ITGLWF releases report on labour violations in sportswear supply chains

ASIA: On April 20, 2011, the ITGLWF, representing workers in the garment industry  released a damning report on working conditions in Asian sportswear supply chains. The report focuses on conditions in 83 factories in Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Indonesia which together employ over 100,000 workers.

Not one of the 83 factories surveyed was reported to pay a living wage. Workers in the Philippines explained that by the end of the month they had no choice but to pawn their ATM cards in exchange for loans. Some factories denied workers the legal minimum wage, while others linked the payment of basic wages to unachievable production targets which workers struggled to meet.

Although international labour standards restrict overtime to twelve hours a week on a voluntary basis, workers told researchers they regularly work up to 100 hours of overtime per month. In many cases workers could not refuse overtime. In Sri Lanka workers who tried to leave at the end of their shift were denied permission to go and harassed by their supervisors.

Contract, agency and other precarious workers, representing 25 per cent of the workforces covered, were likely to suffer exploitation. Although these workers were paid even less than their permanent counterparts they told researchers they feared they would lose their job if they complained.

"The multinational companies sourcing from these factories need to live up to their rhetoric and ensure that every single workplace in their supply chains complies with national law and international labour standards," concluded Patrick Itschert, ITGLWF General Secretary.

See key Findings of the ITGLWF report (PDF) here: http://www.itglwf.org/documents/ITGLWFSportswearReport2011.pdf
See full ITGLWF report at: http://www.itglwf.org/documents/ITGLWFSportswearReport2011.pdf