A study by the Center for Global Workers’ Rights (CGWR), at the Pennsylvania State University, published on 27 March has caught the attention of worldwide public opinion. Entitled “Abandoned? The Impact of Covid-19 on Workers and Businesses at the Bottom of Global Garment Supply Chains”, the research – based on feedback from 316 garment suppliers in Bangaldesh (of a total of 2,000) – indicates that since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic more than half of Bangladesh suppliers have had the bulk of their in-process, or already completed, production cancelled, despite contractual obligations. Furthermore, over two thirds of buyers refused to pay for raw materials (fabric, etc.) already purchased by the supplier, while 58% of factories surveyed reported having to shutdown most or all of their operations as a result of cancelled orders. Since then, several NGOs have mobilised on the subject, including the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC), which is publishing a live blog that has documented, on a daily basis and since mid-March, the vagaries of industrial reports in the sector.
The March report from the CGWR highlighted that more than one million garment workers in Bangladesh had already been fired or furloughed (temporarily suspended from work), with buyers refusing to partially cover their wages. Meanwhile more than 72% of furloughed workers were sent home without pay, while over 80% of dismissed workers were sent home without their severance pay. The conclusion of the paper is stark: “The situation will get far worse before it gets better.”
The choice of Bangladesh
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