UK non-profit Labour Behind the Label was behind a rally that took place over the weekend in support of garment workers in the Leicester manufacturing industry.
The protest, which took place in Spinney Hill Park, was in opposition to job losses and manufacturing closures in the area and was further supported by trade unions and workers’ rights NGOs.
In its event overview, Labour Behind the Label said, “Leicester garment workers have always made clothes for the world with skill and with pride.”
The group claimed at the event that its purpose was to raise awareness of the “crisis garment workers face” and how it thought quality jobs might be guaranteed in the city.
In recent years, factories in Leicester have come under intense scrutiny as a result of numerous reports and investigations that uncovered a wealth of data pointing to indecent working conditions for employees.
Over 50 per cent of respondents to a Rights Lab study from the University of Nottingham in the middle of 2022 claimed to be paid less than the minimum wage, while 55 per cent claimed to not receive holiday pay.
Leading fashion company Boohoo has also come under fire for its business practises in the city, where it works with vendors who have been the subject of independent investigations into claims of subpar working conditions.
As a result, the conglomerate cut ties with several suppliers, which it claimed at the time was related to a “consolidation of the supply chain”.
