Apparel brands and retailers – including Adidas, C&A, H&M Group, Inditex, M&S and Primark – have joined employer organisations, unions and the International Labour Organization (ILO) to push for emergency funding to support garment factories and workers through the Covid-19 pandemic.
Organisations endorsing the initiative published last week ‘COVID-19: ACTION IN THE GLOBAL GARMENT INDUSTRY’ are the International Organisation of Employers, International Trade Union Confederation, Industriall Global Union, Bangladesh Employers Federation and the International Apparel Federation and heavyweights include PVH Corporation, Under Armour, Zalando, VT Corporation, Ralph Lauren and Tchibo.
The paper highlighted the reality of the garment supply industry. “The current situation is unprecedented in modern history in the scale and reach of impacts across sectors and countries globally. The collapse in demand for garments is a direct consequence of the measures taken by governments to slow the infection of COVID-19. Such measures have resulted in widespread retail closures, layoffs and furloughs, mandated factory shutdowns and layoffs across sectors slowing consumer demand, and damaged consumer confidence and security. The combination of these factors has resulted in the cancellation of orders throughout the global garment value chain, which, in turn, has left some brands, retailers and suppliers unable to pay workers and with concern about short, medium and long-term financial viability to continue their operations.
“In countries with weak health and social protection systems, failure to pay workers’ wages or provide income support could quickly impoverish potentially millions of people and deeply undermine the measures to protect workers and the wider population from the rapid spread of COVID-19. Immediate action is needed to secure the payment of wages and to provide support to employers to protect jobs going forward”.
