Herausgeber_in: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung

Autor_in: Farzana Nawaz

Schlagwörter: Arbeitsbedingungen, Asien, Bangladesch, Frauenrechte

Kurzbeschreibung:

Despite economic growth and declining poverty levels across Asia, inequality continues to grow, with large groups of society remaining marginalized in economic and social terms.

Women in Asia continue to experience massive structural disadvantages, from early childhood education through their retirement from work—if they wanted and were allowed to work—and into their older age. It is mainly women who are exploited as cheap labour in Asia’s export industries and low-skill sectors, especially agriculture, textiles and the footwear and electronic industries. They are paid subsistence wages and experience increasing precariousness of their working as well as living conditions.

On the heels of all the economic progress now comes rapid technological transformation that is altering the present and future nature of work in ways that offer a multitude of opportunities but also add new levels of risks for social groups across the Global South.

Women are particularly vulnerable and disproportionally affected by these changes, both in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and in the ever-expanding care work across the formal and informal sectors.

Erscheinungsjahr: 2019

Umfang: 24 Seiten

Sprache: Englisch

Bezug: kostenfrei zum Download

Herausgeber_in: Fair Wear Foundation

Schlagwörter: Bangladesch, Gesetzgebung

Kurzbeschreibung: Bangladesh has experienced rapid growth and development in the past decade, with an average growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 6.4 per cent since 2010. The World Bank has classified Bangladesh as a lower middle-income country since 2014. The garment sector of Bangladesh — the biggest contributor to the country’s export earnings — is now the second largest exporter of ready-made garments (RMG) after China. The garment industry is also making strides in becoming a more sustainable market for investment and sourcing through an improved policy framework, better working conditions, adoption of energy efficient production processes, and building backward linkages.

The sector, however, has also experienced significant setbacks in recent years. The devastating incidents of the Tazreen Group factory fire in 2012 and the Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013 raised widespread international attention to the working conditions in the RMG sector, and the role of international buyers in protecting workers at supplier factories. Subsequently, there have been numerous multi-stakeholder efforts to improve the safety conditions in workplaces inside the RMG industry from employers’ organisations, the government, unions, civil society organisations, international organisations, as well as global brands.

Erscheinungsjahr: 2018

Umfang: 45 Seiten

Sprache: Englisch

Bezug:  kostenfrei zum Download

Herausgeber_in: Oxfam Australia, Melbourne

Autor_innen: S Nayeem Emran, Joy Kyriacou, Sarah Rogan

Redaktion: Melissa Spurgin

Schlagwörter: Arbeitsbedingungen, Asien, Bangladesch, Frauenrechte, Lohn, Menschenrechtsverletzungen, Unternehmensverantwortung

Kurzbeschreibung:

The research reveals not only harrowing personal stories of individuals, but a systemic failure to ensure payment of wages that are enough for people to afford even the basics of a decent life. There have been interviewed more than 470 workers across Bangladesh and Vietnam for this study. All of them were part of Australian clothing supply chains at the time of interview, employed in garment factories that supply at least one iconic Australian clothing brand. The investigation also included more than 130 interviews with factory owners, managers, union leaders and focus groups to present a clear picture of the way the fashion industry works in Australian garment supply chains.

The picture drawn is disturbing. Not only are almost all the workers we interviewed being paid well below a living wage; they are also struggling to feed themselves and their families, sometimes going hungry. They fall into spiraling debt, live in poor conditions and cannot afford the healthcare or education they and their families need.

This investigation reveals that the problems created by poverty wages in the garment industry are not isolated incidents. They cannot be fixed by action in just one factory or by addressing the hardships of just one worker. Only a strong, system-wide commitment from Australian brands with the power to change their practices will turn this around.

Erscheinungsjahr: 2019

Umfang: 60 Seiten bzw. 15 Seiten (Zusammenfassung)

Sprache: Englisch

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Herausgeber_in: International Labor Rights Forum, Washington

Autor_in: Elena Arengo

Redaktion: Lieana Foxvog, Judy Gearhart, Eric Gottwald

Schlagwörter: Arbeitsrechtsverletzungen, Bangladesch, CSR, Gewerkschaft, Indonesien, Lieferkette, Unternehmensverantwortung

Kurzbeschreibung:

The global apparel industry is characterized by complex global supply chains operated by large multinational brands and retailers, like Gap and Walmart, in which production is outsourced to hundreds of factories in developing nations to take advantage of low wages and weak labor law enforcement. This model of outsourced, globalized production has enabled multinational brands and retailers to not only increase profits by lowering labor costs, but also to insulate themselves from legal liability for working conditions in the factories making their products.

 With the failure of the traditional, corporate-led initiatives to address labor violations, new models have emerged to hold brands and retailers accountable for working conditions in their supply chains. Enforceable brand agreements (EBAs) differ significantly from corporate-led models because they seek to address the features of the apparel supply chain that are at the root of poor working conditions and labor rights violations: namely, the absence of binding and enforceable commitments, lack of transparency, sidelining of workers and their elected trade union representatives, and how the brands’ purchasing practices contribute to labor rights violations.

 This paper explores the successes and challenges of three examples — in Indonesia, Honduras, and Bangladesh — of EBAs in the global apparel industry, examining the context in which each was developed and how they address the deficiencies in the traditional CSR approach. It then outlines a four-part analytic framework, or essential elements, for identifying what a worker-centered, worker-driven model for advancing workers’ rights in the apparel supply chain should include. Finally, it lays out a road map for transforming the global apparel industry through greater uptake of worker-led initiatives and other actions necessary to strengthen worker rights in the global apparel industry.

Erscheinungsjahr: 2019

Umfang: 56 Seiten

Sprache: Englisch

Bezug: kostenfrei zum Download

Herausgeber_innen: International Labour Office; Global Labour University; Working Paper No. 38

Ggf Autor_innen: Mohd Raisul Islam Khan, Christa Wichterich

Schlagwörter: Asien, Bangladesch, Fabrikunglück, Gewerkschaft, Sicherheit, Unternehmensverantwortung

Kurzbeschreibung:

GLU | Safety and Labour Conditions: Implementation of the Accord and the NTPA III ABSTRACT The factory fire at Tazreen Fashions in 2012 and the collapse of the Rana Plaza in 2013 generated a huge outcry about the working conditions and labour relations in the Readymade Garment (RMG) industry in Bangladesh, and led to the adoption of the multi-stakeholder agreements Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh (Accord) at the international level and the National Tripartite Plan of Action (NTPA) at the domestic level. This paper investigates how the Accord and the NTPA have been implemented in the first two years after their adoption, whether they have contributed to an overall improvement in safety and labour conditions as well as to organizing in the RMG sector, and whether they can be considered as a “major breakthrough” and “game changer”.

The empirical research highlights the scope and limitations of the coverage of the two agreements. The findings indicate that after an initially good take-off, the activities lost pace and intensity and the remediation came almost to a standstill. The main assumption of the analysis of the Accord and NTPA implementation is that this process, its pace, results and constraints are consequences of the underlying power structures of the transnational apparel chains and the actual imbalance of power among the stakeholders. 

Erscheinungsjahr: 2015

Umfang: 61 Seiten

Sprache: Englisch

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Autor_in: Kausar Parvin, Mahfuz Al Mamun, Andrew Gibbs, Rachel Jewkes, Ruchira Tabassum Naved

Herausgeber_in: Assel Terlikbayeva, Columbia University, Kasachstan

Kurzbeschreibung:

The prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) is high (54%) in Bangladesh. Moreover, female garment workers report higher rates of IPV and are also vulnerable to workplace violence (WPV). Experience of violence puts women at increased risk of developing depressive symptoms, which are related with low self-esteem, lower life satisfaction and lower productivity. To our knowledge, there has been no previous research on depression among female garment workers and its connections to IPV and WPV in Bangladesh. This paper aims to address this gap by studying the relationship of IPV, WPV and depression among female garment workers.

This study shows the pathways through which experience of IPV and WPV lead to development of depressive symptoms among female garment workers. The link between women’s ability to mobilize resources with self-esteem and work-related stress indicates the need for socio-economic empowerment of women and may suggest that combined intervention to address IPV and women’s empowerment could be successful in dealing with WPV and mental health. 

Erscheinungsjahr: 2018

Umfang: -

Sprache: Englisch

Bezug:  kostenfrei zur Ansicht

Herausgeber_in: Fair Wear Foundation

Kurzbeschreibung:

A publication exploring solutions for tackling gender-based violence in the garment industry.

The publication revisits the issues that were discussed at the 2017 Gender Forum in Vietnam. It looks at what has changed since the 2017 Gender Forum, charting the progress achieved and the obstacles encountered by country teams over the course of the year —in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam —as they work toward achieving the goals and pledges made during the 2017 Gender Forum.

Erscheinungsjahr: 2018

Umfang: 34 Seiten

Sprache: Englisch

Bezug:  kostenfrei zum Download

Herausgeber_in: Asia Floor Wage Alliance, The Center for Alliance of Labor & Human Rights, Global Labor Justice, Sedane Labour Resource Centre, SLD

Schlagwörter: Befragung, Bangladesch, Diskriminierung, Gender, Gewalt, Frauenrechte, Frauen in der Bekleidungsindustrie, Kambodscha, Indonesien, Unternehmen und Menschenrechte, Unternehmensverantwortung, extraterritorialer Menschenrechtsschutz

Kurzbeschreibung:

This report—including interviews with more than 250 workers employed in 60 factories that supply to Walmart— documents the experiences of women garment workers at the base of Walmart garment supply chains in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Indonesia. Concentrated in short term, low-skill, and low-wage positions, they are at daily risk of gender-based violence and harassment at work. This report provides an empirical account of the spectrum of gender-based violence and risk factors for violence women workers face in Walmart garment supply chains. Chapter 4 of this report presents new research on gender-based violence in Walmart garment supplier factories in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Indonesia collected through interviews and focus group discussions with 25 workers and trade union leaders organizing in Walmart supply chains between February and May 2018. Systematically documenting risk factors for violence, this report presents new, in-depth profiles of 4 Walmart supplier factories in Bangladesh and Cambodia completed between February and May 2018. It also draws upon Asia Floor Wage Alliance (2016) documentation of rights violations at work in Walmart garment global supply chains, compiled over four years of research (2012-2016) on Walmart supply chains in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Indonesia.

Erscheinungsjahr: 2018

Umfang: 43 Seiten

Sprache: Englisch

Bezug: kostenfrei zum Download

Herausgeber_in: Asia Floor Wage Alliance, The Center for Alliance of Labor & Human Rights, Global Labor Justice, Sedane Labour Resource Centre, SLD

Schlagwörter: Befragung, Bangladesch, Diskriminierung, Gender, Gewalt, Frauenrechte, Frauen in der Bekleidungsindustrie, Sri Lanka, Kambodscha, Indien, Indonesien, Unternehmen und Menschenrechte, Unternehmensverantwortung, extraterritorialer Menschenrechtsschutz

Kurzbeschreibung:

This report—including interviews with more than 215 workers employed in 21 factories that supply to Gap—documents the experiences of women garment workers at the base of Gap garment

supply chains in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka. Concentrated in short term, low skill, and low-wage positions, they are at daily risk of gender based violence and harassment at work. Systematically documenting risk factors for violence, this report presents new, in-depth profiles of 9 Gap supplier factories in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and India completed between February and May 2018. It also draws upon Asia Floor Wage Alliance (2016) documentation of rights violations at work in Gap garment global supply chains in India and Indonesia, based upon field work conducted between August and October 2015.

Erscheinungsjahr: 2018

Umfang: 50 Seiten

Sprache: Englisch

Bezug: kostenfrei zum Download

Herausgeber_in: Asia Floor Wage Alliance, The Center for Alliance of Labor & Human Rights, Global Labor Justice, Sedane Labour Resource Centre, SLD

Schlagwörter: Befragung, Bangladesch, Diskriminierung, Gender, Gewalt, Frauenrechte, Frauen in der Bekleidungsindustrie, Kambodscha, Indien, Unternehmen und Menschenrechte, Unternehmensverantwortung, extraterritorialer Menschenrechtsschutz

Kurzbeschreibung:

This report—including interviews with more than 331 workers employed in 32 factories that supply to H&M—documents the experiences of women garment workers at the base of H&M garment supply chains. Concentrated in short term, low-skill, and low-wage positions, they are at daily risk of gender-based violence and harassment at work. Systematically documenting risk factors for violence, this report presents new, in-depth profiles of gendered hiring practices in 6 H&M supplier factories in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and India completed between February and May 2018. It also draws upon Asia Floor Wage Alliance (2016) documentation of rights violations at work in H&M garment global supply chains in Cambodia and India.

Erscheinungsjahr: 2018

Umfang: 53 Seiten

Sprache: Englisch

Bezug:  kostenfrei zum Download