Best practice & Ethics
Cheap clothes encourages exploitation charity claims
Workers in Bangladesh are regularly working 80 hours a week for just 5p an
hour in dangerous factories to produce clothes for British customers of
Primark,
Tesco and
Asda, according to a
report by
development charity, War on Want.
The charity said that the companies had made public commitments to the
payment of a living wage to suppliers - calculated to be a minimum of £22 a
month in Bangladesh but the research found that starting wages at the factories
were as little as £8 a month, while more experienced workers were receiving £16
a month. Commitments on working hours had also been made which were also being
contravened, according to the research.
The employees interviewed for War on Want's report suggested that managers
were given prior notice of audits of the factories and had then been bullied to
lie about pay, hours and safety.
Louise Richards, the charity's chief executive, said that the cheap prices
for clothes in these stores were only possible because of the exploitation of
Bangladeshi workers. She called on the UK government to regulate to stop the bad
practices uncovered by the report.
All three retailers are members of the
Ethical Trading Initiative
(ETI), which promotes best practice in respect of protecting workers and brings
together shop groups, suppliers, non-governmental and trade union
organisations.
Responding to the War on Want report, ETI director Dan Rees said it had asked
its members to investigate the allegations contained in War on Want's report.
He said, "Up to 15m people in Bangladesh rely in one way or another on the
garment sector as a source of income and it is vital that brands stay in
Bangladesh and support the industry."
ETI representatives visited Bangladesh last year after garment workers staged
nearly two weeks of violent protest over pay and conditions in May.
Links
Primark
Tesco
Asda
War on Want
Fashion Victims
Ethical Trading Initiative
January, 2007 |
