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.
This briefing summarizes some of the key human rights risks to workers in this sector, and considers the steps taken by ten call centers operatingin and six clients outsourcing services to Tunisia and/or Morocco to protect workers amidst the crisis....Read More
Human trafficking thrives in times of crisis and uncertainty, when the needs of the most vulnerable among us are often overlooked. Congress recently passed the $2 trillion coronavirus relief legislation, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Sec...Read More
Since May 2020, MMC Asia has been interviewing Rohingya and Bangladeshis residing in Malaysia, to better understand their migration experiences and protection needs under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This snapshot focuses on the day-to-day i...Read More
This report provides a cross-system view of how the criminal justice system reacted in the immediate aftermath of the first national Covid-19 lockdown (23 March to 10 May 2020), and of how the system has managed since. The cumulative impact on th...Read More
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