Garment workers in Walmart supplier factories in Bangladesh commonly face termination without prior notice while majority of them are dismissed without due wage and benefit, according to a recent report. “In Bangladesh, 50 per cent of 121 workers interviewed said that employees had been fired without notice,” the report titled ‘Precarious Work in the Walmart Global Value Chain’ said. “About 60 per cent reported that the dismissed workers are often let go without receiving their due wages and benefits,” it added. The Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA) recently launched two reports, looking at the working conditions within the supply chain at H&M, Gap, Walmart and others, just in time for the International Labour Conference that is being held in Geneva. The AFWA is an international alliance of trade unions and labour rights activists who are working together to demand garment workers are paid a living wage. The study on Walmart’s supply chain is based on interviews with 344 workers based in Bangladesh, Cambodia and India. According to the Wage Alliance, there is a lack of transparency when it comes to Walmart supply chain, which makes it difficult to hold the company accountable. In Bangladesh, the research included investigation into work and working conditions of 121 workers employed in Walmart supplier factories and they were selected randomly from 47 factories from the list of 280 factories discovered to be Walmart suppliers after extensive field investigations. The majority of workers from Walmart supplier factories interviewed for this study reported having appointment letters and identity cards. Some 81 per cent of workers reported having appointment letters and 95.9 per cent of workers reported having identity cards. Only 38.8 per cent of workers, however, reported having service books. Without a clear record of their employment history, workers are vulnerable to denial of benefits associated with seniority during employment and upon termination, it added.
