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The Syrian conflict may seem distant tfashion companies and consumers, but the war is having a direct impact on the garment sector through its supply chain. A growing number of Syrian children, hired in violation of International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions that prohibit child labour, are used as cheap manpower in Turkish textile factories. Brands that only account for a small percentage of a factory’s production have limited leverage tdemand changes, which is why FWF encourages cooperation between members sourcing from the same suppliers tboost their influence. “If you’re lucky enough tfind other FWF members working with the same manufacturer, this is the best case scenario,” says Sven König. “You can combine corrective efforts and have more leverage, more impact.” Vaude won the 2015 FWF Best Practice award for a joint training project conducted in cooperation with twother companies, Jack Wolfskin and Salewa. Fair Wear Foundation is in favour of working together with other multi stakeholder initiatives like FLA and ETI. Creating an environment in which garment companies can be more honest about the darker sides of the industry and engage constructively with their suppliers would be an important step towards preventing child labour. “We want brands tbe frank and open about it,” says Margreet Vrieling of FWF. “Brands and suppliers must give each other room tdbusiness in a respectful way.”

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The garment industry is Turkey’s second largest industry, and is responsible for a large proportion of Turkey’s total exports. The European Union is the largest purchaser of Turkish garment. Small and medium-sized factories with a wide sub-contractor chain dominate the industry, with the working conditions deteriorating down the supply chain. Therefore, although the industry is familiar with international workplace standards and the audits of international buyers, improvements are still needed in many aspects of labour conditions. The issue of unregistered employment is a growing concern throughout the garment industry. It is estimated that almost 70% of the total workforce in the sector is unregistered. This results in workers whare unable tassert their rights tsocial security, job security, freedom of association and right tcollective bargaining. In addition tunregistered employment, the current regulations in Turkey make unionisation a challenge. Although Turkey has ratified the relevant ILConventions, the country has been criticised by ILand the European Union for not complying with international standards on freedom of association and the right tcollective bargaining. A new Act on Trade Unions and Collective Labour Agreements was adopted and took effect in 2012, but the law continues tbe problematic when it comes tcompliance with ILstandards. The wage level in the garment industry is insufficient tprovide workers with a living wage. Although Turkey has the highest minimum wage among FWF priority countries, the legal minimum wage, which can be considered the industry’s average wage, is approximately 28% of the living wage estimates of local stakeholders.

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This country study should provide a clear and concise picture of the industry, labour law, labour conditions and industrial relations within Bulgaria's textile and garment industry. This version contains information initially collected in 2016, but the data and figures were revised and updated in 2019. The study is prepared through gathering information about national laws and local stakeholders’ views on labour issues within the Bulgarian garment industry.

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A significant contributor tIndonesia’s large economy, the garment industry is an important employer of women in both the formal and informal sector. Conditions at factories vary considerably, and are generally much worse in medium and small enterprises, which dnot attract the kinds of scrutiny that large suppliers tinternational brands are subjected to. The garment industry in Indonesia has received a great deal of attention from international and local NGOs and trade unions, but much remains tbe done before the standards embedded in FWF Code of Labour Practice are fully met even in the more compliant segments of the sector. In legal terms, Indonesia is highly compliant with ILcore conventions and other important human and labour rights instruments including CEDAW. Like many countries in the region, however, it continues texperience serious problems in terms of implementation of its legal framework. This has led tissues with freedom of association and the right tcollective bargaining; working hours and conditions, including the right of women tbe free of sexual harassment in the workplace; occupational health and safety; and the right ta living wage.

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This country study should provide a clear and concise picture of the industry, labour law, labour conditions and industrial relations within the textile/garment industry. The study is prepared through gathering information about national laws and local stakeholders’ view on labour issues in the garment industry in Myanmar. Chapter 2, General country information, describes the economic, social, political, and governance situation as well as the general human rights situation, using international indicators and comparing the country tother garment producing countries. Chapter 3, Stakeholders, briefly presents the main stakeholders that are active in the garment/textile industry. The focus is on stakeholders which have an actual impact on labour conditions or play an active role in monitoring the situation for workers in the industry. This chapter serves as a reference point for stakeholders and brands that want tengage with or consult a local stakeholder tfind further information or help concerning their activities in Myanmar. Chapter 4, Garment industry, presents an overview of the situation for the garment industry in Myanmar, areas of production, products and prospects for the industry. Chapter 5, Industrial relations, describes the trade union situation in the country, both in general and specifically for the garment industry. This chapter gives important information for understanding how well challenges regarding working conditions could be handled through the country’s social dialogue, and how they currently are. In Chapter 6, Implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices, the implementation of every standard of the FWF Code of Labour Practices is assessed through official statistics on compliance (where available), laws and regulations, as well as different stakeholders views on implementation. Auditors and brands can use this section as a reference resource for their monitoring activities.

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