Garment Workers

Garment worker in India (photo courtesy of HNSA)
Photo courtesy of HNSA

The garment industry exemplifies the challenges of global manufacturing: low wages, "flexible" contracts (or no contracts), and poor working conditions. Informal garment and textile workers, a huge workforce in some countries, are often invisible — especially those who work in their homes. But garment workers are organizing, and policy gains are being made.


COVID-19 Crisis and Garment Workers

Why Brands Should Pay Compensation to Informal Garment Workers - WIEGO Blog by Marlese Broembsen, March 1, 2021

In April 2020, WIEGO joined a demand for global brands in the fashion industry to extend a one-time Supply-chain Relief Contribution to all garment workers during the COVID-19 crisis. Workers include time-rated, piece-rated, subcontracted and home workers.

The world’s most vulnerable garment workers aren’t in factories – and global brands need to step up to protect them by Marlese von Broembsen

AFWA Statement of Demands for Garment Workers

WIEGO Focus: Home-based workers and garment workers face loss of income and many challenges

Clean Clothes Campaign blog: How the Coronavirus influences garment workers in supply chains

Abandoned? The Impact of Covid-19 on Workers and Businesses at the Bottom of Global Garment Supply Chains by Mark Anner, Penn State Center for Global Workers’ Rights (CGWR)

India's 'hidden' home garment workers feared losing out on coronavirus aid Anuradha Nagaraj for Reuters


Complex Global Chains and Cheap Labour

The garment industry has grown rapidly in recent decades, as the demand for cheaper clothing and more variety has increased. To keep costs low and production levels high, firms in developed countries outsource garment production to developing countries, while those in developing countries move production within and between countries to find the cheapest labour.

Garment production offers much-needed investment and employment in poorer countries, but competition requires “poorer countries to offer the cheapest workers and the most flexible (unregulated) conditions” (Delahanty).

Workers—mostly women—and small enterprises who count on the work have little power or security.

A "Global Assembly Line"sewing garment worker

Modern production and distribution of garments has created “the global assembly line” (Carr, Chen and Tate 2000). The rise of giant discounters (low price, high volume) and big retailers has placed even greater demands on manufacturers to lower costs and deliver quickly. Power has shifted from producers to traders and retailers.

Global production and trade are controlled by relatively few corporations. Large retailers, marketers, and manufacturers use decentralized production networks through which they order the goods and supply the specifications—often with just a click. Tiered networks of contractors produce the finished products for foreign buyers. Buyers set the terms for what is to be produced, how fast, and at what price.

Home-based workers bear the burden of cheap production

To compete, factories often outsource production to those who work at home, which shifts the burden of production costs to the worker. These costs eat away the very low piece rates that homeworkers earn. A recent WIEGO study found that sub-contracted garment workers:

  • in Ahmedabad, India, earn between US$0.43 and US$4.32 per day, but most earn under US$2.00;
  • in Lahore, Pakistan, most earn between US$0.25 and US$5.21, but many earn under US$1.00.

Workers reported that if they ask for better wages, they are told the work will be given to someone else.

Learn more about the invisible garment workforce in this blog by Sally Roever, WIEGO's International Coordinator.

Analysis of Purchasing Practices: Case Study Turkey

Some apparel retailers have voluntarily adopted ethical practices that improve conditions for their workers. However, as a WIEGO project showed, codes are not enough without a deep understanding of the value chain A WIEGO project with the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) examined the working conditions in a Turkish factory that produced garments for a UK-based retailer of high fashion. Although the retailer was committed to ethical practices, the project found its buying decisions were made with little awareness of how they impacted working conditions. Competition at the top of the chain and a race to the bottom on price affect those at the very bottom of the chain most negatively. Learn more about this research and its positive results.

How can international brands ensure that homeworkers are treated fairly? (ETI's Leadership Series) by Marlese von Broembsen, WIEGO’s Law Programme Director (2018)

Types of Garment Workers

Workers experience important differences depending on whether they work in large factories as core or contract workers, for small units, or as subcontract homeworkers. There are also self-employed garment makers who produce for local customers or markets.

Homeworkers do paid work for firms/businesses or their intermediaries, typically on a piece-rate basis, within their own homes. Estimates suggest that as much as 60 per cent of garment production, especially of children and women’s clothing, is done at home in both Asia and Latin America (Chen, Sebstad, and O'Connell1999).

Women represent a significant majority of the homeworkers who cut and stitch garments together for the global apparel trade.

Contract Labour in the export garment sector is widespread in a number of countries, including Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Turkey. A demand for lower prices, shorter lead times, and seasonality all drive the high and increasing reliance on contract labour (Chan 2013). Chan indicates suppliers also rely on labour contractors due to:

  • poor regulation of labour contractors
  • financial incentives from labour contractors
  • increased access to suitable labour
  • reduced transaction costs
  • ability to restrict worker organization and collective bargaining.

Related Reading

Contract Labour in Global Garment Supply Chains by Man-Kwun Chan (2013)

Chains of Production, Ladders of Protection on Garments Workers in Thailand and the Philippines

 


Statistical Snapshot

collage of sewing workers
In many countries, the garment industry is the largest employer in manufacturing. However, garment workers are often informally employed and home-based─thus invisible and rarely represented in national statistics (Chen, Sebstad, and O'Connell 1999).

In Thailand, the garment industry is the largest export industry, accounting for 60 per cent of total exports (NSO 2012). A survey by the National Statistics Office found that, among subcontracted workers, about half of non-agricultural home-based employment was related to garments and textiles (NSO 2007). Thailand’s Office of Homeworker Protection (OHWP) estimated there were over 950,000 homeworkers in 2005, the majority women. HomeNet Thailand believes the number could be as high as 2 million.

In Bangladesh the garment industry is the principal export earner for that country. In the late 1990s, it employed an estimated 350,000 workers in formal and semi-formal employment, making it the fourth largest employing sector (Bajaj 1999: 19). Although there are no estimates on the number of home-based garment workers, the Bangladesh Home Workers Association (BHWA) believes there are millions of home-based garment workers, as entire rural families are involved in traditional embroidery work (Bajaj 1999: 19).

Women’s Work

Garment workers around the world, especially those who do the basic stitching of children’s and women’s garments, are predominantly women. The vast majority of homeworkers are women.

But often, some of the higher-skilled tasks such as cutting are done by men. And where products require higher technical skills to produce, women have been squeezed out of garment manufacture by men, who have more opportunity to learn the new skills (Carr, Chen and Tate 2000).

Export factories tend to hire young, single women and let them go if they get married or become pregnant. This is one reason why banning homework in global supply chains would be devastating for women who rely on the income.

Migrant Workers

Many garment factory workers are immigrants or migrants. Once migration was most common from rural to urban centres, but workers now cross borders in search of employment.

In developed countries, many garment workers – whether working in factories or from their homes – are immigrant women from Asia or Latin America. In Los Angeles, USA, most garment factory workers are from Latin America and (less so) Asia. In Toronto, Canada, most of the garment workers are Chinese immigrant women who worked in small factories before the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), but now work from their homes.

In developing countries, notably in China, many garment factory workers are migrant women from rural areas.

Driving Forces & Working Conditions

African garment workers

In 2012, the Informal Economy Monitoring Study, coordinated by WIEGO, explored realities for informal workers, including home-based workers. In Bangkok (Thailand), Ahmedabad (India), and Lahore (Pakistan), garment workers  participated in surveys and focus group discussions. 

Reasons Women Choose This Work

For poor women, producing garments at home is an important source of income. In the IEMS study, women in all three cities said they needed to earn income but also be home to carry out child care and other domestic duties.

In the IEMS sample in Ahmedabad, garment work was mainly done by Muslim women (95 per cent), who noted social constraint against going out for work was a main reason for working from home.

The Demands of "Flexible" Work

Contracting in the garment sector relies on “flexible” production, which results in uncertain and often rushed work. Manufacturers underbid each other for orders from the large retailers, who demand low-cost production and just-in-time delivery and who, aided by bar-code technology, have adopted “lean retailing” to keep inventory as low as possible (McCormick & Schmitz 2001).

The location of work, the volume and duration of work orders, and length and terms of employment contracts are all “flexible.” Garment workers on this “global assembly line” tend to be recruited under “flexible” contracts: hired during peak seasons and laid off when demand slackens.

Low Wages, No Benefits

Most homeworkers in the garment and textile industry are paid by the piece (according to how many items they produce), earn very little, and do not receive overtime pay. Most receive no sick leave or paid vacations.

Subcontracted homeworkers have little power over the terms and conditions of their work. In Bangkok, 60 per cent of subcontracted workers in the IEMS study reported that wages were set by the contractor; 51 per cent said they could not bargain.

By hiring homeworkers to do the labour-intensive work of assembling garments and paying them by the piece, subcontractors keep their wage costs and overhead low, and minimize the risk of loss associated with uncertain orders (Carr, Chen and Tate 2000).

A study conducted by the Worker Rights Consortium between 2001-2011 across 15 countries found garment workers' wages declined overall. Read more.

IEMS findings on earnings confirmed low incomes

  • In Ahmedabad, the average monthly turnover (gross earnings before deducting any input costs) for the study’s garment workers was 2,337 rupees (about US$42). They reported working over 23 hours in the week preceding the survey.
  • In Bangkok among self-employed garment workers, the average daily turnover was 845 baht (approx. US $28) for a seven-hour day. Subcontracted garment workers, however, worked nine hour days and received just 264 baht (US $9).
  • In Lahore, home-based garment workers had an average monthly turnover of 10,525 rupees (about US$110) if they worked in the peripheral areas. However, in central parts of the city where competition is much higher, turnover was much lower at an average of 3,315 rupees (less than US$35) per month. The mean daily working hours for the garment workers were 19 hours/week in the central parts and 16 hours/week in the peripheral areas.

In addition to low piece rates, homeworkers – who have to cover many of the costs of production, including workplace, equipment, and utilities – often are not paid on time, and sometimes must wait months.

Vulnerability to Economic Slowdowns

Home-based garment workers in the IEMS were directly affected by larger economic trends such as the global recession. In Ahmedabad, for example, the recession had a significant and lingering impact on the garment sector. Many had no work for months and work volumes remained low in 2012. Almost half said work orders had decreased over the last year.
Also, there is evidence to suggest that the use of contract labour in garment manufacture increased after the global financial crisis in India (both north and south) and possibly in Bangladesh (Chan 2013).

Economic crises exacerbate poverty and risk for garment workers. HomeNet Thailand found that during the economic crisis in the late 1990s, the garment industry in many Asian countries declined, piece-rate wages and job orders dropped dramatically, and payments were delayed while costs rose (HomeNet 2002).

The COVID-19 crisis has had a devastating impact on garment homeworkers worldwide.

Infrastructure Issues

Electricity

Electricity shortages and load-shedding have had severe effects on the livelihoods of home-based garment workers. In Pakistan, a majority of IEMS respondents in Lahore reported that when shortages occur, they cannot work. Reduced production reduces the ability to meet daily food requirements, so they must work harder and longer hours when electricity is available to complete orders. If they cannot get orders completed, the intermediary gives the work to others instead. Many workers have shifted to physically-demanding manual machines, so that they can work in daylight to complete their work.

In Ahmedabad, too, costly and unreliable electricity caused home-based garment workers to use manual sewing machines, which produce lower-quality products and are more costly to maintain. Users complained of resulting pain in their legs, a need for painkillers, and increased noise that disturbs children’s sleep.

Housing

For home-based garment workers in the IEMS study, small and inadequate housing was a major problem. A small house hampers productivity as a worker cannot take bulk work orders as she cannot store raw materials. Work is also interrupted by the competing needs of other household activities.

Poor quality housing was also problematic. In all three IEMS cities, women reported that monsoon rains force them to suspend or reduce production. Equipment, raw materials or finished goods get damaged when roofs leak or houses flood.

Transport

Transport issues also emerged as significant for homeworkers in the IEMS study. Since the women must travel to obtain raw materials and supply produced goods, increased public transport costs and travel distances impact the viability of their enterprises. Across the IEMS survey sample, transport represents around 30 per cent of total expenditures for a home-based workers’ enterprise. About one quarter of the sample who spend money on transport actually operate at a loss.

The garment workers who rely on public transport in Ahmedabad spend an additional 379 rupees US$7) more per month—a significant sum, given their meagre turnover.

Occupational Health and Safety

Home-based garment works rarely have appropriate protective equipment and may be unaware of safety measures. Health risks in the garment industry include repetitive strain, dust from cloth pieces and, in the case of some dyes, exposure to poisonous chemicals (Laungaramsri 2005). Family members can be equally at risk of exposure due to shared living and working space. Garment workers who participated in the IEMS study in both India and Pakistan said they suffer from backache and eye strain.

Policies & Programmes

home based garment workers

Home-Based Work

In 2016, members of the WIEGO Network participated in the general discussion on decent work in global supply chains at the International Labour Conference (ILC). The official ILC Conclusions recognized homeworkers as legitimate workers in global supply chains. 

  • “Decent Work for Homeworkers in Global Supply Chains - Platform of Demands” in EnglishSpanish and French
  • Myths and Facts on Home-Based Workers (English)

OECD Due Diligence Guidance

Many brands have adopted homeworker policies, and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector has a module on homework. Forty-eight countries are signatories to the OECD instruments.

WIEGO produced a brief guide: How Homeworkers Can Use the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector (Marlese von Broembsen and Sarah Orleans Reed). It explains the key provisions of the OECD Guidelines for Multi-National Enterprises, their responsibilities to workers in their supply chains—including homeworkers—and how homeworkers’ organizations can use the OECD Guidance and complaints process as part of their advocacy strategies.

ILO Home Work Convention (C177)

An international Home Work Convention (C177) was approved by the International Labour Conference in 1996. C177 calls for national policies to promote equality of treatment between homeworkers and other wage earners. It also specifies areas where such equality of treatment should be promoted, including inclusion in labour force statistics. See the full text of C177.

Around the globe, home-based worker organizations have advocated for their national governments to ratify and implement C177. But 20 years later, only 10 countries had ratified it; most are Eastern European - the European Commission adopted a recommendation calling on all European Union governments to ratify the convention in 1998 (McCormick & Schmitz 2001).

Legal Protection in Thailand

In Thailand, a rising global demand for cheap, labour-intensive goods spurred regional competition and put pressure on Thailand's manufacturers to cut costs. Casual employment and subcontracting to homeworkers was a strategy to circumvent labour laws and lower costs (Doane 2007).

HomeNet Thailand, with support from WIEGO and other partners, campaigned for more than a decade to win legislative protection for homeworkers. Both the Homeworkers Protection Act B.E.2553 and a social protection policy came into force in May 2011. The law mandates fair wages –including equal pay for men and women doing the same job – be paid to workers who complete work at home for an industrial enterprise.

Read Winning Legal Rights for Thailand's Homeworkers.

The Kathmandu Declaration

The Kathmandu Declaration addresses the rights of South Asian home-based workers. It was adopted in 2000 by representatives of South Asian Governments, UN agencies, NGOs and trade unions from five countries at a regional conference organized by the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA), UNIFEM and WIEGO and supported by the Aga Kahn Foundation Canada.

WIEGO commissioned the research findings on which the Kathmandu Declaration was based.

Limitations of Policies

Having policies in place, however, is only a first step. In the Philippines, for example, the specific rights of homeworkers have been recognized since 1992. However, the existence of progressive labour laws does not guarantee their enforcement, as the passage below shows:

An interview with a manager in a relatively low profile firm in the Philippines that makes both garments and textiles … offered an interesting perspective on law enforcement.

To cut costs, workers are often required to put in extremely long work hours at low pay (for example, five drivers must do the job that normally would take 10 drivers, and they have to work 12, 18 or, on occasion, up to 20 hours straight if necessary to get the job done). This also applies to the young, female garment workers (as well as the male managers and others). It is possible to demand this amount of overtime because, in a situation of widespread poverty and a very thin job market, there are always others who are willing to do this type of work if someone refuses to do so.

Garment workers and other employees in these factories are not unionized, and they do not receive minimum pay. They have no benefits (the manager says that they have too little income to want to contribute to social security).

Lund and Nicholson 2003: 69

Organization & Voice

Garment workers, especially those home-based workers who engage in the lower skilled work of ready-made garment production, have little if any bargaining power. They may deal only through an intermediary and have no contact with the main contractor, and the intermediary may also have little power. 

Most garment workers are not organized. In export processing zones, garment factories typically do not allow unionization. This is not new. In the 1990s, evidence suggests union leaders were among the first to be let go in East Asia’s garment industry when the financial crisis hit in the 1990s (Delahanty 1999).

Garment makers are organizing increase their bargaining power and with it, their security in this globalized trade. Worldwide, there are examples of how organizing is improving the situation for these workers. This video from Thailand introduces a cooperative of garment workers that has formed to improve working conditions.

Despite the challenges in organizing home-based workers, there are a growing number of organizations as well as national and regional networks of such organizations (called HomeNets).

In India, the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) is the oldest and largest trade union of women in the informal sector, and garment workers have always been a significant part of it. SEWA has worked to organize garment workers, concentrating on higher piece rates and fairer working conditions. In 1986 SEWA negotiated a minimum wage for garment stitching. Through meetings with the Labour Commissioner and staged rallies, they have helped garment workers demand better wages, working conditions, the provision of identity cards and social protection such as child care and health benefits (Chen 2006).

SEWA’s efforts have targeted industrial outworkers, many of whom are Muslim. In addition, SEWA has helped own account workers compete through training and loans for improved equipment that can help them try to compete in the fast-changing local garment market (Chen 2006). This has included loans for improving sewing machines, training at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), and installing electricity in the homes of SEWA members (Inclusive Cities n.d.).

Meet a home-based garment worker in Delhi who is a member of SEWA. 

WIEGO is a partner in a project Home-based Workers Organizing for Economic Empowerment Project (2019-2022) that will help homeworkers who belong to membership-based worker organizations improve their earnings and the conditions of their work. Learn more.

 

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