First, in January, when the transportation of raw materials from China to other garment producing countries was suspended, many factories were forced to close temporarily. The next wave hit as the pandemic spread to Europe and the United States (US). In response to a sudden drop in consumer demand for apparel, brands cancelled and refused to pay for shipments of completed and in production orders. As a result, factories were forced to close and dismiss workers in mass. Each time factories were forced to close, workers were often sent home without notice or pay from their employers. For example, in Bangladesh, 72.4% of furloughed and 80.4% of dismissed workers were sent home unpaid in March 2020. The third wave of devastation continues, as the virus itself spreads in garment producing countries. At the time of writing this report, many factories remain closed and millions of workers remain unpaid.
Among countless severe consequences, the current international COVID-19 emergency has created a global financial crisis of a scale rarely encountered in modern history. Systemic economic and social inequalities across societies are being laid bare a...Read More
This research report conducted by GoodWeave International on the status of carpet, home textile, and apparel workers in South Asia confirms that the impacts of COVID-19 have resulted in extreme hardship for informal workers and their families. Docum...Read More
Employers and business play a vital role in protecting migrant workers and their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many provide essential care, services and goods and, in doing so, rely heavily on their migrant workforce. This includes nurse...Read More
The COVID-19 pandemic is exposing just how fragile the protection and prevention framework on modern slavery is, despite progress in recent years resulting from a new focus, marked particularly by a drive toward national anti-slavery legislation. ...Read More
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