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.
COVID-19 as an immediate cause of economic pressures is likely to be time limited. It is therefore important that adequate continuity planning is in place which allows businesses to recover quickly and effectively when demand recovers. Jobs, and the...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
“Human trafficking is always invisible. During a pandemic, it is easier to have cases going on that nobody reports.” Frontline Stakeholder from Portugal. The COVID-19 pandemic created new risks and challenges to victims of trafficking (VoTs) an...Read More
Tens of thousands of garment workers in Cambodia will struggle to repay microfinance debts during work stoppages and factory suspensions caused by COVID-19, creating a mounting human rights crisis as they struggle to feed their families and hold ont...Read More
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