Dear John,
Seven years ago the Rana Plaza building collapse marked the deadliest disaster in the history of the global garment industry. Survivors and family members of the 1,134 workers who died continue to live with the trauma of the tragedy. Our thoughts are with them today as we continue to rally for justice in solidarity with workers who produce clothes for some of the largest fashion brands in the world.
After the Rana Plaza collapse, the legally-binding Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh signed by apparel brands with global unions and Bangladeshi unions has made factories safer for 2.5 million workers. But, today, brands that are prioritizing profits over people during the COVID-19 crisis are causing tremendous harm to millions of garment workers in Bangladesh and around the world. For brands to refuse to pay for their own orders that are already in production is unconscionable. Their actions mean that millions of workers are not getting paid for hours they worked in March. Most of these workers have no income whatsoever this month while they are furloughed or laid off while their factory is closed.
After the release of research on order cancellations in Bangladesh and activist efforts, several brands such as Nike and Adidas have changed course and are now paying for their orders in production. However, companies like Gap, Urban Outfitters, ASOS, Kohl's, and Walmart are leaving the workers who sew their clothes fearing destitution and starvation.
On this anniversary of the horrific day that became a shocking wake-up call for the fashion industry, you can show your solidarity with garment workers by sharing the below images on social media, tagging the laggard brands that need to #payup or signing a petition.
Brands endorsing a joint statement this week by the International Organization of Employers and Global Unions commit to a minimum of immediate measures such as paying for orders in production, engaging with governments and international financial institutions to take responsibility for establishing funds to address the immediate needs of workers, and strengthening social protection floors in supply chains. It is essential that these parties act upon this commitment to move with utmost haste to secure funding from international financial institutions to sustain workers’ incomes. This funding must serve to maintain workers in current employment relationships; deliver support to all workers who were making apparel or textiles at the outset of the crisis, regardless of job classification, contractual status, or migration status; and ensure that this support is sufficient to provide workers with at least their normal take-home income for as long as the crisis persists. This funding must be accompanied by time-bound commitments to strengthen social protection systems.
Decades of brands and retailers prioritizing cost reduction and profit maximization over workplace safety and living wages has left workers across apparel supply chains with virtually no protection against the economic fallout of the pandemic. Pricing and purchasing practices along with tax reduction mechanisms and union busting have contributed to underfinanced and inadequate public health and social security systems in many garment producing countries. To mitigate the crisis and to ensure that workers are never again left so unprotected, it is essential to rebalance power relations, reduce inequalities built into supply chains, and reform the garment sector’s buying practices and labour relations in the medium and long term. Brands and retailers must negotiate and sign enforceable agreements with unions that obligate them to pay higher prices for products, with those additional funds directed to paying living wages to workers and to supporting government social insurance systems and other means of social protection for workers. Garment supply chains of the future need to be characterized by new costing models, allowing for social security systems and living wages, as well as transparent and enforceable regulations.
In physical isolation, but always in solidarity,
Liana Foxvog
Director of Campaigns
This email was sent by the International Labor Rights Forum.
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