Millions of vulnerable workers in the garment industry have been laid off or have lost wages as a result of order cancellations and non-payment by apparel brands in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent reports from worker groups and media show that in many of these cases, layoffs disproportionately target unionized workers and labour activists, suggesting that apparel factories are using the pandemic as a cover to attack workers’ freedom of association. This report analyses the response by global apparel brands to allegations that factories they source from have unfairly dismissed unionized workers, focusing on nine case
studies.