Britain is familiar with headlines decrying the sweatshop conditions in which high street clothes are made. Sweatshop workers are often presented simply as victims. Yet last year in Bangladesh, workers organised through the National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF) won an 80 per cent increase in the minimum wage in the garment industry. In a country where women are often expected not to take part in political life, more than half of the union’s 27,000 members are female, a proportion that is reflected in its executive committee.
War on Want has worked in close partnership with the NGWF for many years, exposing the conditions in supply chains serving British retailers such as Tesco, Asda and Primark, as well as securing funds to help with the NGWF’s organising on the ground. This partnership, along with that of other allies such as Labour Behind the Label, has made sweatshops an important issue in both the UK and Bangladesh.
War on Want has worked in close partnership with the NGWF for many years, exposing the conditions in supply chains serving British retailers such as Tesco, Asda and Primark, as well as securing funds to help with the NGWF’s organising on the ground. This partnership, along with that of other allies such as Labour Behind the Label, has made sweatshops an important issue in both the UK and Bangladesh.
No comments: