News about Our Work - © centralcambodia -instagram.com 08 June 2020 Analysis by Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AWFA) on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in the Asian clothing industry The Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA), an alliance founded in 2007 by Asian labour rights organisations from several countries, analysed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on workers in the garment manufacturing countries. The focus is on Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. This is a Summary of the original report (PDF file). The impact of the pandemic on garment workers illustrates the discriminatory patterns that can be attributed to social inequalities, age, gender, religion, type of employment and wage levels. National COVID19 measures A partial shutdown was decided in Cambodia and Indonesia. Full lockdowns occurred in India and Sri Lanka. In countries with partial shutdowns, some garment factories were able to officially continue producing, with government approval for the production of personal protective equipment (PPE) and protective suits. Current situation and changes in the global apparel industry The global apparel industry is currently suffering both from a shortage of raw materials for further production and from limited demand. Industry surveys indicate that further adverse effects are likely to occur in the coming months, as: Unsold inventories will lead to sharp price cuts Some fashion brands are insolvent and have filed for bankruptcy Global supply chains could change and shift production to the local area Orders from fashion companies have declined significantly Orders are cancelled and postponed, with the public outcry having already achieved success and some brands having committed themselves to accepting at least the orders already placed or in production at the originally agreed conditions. Impact on employees Workers are disproportionately affected by the slump in production: Costs for food, rent, debt repayment and school fees for children are hardly to be paid anymore Due to the already too low wages, they have no savings and are forced to go into debt on bad terms Trade unions fear that the COVID-19 crisis will lead to an increase in child labour, forced labour and trafficking in human beings. Wages are not paid or reduced Full wages They were rarely paid. If so, this only applied to permanent workers, but the majority of employees (such as day laborers or contract workers) were excluded. In Indonesia and Cambodia, there were examples of factories that paid wages for March and April when production continued. The most common practice was Numbers of a share the statutory minimum wage. The minimum wage itself was not enough, with the elimination of overtime pay and bonuses, a reduced minimum wage is too low to feed a family. It also came to Non-payment of wages. Reasons for this were factory closures or if they were day labourers or migrant workers. The payment of a Holiday bonus It is a regular practice in many countries during Ramadan, but has often not been paid out this year. redundancies According to the AFWA report, there have been layoffs of millions of textile workers across Asia – concrete figures per country are difficult to determine, but there are reports of nearly 110,000 in Cambodia and 1 million in Bangladesh, among others. Redundancies and leave of absence can be divided according to the following criteria: Type of contractApprentices, day labourers, contract workers and home workers are usually the first to be laid off. residenceWorkers living near the factories are first called back to work.Public transport and factory buses are not yet fully operational, making it difficult for workers living further afield to show up for work. ageOlder people are discriminated against in the labour market because they are stigmatised as a high-risk group for the corona virus.Young girls who are currently unable to go to school are sent to work in factories and spinning mills to support families in need. On the one hand, they earn wages for the family, on the other hand, they are ‘safely’ housed in the dormitories of the factories from the parents’ point of view. However, they are most exposed to exploitation and will probably not go back to school once they have started working in the factories. genderSupport for mothers, such as the operation of crèches in factories, was temporarily discontinued. Many working mothers are therefore unable to return to their jobs. Union membershipThe pandemic is being used as an excuse to smash unions. Displaced workers were often members of trade unions or had previously participated in protests, such as in Rangoon, Myanmar or Cambodia. wageThe union in Indonesia observed that factories in areas with high wage levels - for example, in Jakarta - were first closed compared to factories in areas where labor is cheaper. religionFor India, it was reported that there was a case in a factory in Gurgaon in which at least 50 Muslim workers were laid off, but Hindu workers were reinstated. Food security The worker's food supply is highly precarious. Non- and underpaid workers cannot afford food. In India, migrant workers cannot receive state support because they are not registered as residents in the places of work. Where food rations are distributed, they are insufficient in terms of quantity and quality and will subsequently lead to malnutrition and malnutrition. Hygiene measures in factories Workers are in a dilemma. They have to and want to work to survive, but they are also worried about getting the virus. It turns out that preventive measures such as minimum distance and hygiene rules are taken into account more poorly than right in the factories and can usually not be implemented at all in the community accommodation. Support for workers Some States have announced certain income support schemes for workers. However, it can be seen that the measures foreseen often do not reach the most deprived and that, moreover, the funds are not sufficient. State support was decided in Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. The Clothing industry has also partially responded, and in some cases provided food or small amounts of money. The Civil society Supports the distribution of food. Final remarks and demands The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an unprecedented crisis in the global apparel industry. This crisis hits the most vulnerable in global supply chains, namely day labourers, contract workers and home workers. This will result in suspension of wage payments, dismissals and undermining labour rights (by weakening trade unions and suspending labour laws). AFWA calls for workers' loss of income to be mitigated by a one-off contribution from a company to a supply-chain relief contribution (SRC) of two percent of its turnover value last year. The sum is to be paid by the company to its supplier, who must pay the funds directly to the employees. In the long term, payment of a reasonable price to the supplier must be ensured so that this living wage can pay levies into a social security system.
