Last week, major high-street players signed a new accord to protect garment workers in Bangladesh, an agreement that replaced the Bangladesh Accord. The previous agreement was born out of the 2013 tragedy at Rana Plaza, a collapse that caused ripples through the fashion and labour industries after 1,134 workers were killed in Dhaka. Now, organisations dedicated to protecting garment workers are putting forth a new call to action, urging governments, apparel brands and employers to ensure the safety of workers.
Over 50 labour advocacy groups have signed the call, as COVID-19 cases surge in South Asia. For many, the choice to work for survival has resulted in the loss of life itself. “It is untenable that Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi workers must choose between death and destitution,” the letter reads.
The statement, signed by both domestic labour unions and international organisations, calls for a number of fundamental changes to the garment workforce. The organisations have asked garment industries to respect lockdown procedures and prevent production, expand vaccination drives and COVID-19 testing, and allow workers to continue to receive full wages even while absent from work. They also request that workers can refuse ‘unsafe work’ without the risk of penalisation. These steps are to safeguard the protection and livelihoods of garment workers, who gravely depend on their daily factory work.
The Delta variant has recently swept through parts of Asia, causing pressure on healthcare systems and general infrastructure. Bangladesh, for instance, has seen a sharp increase in cases since mid May, with less than three per cent of its population being fully vaccinated. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, has seen coronavirus-related deaths rise, prompting an extended lockdown in the country.
Within both nations, the impact of the pandemic on garment workers has been tremendous. Factories have witnessed severe outbreaks and conditions for labourers have not helped. An investigative report in Jacobin magazine found that garment workers in Sri Lanka continued working throughout the pandemic, at the same rate they usually received, and with ‘inadequate’ healthcare facilities. The ethicality of these conditions has been put into question. In Bangladesh, labourers were given the green light to return to factories, despite deaths reaching record levels in the country.
Both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have immense garment production industries. Sri Lanka houses some of the largest garment manufacturers in the world, while Bangladesh is the second-largest exporter of garments globally.
Christie Miedema, campaign and outreach coordinator at Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC), says that workers reporting for work despite lockdowns are a result of international apparel brands fearing loss of orders.
“Brands have the power to extend timelines and have the money to ensure that workers can stay at home with full salaries to ensure they are kept safe. They could even pay for vaccination drives,” Miedema says. “Brands have made huge profits over the backs of workers for decades. Now the least they can do is accept the costs to keep workers safe as the price for doing business during a pandemic.”
Miedema hopes that the agreement will assure workers will “not be left with nothing.”
In a statement to Vogue India, human rights organisation War on Want said that the COVID-19 pandemic unveiled the deep inequality and injustice that lies behind clothing production. The group is one of the signatories of the proposed agreement.
“It’s time for fashion brands to step up and demonstrate their respect for their Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan workers’ basic human rights,” the organisation says. “Whilst fashion brands have made record profits, garment workers have faced redundancies, oppression, and the impossible choice of whether to work in unsafe conditions or face destitution. These brands must act now to keep garment workers safe during this pandemic.”
