Bengaluru’s 14 leading apparel exporters will pay workers US $ 58.7 million!
A report of Workers Rights Consortium (WRC), an independent labour rights monitoring organisation, has claimed that after almost two years of refusing to do so, these apparel exporters have finally committed to pay the legal minimum wage, along with all arrears owed, to their workers.
However, few companies like FFI Global (Jeans Knit) Creative Group are still refusing to pay.
In April 2020, a minimum wage increase came into effect in Karnataka, but factory owners producing for leading apparel brands refused to pay. Consequently, almost 400,000 workers from over thousand factories were ‘cheated’ of the legal minimum wage.
In February 2022— following a successful lawsuit by the Garment and Textile Workers’ Union (GATWU), after months of engagement with brands by the WRC, and after a growing list of labour rights’ advocates brought their voices to hear—India’s largest garment manufacturer, Shahi Exports, announced that it would immediately begin paying its 80,000 employees in Karnataka the correct minimum wage.
The report says that of the US $58.7 million owed to garment workers in Karnataka due to accruing wage theft since April 2020, the WRC has identified firm commitments to pay their workers from suppliers representing US $28.6 million of these arrears.
“Allowing for factories whose commitments have not yet been reported to us, we estimate the total committed represents well over half of the total owed. Verification is ongoing to ensure all workers receive the full amount they are owed. The WRC will work to hold suppliers and brands accountable for any underpayments,” the report says.
These exporters (see the below table) work with leading brands like Abercrombie & Fitch, Benetton, C&A, Carhartt, Columbia Sportswear, Gap, George (Asda), H&M, Inditex, Kmart Australia, Kontoor Brands, Levi’s, Marks & Spencer, Nike, Primark, PVH, Target, Tesco, Uniqlo, VF and Walmart to mention few.
Employer letter, brand confirmation and worker testimony are the sources of information about status of commitment.
