Asian garment workers have been deprived of almost $12bn in wages and severance pay as international retailers cancelled orders and demanded price reductions in the wake of the pandemic, according to a labour rights group.
The Clean Clothes Campaign said that roughly 1.6m garment workers had lost their jobs in seven Asian countries, including Bangladesh, India and Myanmar, with many denied severance pay. Workers in the countries it surveyed, except Indonesia, had on average lost pay equivalent to two months’ wages or more.
As factories across Asia closed down due to lockdowns or cancelled orders, staff were laid off or paid only a small percentage of their normal wages, creating huge issues for workers in an industry where low pay makes saving difficult.