Coronavirus fuels modern slavery threat for Asian garment workers
Dhaka, BangladeshThomson Reuters Foundation The risk of modern slavery in Asian manufacturing hubs has surged and is set to worsen with the economic impact of the new coronavirus, increased labour rights violations and poor law enforcement, a global index found on Friday. For the first time, India and Bangladesh were in the “extreme risk” category, […]
Garment workers seen losing up to $US5.8 billion in wages during coronavirus
London, UK/Dhaka, BangladeshThomson Reuters Foundation Garment workers supplying global fashion brands have been underpaid or not paid at all during the coronavirus crisis, with lost wages potentially amounting to nearly $US6 billion, researchers said on Monday. With the pandemic leading to store closures and falling sales, many retailers cancelled orders or demanded discounts from suppliers, […]
Rescue of 35 child workers triggers probe in India’s garment factory hub
Chennai, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation Efforts to tackle child labour in garment factories in southern India are being ramped up after the rescue of 35 children from a spinning mill, officials said on Thursday, amid concerns of an increase in trafficking as coronavirus restrictions are eased. In one of the first cases of child labour reported […]
Western fashion brands that “exploit” Bangladesh suppliers face blacklisting
Dhaka, BangladeshThomson Reuters Foundation Bangladeshi manufacturers said on Wednesday that they would blacklist Western fashion brands that “exploit” them by failing to pay their bills due to the new coronavirus crisis, days after threatening to sue a major British retailer over its debts. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association has written to British billionaire […]
Bangladesh unions urge factories to do more to protect workers from coronavirus
Dhaka, BangladeshThomson Reuters Foundation Garment manufacturers in Bangladesh are failing to meet their own safety guidelines set up to protect workers from the coronavirus as factories reopen, union leaders have warned. Bangladesh extended a nationwide shutdown on Thursday after daily reported deaths from the virus hit a new high, but restrictions on the garment sector, […]
Garment industry: As fashion sales fall globally, big brands leave Asia’s garment workers in limbo
KIERAN GUILBERT, NAIMUL KARIM and ANURADHA NAGARAJ, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, report…
Western brands demand big discounts from Bangladesh factories
Dhaka, BangladeshThomson Reuters Foundation Western clothing brands that agreed not to cancel orders due to the coronavirus epidemic are demanding price cuts of up to 50 per cent, Bangladeshi manufacturers said on Friday, heaping economic pain on a country already reeling from the crisis. Millions of Bangladeshi households depend on the garment sector, which has […]
Job cut fears as fashion brands slash orders in Bangladesh with coronavirus
Dhaka, BangladeshThomson Reuters Foundation Factory workers in Bangladesh could go hungry as global fashion brands have cancelled or delayed orders worth $US138 million due to coronavirus, manufacturers said on Thursday. More than 100 Bangladeshi factories have already lost orders, manufacturers said, as retail sales plummeted globally and giants like Zara owner Inditex and H&M temporarily […]
Bangladesh urged to stop worker abuse in garment industry
Dhaka, BangladeshThomson Reuters Foundation Workers in Bangladesh’s garment industry face increased threats, intimidation and even physical and sexual abuse, according to a report for an influential US Senate committee that urged authorities to do more to protect labour rights. The study for the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations found that while factory safety […]
Film ‘Greed’ urges fashion fans urged to rethink fast buys
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Moviegoers may scorn the billionaire fashion bosses in Greed which opened in Britain on Friday but anti-slavery activists said anyone who buys cheap clothes risks fuelling factory abuses. The film by British director Michael Winterbottom, starring Steve Coogan, takes aim at high-flying moguls whose lavish lifestyles, yachts and parties are built […]