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.
Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA), an Asian labour-led global labour and social alliance, has been monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on workers in garment-producing countries through ground reports from AFWA partners and allies in Cambodi...Read More
The COVID-19 pandemic poses significant challenges to governments, societies, businesses and individuals. As the outbreak worsens, migrant workers as a vulnerable group in international supply chains face increased health risks due to lack of health...Read More
In this working paper, we investigate high-level changes in the online strategic communications of organizations engaged with SDG 8.7 (ending modern slavery) during the COVID-19 crisis. We present preliminary evidence of important semantic and thema...Read More
This paper reflects on the implications of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on modern slavery risks in supply chains. We first reason that the global supply and demand shock resulting from COVID-19 exacerbates workers’ vulnerability to modern s...Read More
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