Living wage news and archive

Oxfam poll: Australian consumers want fashion brands to pay workers living wage

According to a recent poll by charity retailer Oxfam Australia, consumers do not trust the claims that Australian fashion brands are making in regards to the treatment of overseas garment workers in their supply chains. This comes as no surprise with the industry recording a staggering two billion dollars in expected profits on one hand and...

Business

Why Bangladesh’s minimum wage demand of 23,000 taka is justified

Bangladesh has been in the news recently — minimum wage discussions have turned sour with enraged garment workers taking to the streets for the second week. Two workers have died and sentiments are flaring up on both sides. What is the issue? While garment workers and their unions demand a minimum wage of 23,000 Bangladeshi taka (around 209 US...

Business

Real living wage increases by 10 percent in ‘largest year-on-year rise’

Employees working for companies under the Living Wage Foundation are set to see their ‘Living Wage’ rates rise to 10 pound 90 pence an hour across the UK and 11 pound 95 pence in London. The move will be applicable to almost 400,000 people working for over 11,000 companies linked to the foundation in what is set to be the largest year-on-year...

Business

Study: Garment workers in Eastern Europe, Turkey often earn less than in Far East

According to recent figures by the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC), garment workers are on average poorer when they earn the applicable minimum wage. The share of the minimum wage as part of the EU poverty line fell from 65 percent to 61 percent between 2018 and 2021, despite nominal increases in minimum wages in many countries. In Eastern Europe...

Business |Interview

Union leader: “Some changes but still long way to go for garment workers”

Indian women's rights activist and trade unionist Rukmini V. Puttaswamy received the 17th Solidarity Award from the German Senate Chancellery of the city of Bremen. Women’s rights organisation Femnet recently organised a meeting with Puttaswamy when she came to Germany to receive the award on 20th June. Reason enough for FashionUnited to...

Fashion Featured

Not enough: The living wage gap in major garment producing countries is 45 percent

WageIndicator Foundation and The Industry We Want (TIWW) have launched the Industry Wage Gap Metric. The metric shows the average percentage gap between minimum wages and the living wages. In the major garment producing countries, this gap is 45 percent. The wage gap means garment and footwear workers in the selected countries are earning far...

Business

Sri Lanka: new union-employer agreement addresses key worker rights issues

Garment worker unions in Sri Lanka have signed a ground-breaking agreement with employer association Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) on Monday, in which both parties reached an understanding about how to address vital workplace issues for garment workers, especially during the pandemic. Sri Lankan unions and workers groups have been...

BusinessFeatured

Saks Off Fifth increases minimum wage to 15 dollars for hourly employees

Luxury off-price retailer, Saks Off Fifth, has announced it will be increasing its minimum wage to 15 dollars for its US-based hourly workers, effective immediately, as well as its plan to implement bonus opportunities and competitive benefit offerings. “The past 18 months have been like nothing we have seen before in retail and this increase in...

BusinessFeatured

Study: "Exploitation Made in Europe": human rights violations plague apparel production

Five days ago was the seventh anniversary of the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh. More than 1,100 garment workers lost their lives and thousands were injured. The event highlighted the inhuman working conditions: locked in, intimidated and grossly underpaid. Tragic, we think, but far away. New research by the Clean Clothes...

Fashion Featured

Clean Clothes Campaign: fashion brands pledge to ensure living wage but take little action

As more consumers become aware of the deplorable working conditions faced by millions of workers across the apparel supply chain, global fashion brands have been pledging to work with suppliers, governments and NGOs to make sure workers earn a fair living wage. But is that just lip service? And, even if they are taking action, are their programs...

Business |BACKGROUND Featured

Poverty wages in Romania: What do fashion companies have to say?

Almost six weeks ago, the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) published its country report for Romania, which revealed that workers toil eight to ten hours a day plus forced, unpaid extra time, are subject to insults and harassment at the workplace and in the end, receive only 14 percent of a living wage. Sounds familiar? Yes, conditions at this...

BusinessFeatured

Factory abuse starts with brands’ purchasing behavior, says Human Rights Watch

A new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) confirms once more that global fashion brands are contributing to unsafe and unfair working conditions at garment factories in countries like Cambodia, Myanmar, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh by pressuring suppliers to drive down prices and produce faster. The study was based on hundreds of interviews...