A new report from the Clean Clothes Campaign is further evidence that
the garment industry sourcing supply chain is unsustainable and unjust, no matter
where it is in the world.
The report, ‘Stitched Up’, released 11 June, surveyed garment workers in
Turkey and Eastern Europe producing clothes for labels such as Hugo
Boss, Adidas, Zara and H&M in 10 different countries.
It found that garment workers in the area were subject to poverty wages,
poor working conditions and long working hours, mirroring the
experiences of workers in other parts of the world.
Some three million people are employed in the garment industry in
Turkey, Georgia, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Moldova, Ukraine, Bosnia
& Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovakia.
Jenny Holdcroft, policy director at IndustriALL Global Union, which represents garment unions in the surveyed countries, said:
It comes as no surprise that workers in Turkey and Eastern Europe are
subjected to similar poor wages and working conditions as those in
countries such as Bangladesh or Cambodia. The sourcing model for the
garment industry is based on paying the lowest possible wages and so is
fundamentally flawed. Made in Europe is not a guarantee of better rights
or wages for garment workers.
The survey found a considerable gap between the legal minimum wage and
the estimated minimum living wage in all the countries. The report said:
Jobs with such a tremendously low wage create poverty rather than fighting it.
A seamstress in Belarus spoke of working 0.45 Euro per hour embroidering
blouses for Zara for a contract that had been outsourced by a Greek
agent. In some cases, workers told of growing their own vegetables and
doing a second job in order to survive. Others complained of damage to
their eyesight after sewing for long days without breaks.
The report also found that garment workers, the majority of whom are
women, suffer sexual harassment, discrimination in pay and treatment,
and limited union representation.
A Croatian unionist stated that “unions do not have the opportunity to
bargain for higher wages since they have to constantly fight illegal
practices such as long-term unpaid overtime and unpaid social
contributions or long-term unpaid wages.”
Holdcroft said:
“The report’s findings are a reflection of the endemic practices
throughout the global garment industry. Wages are squeezed through brand
purchasing practices and furthermore the absence of collective
bargaining leads to a reliance on the legal minimum wage, which is in
many cases a poverty wage."
iSweek（http://www.isweek.com/）- Industry sourcing & Wholesale industrial products
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