

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“In the face of international disruption caused by COVID-19, too many  fashion brands are only looking to protect their own profit at untold cost to workers who make the clothes they sell. Hard-nosed refusal to pay for orders in this pandemic is only an extension of how many fashion brands do business: driving down costs and dodging their share of the risk in supply chains.”                      

Thulsi Narayanasamy, Senior Labour Researcher at Business & Human Rights Resource, Fashion brands undermining COVID-19 response, putting workers and suppliers at risk (BHRRC, May 2020)

If you’re looking for something to watch tonight (June 5th), Rubaiyat Hossain’s Made in Bangladesh is screening as part of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival. It starts at 6:45 PM BST with a follow-up Q&A. You can read more about the film here: ‘These women aren’t victims’: director turns the spotlight on garment workers

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