Transcript
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Garment Industry
Supply Chains
a r esource for worker education and solidar it y
Women Working Worldwide
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Writ ten / edit ed by Celia Mather f rom materials produced by Women Working Worldwi de and partner organisati ons.
Graphics by Angela Martin.
Designed at MMU Design Studio. Design and artwork by Steve Kelly.
Printed by Angela Cole and staff, MMU Reprographics, St Augustines .
2004
Acknowledgements
Women Working Worldwide would like to thank the following organisations for their financial support which made
this education pack possible:
The Community Fund
Department for I nternational Development, Brit ish Government
Fondation des Droits de l'Homme au Travail
European Commission
We would also like to thank the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF), Asia
Monitor Resource Centre, Clean Clothes Campaign, Maquil a Soli darit y Network and Unit e for the use of quot es and
case studies.
FeedbackWomen Working Worldwide is always interested to hear feedback on how and where our materials have been used,
including suggestions for improvements.
Women Working Worldwide
Manchester Metropolitan University
Manton Building
Rosamond Street West
Manchester M15 6LL UK
Tel: +44 (0)116 247 1760Fax: +44 (0)116 247 6321
Email: info@women-ww.org
Internet: www.women-ww.org
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Contents
IntroductionWhy this pack was produced and how it was developed.
Facilitators' NotesWho t hi s pack is for, what it contains, and how i t can be used.
Unit 1: What's my role as a garment worker?This Unit explains who t he world's garment workers are and t he dif fi cult ies they
and how to start mapping a supply chain.
Information Sheets
Faci li t ators' Guide
Unit 2: The world of garment production - wherThis Unit focuses on how t he garment indust ry supply chain works. I t assist s wo
a picture of t heir own global supply chain, and asks why soli darit y in t he supply
be important .
Information Sheets
Faci li t ators' Guide
Unit 3: Gap: example of a global supply chain
This Unit describes the global supply chain of the Gap company, and gives case solidarit y buil t by and for workers who produce Gap clothes. I t is an example t ha
used t o develop a picture of ot her supply chains.
Information Sheets
Faci li t ators' Guide
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Unit 5: Solidarity between workers locallyThis Unit looks at the growing 'informalisation' of employment, and how to build soli
between 'formal' and 'in formal' garment workers, as well as wit h ot hers in t he local co
Information Sheets
Faci li t ators' Guide
Unit 6: Solidarity along the supply chainThis Unit concerns international solidarity within a supply chain, describing the garm
workers' solidarity organisations and networks that exist. It looks briefly at company
Codes of Conduct.
Information SheetsFaci li t ators' Guide
Unit 7: Drawing up a plan of actionThis Unit helps workers t o plan and implement a campaign t o improve their sit uati on
Information SheetsFaci li t ators' Guide
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Introduction
Why this pack was produced
I n t odays era of globalisati on, many goods are produced in c
subcont ract ing that st retch across t he world. I t is happening o
many industries - both i n manufacturing and i n services.
The increasing informalisation of the workforce is a key feature o
Informalisation means the practice by employers of hiring worke
they are not recognised as employees under labour law, t hat is to
Informal workers may be on repeated short -t erm contracts, or
as homeworkers, for example. Such workers have li t t le chance o
right s. Many do not know who they are really working for. Mean
avoid t heir l egal responsibi li t ies, reduce their costs, and i ncrea
Employers are not necessarily breaking the law; they are simplBut the hard-won employment rights of workers are being deep
Subcontracti ng supply chains can be quit e diff icult to underst
t heir i mpact on workers organisati on. The sit uati on i s present
for the trade union movement around the world.
The garment i ndustry is one that i s parti cularly mobile, and it
become truly gl obal and compli cated. The indust ry is constantvulnerable sectors of society f rom which t o draw it s workers, a
location to avoid trade unions. Garment workers are finding it
t o organise to defend their right s.
So, this pack focuses on the garment industry. The main aim is
workers, t he majori t y of whom are women, to understand the
they are working. We believe this will help them to maximise
to organise and build solidarity t o claim their right s.
Strong, local organisation of workers is the essential first step
support from the local communit y. But when working in a sup
important to build l inks between workers at diff erent poi nt s a
chains even between many countries
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How this pack was developed
This pack is one out come of a year-long acti on-research project on garment s
chains carried out by Women Working Worldwide and some of its partnerorganisations during 2002-2003. These partners are:
Hong Kong Christ ian I ndustri al Council, Hong Kong/ China
Friends of Women, Thail and
Karmojibi Nari, Bangladesh
Phi li ppines Resource Cent re
Baguio Women Workers Programme, Philippines
Transnationals Information Exchange Asia (TIE-Asia), Sri Lanka
Working Womens Organisat ion, Pakistan
Union Research Group, I ndi a
Bulgaria Gender Research Foundation
The acti on-research project involved WWW and t he partner organisat ions i n fout in great detail about how supply chains operate. They uncovered in part i
the extent of subcontracting by large manufacturers to smaller factories, and
managers oft en engage thei r own employees to act as agent s to place work o
wit h homeworkers in t he surrounding communit y.
Much of t he information and most of t he case studies in t hi s pack are taken f
the results of t his act ion- research project.
I ndivi dual modules for t he educati on pack were t hen developed by the partn
organisat ions, exchanged, t ranslated, and pilot ed with groups of workers in t
various count ries. Feedback from t he pi lot ing was shared at a seminar in Man
in October 2003, from which Celia Mather compiled this resource pack.
Part of a wider WWW project
The action-research project was part of a wider WWW project called The righ
workers in garment industry subcontracting chains running January 2002 t
2004. This involved research also on garment supply chains involvi ng t he UK
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Facilitators Notes
Who this pack is for
This pack is for use in workers education and organisation by tuto
and organisers.
It is designed for use with garment workers, primarily but not only
factory-based workers workers in small production units such as sweatshops
homeworkers.
I t can also be used in a wider range of educat ional sett ings, fo
retail / shop workers who sell garments
consumers who buy garments
transport workers who deal with garments as cargo
students who are studying t he world economy globalisation campaigners, as an example of a key global in
What this pack contains
The first Units concentrate on developing the skills to map theparticular groups of workers are in, piecing together the puzz
Unit 1 encourages garment workers to begin analysing t hethey are in, from their own sit uation
Unit 2 assists workers to analyse their supply chain in moreint ernat ional nature, and who/ where the other work
Unit 3 looks at t he Gap global supply chain, for di rect use wGap supply chain, or for others to use as an example
Unit 4 explores t he wider context of developments in the g
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What this pack does not cover
The pack is mostly about the relationships between employers and workers. T
some discussion of i nt ernational t rade, i nvestment and labour policy. Howevpack barely goes int o t he role of nati onal government s in passing and enacti
employment legislation, creating jobs, and supporting investors. Facilitators
fi nd it useful t o add in di scussion of t hese issues relevant t o your own count
The structure of the unitsEach of t he seven Unit s contains two secti ons:
Information Sheets:
These sheets contain analysis, case studies, graphics, and sources of f urther info
The sheets aim t o provide useful background reading for t hose facili t ators fothe issues may be relatively new.
We anticipate that facilitators will select individual sheets to use educationa
taking into account the nature of the educational programme and the interes
background and capacit y of t he parti cipants.
Somet imes selected I nformati on Sheets can be used wit hin t he educat ional sas a basis for discussion. The case studies are particularly intended for this p
Selected Informati on Sheets can be given to t he parti cipants to t ake home t
discuss wit h ot hers, and use in organising f ellow workers.
Facilitators Guide:
The facili t ators guide in each Uni t gives ideas for how the materials might b
educati onally. They give:
The aims of t he Unit / session
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How this pack can be used
WWW does not anti cipate t hat f acilit ators will use all t he mate
pack, nor necessaril y in t he order that they are given. Rather, select materials flexibly, according t o your educat ional needs.
Overall, however, t he pack is designed t o start wit h and bui ld
of garment workers, i ncluding t hose for whom workers organis
is relatively new. This can be the case, for example, for homew
work in i solat ion, or for workers where repression makes it ver
t rade unions.
Therefore the pack uses the inductive method of drawing on th
experience of the participants, and then adding further inform
encourage them to deepen their analysis and consider acti on t
at t he local level and bui lds outwards to t he nat ional and int
The pack encourages action-research where workers actively
about their own situation and how it fits into the wider supply t o look for t he labels and brand-names on the cloth ing t hey m
the enterprise they work for, and how thi s enterpri se is linked
and companies, even across the world.
Acti on-research can be very challenging. There is usually a l im
can find out . However, t hi s should not be allowed to di scoura
The process of t rying t o fi nd out is a learning experience in i t sof t ime.
Facil it ators can and should play a key role in support ing t hi s a
workers. A number of WWW partners found t hat providing extr
right moment gave great encouragement to t he workers to con
The I nformati on Sheets in t his pack provide some of t his back
sources of more information, particularly through the Internet
from researchers in the trade unions, NGOs, and academic ins
country, government publi cat ions, and so on.
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The role of the facilitator
WWW anti cipates or expects that facili t ators will :
(a) Find and use background research that already exists on the garment in
in your own country, and on your national employment laws, so that you
add in i nformat ion t hat t he parti cipants may not already have.
(b) Use the pack flexibly, responding to the needs and experience of each
parti cular set of parti cipants. Where they are experienced union acti vists
example, it may be more appropriate to start with Unit 4 on the global gindust ry. Diff erent I nformati on Sheets may be appropriate for di ff erent w
(c) Adapt the educational methods according t o the culture of l earning whe
are. I n some places parti cipants become more involved in learning throu
energetic role-plays, elsewhere through discussion in small groups, and y
elsewhere through drawing pictures. Where literacy levels are low, asking
parti cipants one-by-one to read aloud a few paragraphs allows all parti ci
to grasp the contents of a written text at a similar speed. What is well knthat people rarely learn much from a long presentation of new informatio
someone standing out front.
Some Units contain drawings and diagrams with blank spaces. These are tem
to be used educationally. You can fill in the blanks before the session. Or you
ask the parti cipants t o help fi ll i n t he blanks. The second method helps to dr
the information that participants already have, even if they are unaware of th
Obviously, t hi s means that t he maps and diagrams produced wil l di ff er depen
the employer, country and type of workers participating in the training. Diffe
groups of part icipant s wil l have diff erent types of i nformati on. Therefore exa
given i n t his pack may not always be appli cable. We expect facili t ators to us
own experience to adapt t hem.
Evaluation
It is always useful to find out what participants felt they learnt from a sessio
is one method whi ch could be used at t he end of each session.
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Whats my rogarment w
Information Sheets
Millions of workers around the world make clothes. There acloth. There are those who sew seams, make buttonholesfinish off by cutting threads and sewing on labels. The cloth cu
The rest are mostly women.
Garment workers work in many different places. Som
hundreds of others in big factori es. Others are in sm
say, 50. There are many in small units of just a few w
there are homeworkers, working unseen and isolated
Most of t hese workers are linked t ogether, supplying
world market . Most suff er very low wages, l ong and
job insecurit y.
A woman in her t iny home in the slums of M
finishing the finger ends of gloves. The wo
homeworker through an agent working out of a lo
the factory, she doesnt know, though she does kn
there, cutting and sewing. None of them know w
to produce these gloves, but the factory worker
gloves are going to the UK and Germany. La
British shop worker is selling the gloves. She sh
Made in India label. They are good qualit y gloves
warm in the harsh European winter. The womanmay give a passing t hought t o the Indian wor
I n t hi s way, garment workers in poor countri es acros
li nked int o global chains that supply shirt s, j eans, s
kinds of clot hing to markets that are most ly in the
What type of garment workdo you do?
Do you work in a big factory,
a small factory, a small
workshop, or at home?
Does your pay cover what you
need for living adequately?
Do you have to work overtime
when you dont want to?
Do you face health or other
problems at your workplace?
Why do you think the garment
industry employs so many
women workers? Have you ever got together
with other garment workers to
try to improve your situation?
Key Questions:
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Difficulties faced by garment workers
Low wagesGarment workers are usuall y very poorl y paid. I n many cases,
these wages are below the legal mini mum wage in t he country
concerned. Even the legal mini mum is it self of t en well below a
living wage, t hat is to say enough money to buy adequate food,
housing, clothi ng, education for children, etc.
The majority of garment workers are women. They have skills
which t he garment employers need. But most ly women are
employed rather than men because they can be paid less than
men, because of gender discriminati on.
Many garment workers also report they are paid late. Sometimes
wage calculations are very complex, based on a combination of
time and piece-rate payment. This makes it very difficult to work
out what workers should be paid. Many report signing a blank
sheet of paper when t hey are given t heir wages, whi ch means
that their employers are not declaring the real wage bill to
the government.
1
Typical monthly wages of garment factory workers(converted into US$)
Country Monthly wages including Overtime
overtime in US$
Bangladesh 26-55 51-125 hours a month, co
Bulgaria 113China Peak times: 84
Slack times: 20 100 hours a month, comp
India 23-35
Indonesia 53 100 hours a month
Lesotho 83-133 108 hours a mont h, most l
Wdemanded tthe compan
to oth
facto
recently
much
servic
a
48
Union a
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Job insecurityMil li ons of garment workers are vulnerable t o losing t heir j obs
Even workers who are paid very badly for l ong hours and high o
as orders are moved to places where other workers can be emp
Garment workers also face daily insecurity. Employers want to
they have many orders and fire them again when work is scarc
people on short fixed-term contracts, as seasonal workers, or a
they send work out to home-based workers, to whom they can
when there is work to be done. Many garment employers fail t oemployment, meaning t hat t he workers have no legal ri ght s.
Irregular work/long hoursThere is eit her too much work or too l it t le. During peak orders
be 10 -16 hours a day or even more, and no days off. To make
must accept overt ime. Sometimes overtime is unpaid but work
fear of losing t heir j obs. I n all count ries, garment workers worover 6 days each week.
Lack of social welfareMany workers report t hat employers are faili ng t o make social
and keep the money themselves. This leaves the workers witho
welfare cover.
Health and safety issuesGarment workers often face: very hi gh t emperatures and/ or no
vent ilat ion; i nadequate light ing; l ack of fi re-fi ghti ng equipme
sanit ati on; unhygienic canteens; and lack of drinki ng water. Il
asthma can be brought on by these condit ions. Many workers
constant fatigue, headaches and fevers. Yet most find it very
off due to illness.
HarassmentWomen workers are more likely to be harassed than men worke
verbal, sexual, and physical abuse. Workers may be threatened
do not submit. Long overtime means that women finish work l
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1 AH WENS STORY
Ah Wen was born in a small city in Guangdong province, China. Herfamily was poor and in 1983, aged just 15, Ah Wen left home to work
in garment factories in bigger cities. Her first workplace was a
state-owned factory in Guangzhou producing dolls clothing. She
was considered lucky to work there but she felt discriminated
against as a country woman and the wages were very low.
Ah Wen moved to another factory. This one was Hong Kong-owned and was
constantly taking in new workers, many of them young women from the
rural areas like Ah Wen. The factory provided a dormitory
bed and food, and the pay was reasonable. So they put
up with the poor working and living conditions, and the
abusive behaviour of managers. But something was
wrong with her breathing. Ah Wen thought it was due to
fatigue but it was difficult to ask for sick leave. So she
bought medicine from the pharmacy and did not see the
doctor. Her health got worse. Eventually she suspected it
could be due to dust in the factory. She had spent most
of her savings on medicine, and so she moved on.
By 1989, Ah Wen followed her friends to work in an electronics factory in
Shenzhen. There they earned about the same wages but the working
conditions were much better. After two years she went home to get
married. Ah Wen now worked as a homeworker to supplement her familys
income. She received semi-finished garments from the factories nearby.
But the factory was always finding some excuse to deduct money from her
pay. In 1996 Ah Wen stopped working at home and went back into a
garment factory. Her experience meant she could work as a supervisor.
Some supervisors like Ah Wen are paid monthly getting RMB 800 (about
Ah Wen sees howpaid jobs to their frienthe difficult, dirty
those coming from
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JEANS STORY
Jean is a white woman in the UK, in her ffor the same garment company for 16 ye
to floor supervisor. Jean places a great
her work as supervisor and does not have
h
But the company has just moved most of its prod
massive redundancies in its UK workforce, reduci
around 12. All the employees were women besides
who worked in the cutting room. The owner lik
people on a full-time, permanent basis. But Jea
worked part-time, and many were let go wh
restarted later w
The redundancies caused a lot of tension as som
there for many years were retrenched before others
than a year. Who was kept on was d
multi-task. Jean described the time as
the workers blamed the work from ab
the factory. As work was sent out an
had to pack and check it. They do
from offshoreThey class it as differe
same company. And its work and you are going
not got a l
The biggest problem for Jean is that the future f
workforce is so insecure. I think we have just got
things will pick up. Because there is not a lot
going to be done (here). Its all small orders and th
moment I dont feel secure because I dont kno
I dont feel secure because Idont know if I am going to be sathere this time next year.
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1 VEENAS STORY
Veena is a homeworker in India, mostly working on thread-trimming.She has many grievances, but has never got to the point of organising.
Piece-rates are set at a level which make it impossible for one worker alone
to earn anything like the minimum wage. So other members of the family,
especially the girls, get drawn in. Veena thinks there are also hidden
deductions. She has to buy the thread-cutter for trimming, and
thread if she is button-holing, and this eats into her pay. She has
to carry the heavy bundle of clothing from the factory to her
home in a sack on her head, and then back to the factory and up
several flights of stairs when the work is finished, and this time
is not compensated. Even the meagre wages are not always there. If she
arrives late at the factory or there are few orders, she might have to go
home empty-handed.
But when there is an urgent order to be completed, the employer expects
them to put aside everything else to complete it. He doesnt consider our
problems. If we cant complete an urgent order, he yells at us or threatens
not to give us orders in the future. We have to tolerate his behaviour,
Veena complains.
Homework is said to be suitable for women because they can
combine it with domestic duties. But Veenas experience of no work
followed by too much work shows what a myth this is. They do not get any
paid leave or holidays, and are often forced to work extra on festival days
when they would prefer to relax with their families. On top of everything,
the supervisors and men workers at the factory often make
dirty remarks, making the women feel treated with no respect. Veena
feels that there should not be discrimination between factory
workers and homeworkers: We are workers and there should
We are wobe equal respe
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Whats my role as a garmentworker?
Facilitato
Aims:
Taking workers reali t y and experiences as the start ing poin t , t his Unit aims t
encourage garment workers to think about their own work situation, and t
for their problems;
provide in formati on about garment workers elsewhere who may be experie
similar sit uations;
start mapping t he supply chain and the other workers who are in thi s cha
Methods:
Identifying problems at work1
What problems are we facing at
work?
Which of the problems we face
are currently getting worse?
Key Questions:
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Identifying the reasons for problems at work
Select a case study in this Unit and ask a participant to read it out aloud to the otfol lowed by discussion. Or small groups can take a case study each, read aloud, dis
report back to t he whole group.
Ah Wens Story shows:
Discrimination against migrant workers
I nadequate factory wages
Bad work conditions and ill health
Payment dif fi cult ies for homeworkers
Management favourit ism
Jeans Story shows:
Lay-offs and reduced work due to
int ernati onal subcontracting
Job insecurit y leading to resentment
among workers
Veenas Story shows:
Low piece rates and hi gh quot as
Addit ional cost s incurred by homeworkers Family involvement in fi nishing quotas
I nsecure work - eit her too much
or too l i tt le
Harassment from employers
List responses on whiteboard/flip-chart, group
similar responses, and clarify.
2
What are the similarit
situation that this gar
worker is facing with o
situation? What are thdifferences?
Why are we and other w
even in far off countrie
experiencing these pro
at work?
Why are so many garm
workers women?
Who causes/is respons
these problems?
Key Questio
1
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Starting to map the supply chain
This is a group parti cipatory exercise to encourage the parti cipants t o begin bof the supply chain in which they work.
You can start by asking t rigger quest ions about what t hey know about t hei
such as:
What is t he name of t he company your work for?
Who owns the company you work for?
Where do t he cloth, t hread, zips or but t ons come from?
I s work going out from the local factory t o sweatshops and/ or people in t
Where do the goods go when the leave the local factory? Are they going t
countri es or companies?
Whose labels are on t he goods?
Who are the workers who make the clothes we buy, and where are they?
As the participants answer, write up their contributions on a flip-chart or big on t he wall, and develop a diagram of t heir chain.
On page 17 there is an example of what the chain couldlook like. Each chain
by workers will be different.
Page 18 has small pictures of factories and other production units, of cloth,
and zips, and of trucks and ships, etc. These can be used visually to trigger id
the parti cipants.
Conti nue to build t he chain unt il the group fini shes contribut ing. The facili ta
key missing elements.
The diagram need not be t oo complex. I ndeed, the part icipants may not have
at t he start. This should not be a cause for worry or crit ici sm. You can poin t o
the beginning.
Time should be given for questions and discussion.
Make sure you keep a copy of t hi s map for use in lat er sessions.
3
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How can we find out more?
There will be gaps in the parti cipants diagram of t heir supply chain . This is an optalk about how workers can f ind out more.
What else do we want t o fi nd out about our supply chain?
Where can we look for in formati on?
Who can we ask?
List t he responses. The facili t ator can add in wit h extra examples.
The addresses of other companies are often written on the packages and boxes
sent from the factory. There are addresses also on the boxes of materials and p
we receive at t he factory. Sometimes there is writ ing in other languages, but w
to copy things down.
There are many documents, let t ers, receipt s and orders in t he factory which ha
names and addresses, figures, quantities, etc. Office workers may be willing to this information.
We can also fi nd out more about foreign and local managers, and f ind out who
are and which count ries/ companies they are from.
We often see the names of the products we make on the labels.
So, there may be a lot of information in front of our eyes. But perhaps we just don
is important, and so we have not noticed it before.
What did we learn?
Take the opportunit y to fi nd out what t he participants felt t hey learnt f rom this U
in Asian countries, it was repeatedly found that this session provided the first oppworkers t o consider t he global supply chain, and to t hink about similar workers t o
other countries.
Follow-up action:
41
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1
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The world of garment produwhere do I
Information Sheets
All over the world, clothes were traditionally manufactureBut over the past thirty years, the garment industry has binvolving workers - mostly in the poorer countries - in makingnear and far. Most of their work is for big companies, also call
corporations, that are based in the r ich countries.
About 20 big companies dominate world produ
13 from the USA, 5 from Europe, and 2 from Jap
The clothing and textile industry is worth about
(thousand million) a year (2001).
How garments are produced around the world has b
compli cated. The big companies that sell garment s
other companies to make them. This is called subc
subcontractors oft en subcontract t o smaller compa
subcontract again. Many companies are involved, a
It is known as the garment supply chain. At the vchain are workers in sweatshops and women worki
It means that garment workers in many different fa
many dif ferent countri es, can be making clot hing f
They are linked t ogether i n t he same supply chain,
dont know it .
Most garment workers have no idea who t hey are really workin
the goods they make are sold. They usually dont know who th
their supply chain. Garment workers oft en feel alone in t heir s
and job securit y.
What isSubcontracting?
Subcontracting is the term used
when a company agrees a contract
with another company to manufacture
a product or part of it, or to carry out
a service. The second company is
known as the subcontractor or
the supplier.
A contract to manufacture garments
usually states the quantity, type,
quality, deadline, and price for which
the subcontractor must deliver the
garments. The first company will
then sell the final product as its own.
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How does the supply chain work?
Clot hing retail ers place orders wit h bi g manufacturers who t hen subcont ract t o small
in t urn oft en outsource to homeworkers. This is the basic supply chain in t he garmen
There are many ot her players who are part of t he supply chain. I n order for workers t o
effectively, it may be important to know who all the players are.
Retailers are the companies which sell to the public or consumers. Retailers mown chain of stores, somet imes in many countri es. Or t hey may sell their goods in ot
mail order, or t hese days through the I nt ernet. Retailers do not make the goods; t heSome have brand-names or labels which are famous worldwide, which help to sell th
Others are much less known. Retai lers are most ly based in Western Europe or North A
their main markets are.
The head office of a retailercomes up wit h new designs for fashionable clothes. I t a
information on sales from it s shops. I t t hen sends out orders for the new designs, or
garments t hat are selli ng well, t o the companysregional offices
inAsia, South AmeEurope. These are also known as the buyers.
Some retailers also have national offices in t he countri es where their garments are m
is to carry out factory checks to monitor quality, and help with scheduling and shipp
fi nished garments.
Manufacturers organise the making of the clothes. But first they must winthe retailer. The regional of fi ce of t he retailer asks a number of manufacturers t o comorders. They negotiate on price, materials and deli very. The retailer selects the manu
offers t he best deal.
Big retail ers li ke to work wit h big manufacturers who can produce large volumes of g
qualit y, and t hat have text il e wings to supply the clot h. Clot h and suppli es such as t
buttons come in from other suppliers too.
Smaller factories: Oft en a big manufacturer subcontracts producti on t o It may do this when it cannot handle the volume, meet the deadline, or do the work f
price. Qualit y standards and working condit ions are worse in smaller factories. They k
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Back up the supply chain
Then the fi nished garments go back up the chain. They cross t
t heir markets.
Transport and distribution is subcontracted ouspeciali se in the movement of goods across the world. The garme
truck and van drivers, port workers, seafarers on ships and wareho
Retailers receive the goods they ordered into t heir depots ansend t hem out i nt o the shops and stores, where shop workers se
Quit e often some of the garments go to shops and markets in t he
made. This happens when too many garments are produced, or an
the garments did not pass the quality control. Often they are sold
creates unfair competition for local manufacturers by forcing dow
Agents operate all along t he subcont ract ing supply chain. Some a
on behalf of other big companies, dealing with very big volumes o
small, handling low volumes, for example taking work out of factoFor all of them, their money comes from the difference between w
contract and what they pay others to do the work. They increase th
as little information as possible to those above as well as those be
This is how well-known brand-name garments are made and so
The Story of a Glove gi ves an example of a supply chain of the
Who Gets What Profitfrom a Shirt?
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The Story of a Glove
I n t he headquarters of Gap USA, designers are
designing gloves to sell in stores across the US
during the winter months. At the same time,
buyers are looking at t he sales figures for gloves
from t he year before to decide how many pairs
of gloves to order.
When the design and number of gloves are
agreed, t he order is sent t o Gap InternationalSourcing. The Asian headquarters are based
in Singapore.
From this office they send the order to national
offices based in different Asian countries. In
our example they send t he design and order tothe off ice in t he Phili ppines offi ce - Gap
International Sourcing (Philippines).
The order is then sent t o Red Garments. The
gloves are made up in the factory. From July to
October, Red Garments have so many orders
that t hey hire piece-rate workers to supplementtheir permanent workers.
Fini shing off the gloves - closing the ti ps,
li nking, and hemming - needs to be done by
hand. This procedure t akes a long t ime, so it is
not done inside the factory. Line Leaders takeextra work from the factory and give it to
friends and relations in their community.
These women are homeworkers They do the
Line Leader
Red Garme
Red Garme
Gap InternatSourcing Phili
Gap InternatSourcing
Asian Headqu
Gap - USA
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MELODYS STOR
Melody used to work for a garment firm in the
Zone in the northern Philippines. The factory
national and produced bags for export. Melody
who led in the formation of a trade union in th
support of most of the workers. Issues th
benefits, and a high quota system lead
Then the company filed a no
financial losses. This left no opti
go on strike. But in fact it
another export-processing zone
it shifted production. It ran awa
While the labour case was pending, many worke
and deprived of the money and benefits due the
two months searching for new job. She and oth
discriminated against. They were not hired by
because they were
Being a single parent, with a 4 year old son, Me
Now she takes in work at home, closing tips and fin
line-leader from the local factory subcontracts th
peak season, when they are producing for the wint
Melody gets the equivalent of US$0.06 for each pa
It takes her about 8 hours to do 20 pairs, and so
(less 20% tax). This barely sustains her familys d
leader gets US$0.14 per pair just for subcontracting
Melody gets the equivalent of US$0.06 for
each pair of gloves she finishes. It takes her about
8 hours to do 20 pairs, and so she gets US$1.20 a
day (less 20% tax).
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PARVEENS STORY
Parveen is a separated mother of three, living in the UK. She has never
worked in the garment industry outside her home although she would
like to. She recently left the supplier for whom she had been making
clothes for four years. She now makes punch bags for another supplier.
She knows the name of her supplier, who is another Asian woman. But
she knows very little about her suppliers company. She knows that
the punch bags are sold by a major retailer because she saw them for
sale in a catalogue.
Parveen was very happy to move to this new supplier as she now gets paid
regularly. But she still only earns around 3 (US$4.8) per hour, which is
below the national legal minimum wage. Payment from her old supplier
was very irregular but it wasnt necessarily her fault. The company used to
pay her money to her husband and at first she did not know how much she
was earning. When she found out she was getting less than others, she
rowed with her employer but they told her if you dont like it, dont work
(i.e. you can quit). Parveen says: It is like that if you fall out with them.
My supplier worked for pennies and still never got the money. Her supplier
was her husbands relative. She was really running around.
Despite all these problems with homeworking, Parveen says the biggest
issue is that the homeworking is disappearing. All
the local factories are importing goods direct from
Pakistan and China, and they say they cannot pay the
homeworkers more than they do or they would close.
If her employer were to be prosecuted for theminimum wage, he would not be able to pay the bills,
would close down, and she would not get any work, she believes. Ideally
Parveen would like to work in a factory because the pay is better, but she
cannot as she cannot speak good enough English
...she still only 3 (US$4.8) per hour, wthe national legal minimum
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The world of garment producwhere do I fit in?
Facilitato
Aims:
Buildi ng on t he ideas and act ivit ies developed in Unit 1, t his Unit aims to:
map the global garment supply chain of which the participants are part;
help them understand t heir posit ion and role in t his chain;
ident if y who are the key players/ major stakeholders in t he chain, and wh
the chain;
start t o explore where and how is it possibl e for workers to bring pressure
the chain so as to overcome their problems.
Preparation:
Background reading/ research on the garment indust ry in your country, and o
that t he parti cipants may be involved in. I t will be helpful if t he facili t ator h
information about the countries supplying components and where the finishe
being sold.
Methods:
Building a picture of our global garment sup
Begin with the local map that was drawn up in Unit 1, recapping the major po
Ask the participants to add to their map any information they have gathered
from labels on their goods, from factory signboards, f rom company docum
1
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Our place in the world of garment production
This is another way of vi sualising t he global supply chain, t aking a map of t he wo
basis. I t can help t he parti cipants become more aware of t he other countri es wher
workers in t heir supply chain.
Famili arise t he parti cipants wit h t he map Journey of an Embroidered Shirt on pag
Note t he key features:
The orders come from the industrialised countries, in this case the USA;
Components such as clot h, but tons and zips oft en come in from ot her count rieI ndia, the Phil ippi nes and Malaysia, i n t his case China;
I n Pakistan, where these shi rts are assembled, t he work is done by diff erent un
factori es, whi ch also subcontract t o smaller factori es, who in t urn use homewo
The shirts are exported to the USA and Europe to be sold.
You can then use the blank world map on page 30. Ask t he parti cipants to work i n
and fill it in as much as t hey can with information about their own supply chain. A
draw arrows and boxes showing components/ raw materials coming i n - where a
butt ons, etc. coming from?
draw arrows and boxes showing local production - by workers in factories, swea
their homes;
draw arrows and boxes showing where the finished goods go to.
The facilitator can add in information to help complete the map.
22
In which other countries a
workers in our supply cha
What kinds of work are th
doing?
Key Question
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How does the supply chain work?
The aim is to help part icipants consider who benefit s most from t he global su
dif ferent power of: retailers, manufacturers, small subcontracti ng factori es, a
workers, homeworkers.
The facilitator can use the diagram The Story of a Glove on page 22 and the
does the supply chain work? on page 20 - 21 to present in formati on on t he k
global garment supply chain.
You can also use the graphic Who Gets What Profi t from a Shi rt ? on page 21 how the profit s of t he garment i ndustry are distri buted. A simi lar graphic for
found at: htt p:/ / www.cleanclothes.org/ campaign/ shoe.ht m
The diagram shows that there are big profi t s going t o t he retail ers and brand
the top of the supply chain. These profits could be redistributed to the workf
The retailers and brand-name owners take a much larger share, and have mor
manufacturers. These points have an impact on the campaign strategies of wodiscussed i n l ater Unit s.
3
Who benefits and
in the supply cha
Why do workers g
proportion of the
Is this fair?
What arguments
use to win a grea
the profits?
Key Ques
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Why might we build solidarity in our supply cha
The case studies in t his Unit can be used t o il lustrate the impact of the supply cha
They show how product ion i s moved so as to weaken workers demands for decent
bett er condit ions, or for t heir union to be respected.
Melodys Story shows:
Union-bust ing - by shif t ing producti on to another location
Seasonal homeworking
I nadequate wages
Subcontracti ng from t he factory t o homeworkers
The profit made by subcontracti ng
Parveens Story shows:
Importance of personal contacts in getting home work
Husband cont rolli ng wages Non-payment of outstanding wages
Fear of losing your job if you ask for an adequate wage
This is an opportunity to begin discussing why knowing about the
int ernat ional garment supply chain might be useful t o help
overcome such problems.
The issues are explored in greater depth in later Units and so for
now t he aim can just be to sti mulate awareness.
If the partcipants have developed a map of their supply chain, this
can be used as an aid to discussion about who else is in our supply
chain wit h whom we could bui ld alli ances.
What did we learn? Evaluation of the session.
4
Why
supply c
own diff
Who build all
What
could bu
How
K
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Journey of an Embroidered Shirt
1
2
2
5
5
3
4
2
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2
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Gap: exama globa
Information Sheets
Gap is a chain of well-known stores spanning the globe. Gap slike jeans, T-shirts and shirts - for men, women and childreany clothes itself. It is a retailer - it only sells clothes. Instead o
sells, Gap subcontracts production to thousands of manufacture
Gap is based in San Francisco, USA.
I t has 4,200 stores throughout t he world.
It employs 165,000 people altogether.
I n 2002, Gaps sales were US$13,848 mi ll ion.
I n 2001, Gap bought clothes from 3,600 companies in mor
Gap has several brand names that are sewn on the labels of th
them. They are: Gap, GapKids, babyGap, Banana Republic and O
Pressure on Gap from international ca
People around the world have become aware of
garment workers. They include t hose who buy c
countries very far away from the garment worke
Famous brand-names such as Gap have come u
that t hey have a responsibil it y t o ensure that w
in a humane way, wi th respect for t heir ri ght s.
Gap has responded by issuing a Code of Conduc
respect. This includes no forced labour, at least a safe and healt hy working environment , and m
special department, wit h staff i n 25 countries, t
Code is implemented by i ts suppli ers. Gap says it
term partnerships with campaigners and local o
Do you work in the Gap supply
chain? If so, do you know where
the orders come from and where
the goods you make go to? If you dont work for Gap, can you
build a picture of your global
supply chain like the one for Gap?
Key Questions:
3
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Whos Who in the Gap supply chain
Maps 1 and 2 show the many diff erent people, companies, agents, of fi ces, f actories
and ot her workplaces involved i n t he Gap supply chain . Who are t hey, and what do
they do?
Gap Store: This is where garments are sold. Information on sales from everystore are continuously sent to Gap headquarters.
Gap-USA: This is Gap headquarters for the USA. There, GAP organises design,ordering, and re-ordering of garment s that are selli ng quickly.
Gap International Sourcing regional office: The regionalsourcing office gets the orders from Gap-USA and is responsible for sending out
contracts to manufacturers. They choose the manufacturers.
Gap International Sourcing national office: The nat ionalsourcing off ices are generally responsible for qualit y control and moni toring
condit ions for workers in factori es. Sometimes they are also responsible for shippi ngfinished garments to the regional office or to Gap-USA (or Gap-Europe, Gap-Canada,
Gap-Japan).
Blue Textile and Garment Manufacturing: The is theheadquarters of a l arge texti le and garment manufacturing company. Large
companies like Blue oft en have factories in several dif ferent countri es. They get
orders from big companies li ke Gap, do all t he admin istrat ion and planning in t heir
headquarters, and then send t he orders and deadlines to their subsidiaries.
Blue Textiles: This is a subsidiary of Blue Texti le and GarmentManufacturing. I t makes some of t he text il es that will be used by Blue Garment s.
Blue Garments: Thi s is also a subsidiary of Blue Texti le and GarmentManufacturing. I t makes up the garments.
Blue small factory: Big compani es like Blue Texti le and GarmentManufacturing oft en have smaller factories that employ women on short cont ract s
and pay pi ece-rat e wages.
Purple small factory: Thi i ll f t t h t i t d b Bl
3
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Map 1
Supply Chain Showing The Downward Flow of Prod
Raw
di
butt
Purp
Gap Stores in USA
Gap USA
Gap International Sourcing Regional Office Singa
Gap International Sourcing Regional Office Singa
Blue Textiles & Garments
Orange Textiles
Blue Garments
Blue small factoryAgent
Blue Textiles
3
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Map 2
Supply Chain Showing The Upward Flow of Product
Gap Storesin US
Gap Storesin Canada
Gap Storesin Europe
Gap USA Gap Canada Gap Europe
Sm& Fle
DReta
Gap International Singapore
Gap International Sourcing -country office e.g. Pakistan
AgentPur
fBlue small factory
Blue Garments
3
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RANIS STORY
Rani works in the finishing department
Lahore, Pakistan, which exports T-shirts and je
500 women work there, aged between
department, there are 15 women
Although she has been working there for t
temporary worker. She has no fixed working hou
finishing at 10-11 pm. We go home when boss
We work long hours but we dont get any overtime
harasses me by making unwelcome remarks. He
the young girls and threatens them he will stop th
If I refuse to do overtime, they will ask me to leave
not allowed
In her factory, very few women are married
maternity leave. She wo
severe headaches and e
proper air ventilation system
suffer asthma and luseparate toilet for women and no place to eat
lunchtime to eat the foo
Rani does not get an equal wage for equal work
which each month totals about RS. 1200 (US$
wages, she has to sign a blank piece of paper. Runion in the factory. If any worker tries to
dismissed w
Rani has five sisters and two brothers Her fat
Although she has been working there forthree years, Rani is still a temporary worker.
3
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UNION VICTORY IN A GAP SUPPLIERIN EL SALVADOR
In April 2002, managers at the Tainan garment factory in El Salvador
announced that workers who had been suspended at the beginning of
the month would not be rehired and the factory was closing. Tainan,
which is Taiwanese-owned, claimed the layoffs and plant closure were
due to a lack of orders from North America. They blamed the union for
the drop in demand.
Gap was one of the companies placing orders, but denied it had a problem
with the union. In fact, Gap had successfully persuaded Tainan to reinstate
fired workers a year earlier.
The Tainan workers union had obtained legal recognition in July 2001. The
union had just submitted a request to the Labour Ministry for collective
bargaining rights when the management made the announcement that it
would close the factory.
An international campaign was initiated. Campaigners called on the parent
company Tainan Enterprises to re-open its El Salvador factory, rehire the
workers, and negotiate in good faith with the union. In the US, they lobbied
Taiwanese government officials and Tainans customer headquarters.
Hundreds of letters were sent to Gap and other buyers including those who
source garments in Tainans factories in Asia such as Philips-Van Heusen,
Footlocker, Ann Taylor, Dress Barn, and Columbia Sportwear.
This pressure succeeded in getting Tainan Enterprises to begin discussions
on reopening the El Salvador plant. Meetings were held between senior
management and the union. The international campaign was thensuspended because Tainan Enterprises was engaging in negotiations.
As a result of the talks, the company agreed to finance a new factory that
would have a unionised workforce with a collective bargaining agreement
3
Facilitato
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Gap: example ofa global chain
Facilitato
Aims:
t o look in detail at Gaps global supply chain ; t o use the Gap example to bui ld a pi cture of the workers own supply chai
t o look at some cases of soli darit y in the Gap supply chain;
to discuss the possibilities of solidarity in the participants own supply ch
Preparation:
Try to f ind out whether there is production for Gap in your country/ region, an
Methods:
Understanding Gaps global supply chain
The two maps of Gaps supply chain in thi s Uni t can be used wit h workers who
Gap supply chain. Or they can be used with other participants as an example
Famil iarise the parti cipants wit h t he two Gap maps. Go through t he key featu
on what was learnt about the supply chain in Unit 2.
Map 1 shows the downward flow of orders from Gap headquarters to the Ga(for example in Singapore), and the fl ow of raw materials, t o big manufacturethen pass the work on to smaller factories that they own, or often also subco
they do not own which are even more fl exible and cheaper, who may then fur
to homeworkers.
1
3
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Developing the picture of our own supply chain
Ask the part icipants to const ruct an even fuller diagram of t heir own supply chain
information they have gathered and new ideas from the Gap supply chain maps. Th
blank maps provided with this Unit.
Map 3 Where on the diagram is our workplace? Can we fill in the name of our employe
Whose goods are we making? Can we fill in a retailers name at the top?
Who places the orders with our workplace on behalf of t hat retail er?
I s t here a retailers off ice in our count ry? How can we fi nd out ? Do unf in ished garments go f rom our workplace to ot her workplaces? If so, whe
Map 4 Where on the diagram is our workplace?
Where do the goods go when they leave our workplace?
Where are the retai lers stores where our goods end up on sale?
Solidarity along the Gap supply chain
Gap has a high profil e for selling fashionable clothes. I t has come under a lot of p
campaigners in the countries where it sells its clothes. Young people who buy Gap
act ively raised t heir concerns about t he working condi t ions in Gaps suppli er facto
Ask a part icipant t o read aloud Union victory in a
Gap suppli er in El Salvador on page 36.
Union victory in a Gap supplier in El Salvador
shows:
Manufacturer blames plant closure on ant i- union
pressure from retailers
Gap denies it is anti-union International campaign pressure on the
manufacturer and retail ers for workers right s.
Union-management negot iati ons
Agreement f or a unionised workforce wit h
2
23
Why was the campaig
the retrenched worke
Tainan successful?
How did internationa
campaigners help? Ho
think they found out a
situation in El Salvado
Key Questio
M 3
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Map 3
Supply Chain Showing The Downward Flow of P
Map 43
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Map 4
Supply Chain Showing The Upward Flow of Produc
3
Information Sheets
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Thegarment in
Information Sheets
The garment industry is a key example of a globalised industr
The shirt I am wearing... The cotton couldSenegal. It might have been ginned in Egypwoven in China, the fabric then cut in India, a
stitching. The buttons might have bee
The thread could have come from the Philippine
finished in Hong Kong, put in packaging that orig
marketed in Singapore, and sold here in the Un
Neil Kearney, General Secretary of the international union f
workers (ITGLWF), talking to B
From: www.t gwu.org.uk/ TGWUInt ernatE
Many countri es are involved in producing garment s for t he big
sportswear company Nike sources from about 75 countries aro
The number of companies involved i s also huge. Take, for exam
chain of stores called Walmart. It sources its clothing, textiles
from 60,000 suppli ers around the world. Those are t he princi p
on average, have 5 or 6 subcont ractors each. So t his one mult
is sourcing f rom about 400,000, or maybe even half a mil li on,
more, Walmart changes it s suppl iers from season t o season.
Who benefits from the supply chain?4
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Who benefits from the supply chain?
Retail ers and bi g manufacturers who subcontract work out get many advantages
from having a large number of suppliers:
They can use the specialised skills of workers from different regions and
countries.
If a subcontractor asks for a higher price because its workers are demanding
higher wages or bett er condit ions, orders can be shift ed to anot her suppli er
where standards are lower. Or it may be enough j ust to t hreaten to shif t t he
work, which may intimidate the subcontractor and its workforce into abandoningtheir demands.
I f a government wants to bring in st ronger labour laws or raise mini mum wages,
retailers and big manufacturers can threaten to shift production to other
countries. This may frighten the government into giving up its plans.
I n every case, the retail ers and big manufacturers are encouraging compet it ion
between small companies, between workers, and between governments. By this
means they have a lot of power in t he supply chain.
Retail ers oft en do not know about t he extent of subcont ract ing. They know about
the big manufacturers to whom they give their contracts. But the big manufacturers
often do not t ell t he retail ers that t hey are subcontracting t he work out f urther. So
most retailers cannot say exactly where or by whom their goods are being produced.
The sweatshops, small agents and homeworkers are especially invisible, and they arethe ones with least power in the supply chain.
More information:International subcontracting: the new face of the garment industry, Angela
Hale, Women Working Worldwide briefing paper, 2000.Notes on the Subcontracting Chain, Kelly Dent, TIE-Asia, 2002.
4
Why and how the garment industry w
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Why and how the garment industry w
Most companies at t he top of the supply chains have thei r hea
and Europe. I t is from here that they manage thei r global oper
computer technology to send and receive designs, orders and s
the world, 24 hours a day. They can shift production from one
while keeping overall control.
Easy to move factoriesTo maximise thei r profi t s, companies want t o keep down costs
is labour int ensive - i t uses many workers. So, companies wanlabour cost s (including wages and social securit y costs). Othe
control include transport costs for cloth and components com
finished goods to go to their markets.
The garment indust ry can be easil y moved about. I t relies on s
around the world, especiall y womens sewing skill s. Also t he m
li ght and easy to move.
At fi rst, Northern manufacturers moved and set up their own f
particularly in Asia and Central America where wages are lower
buildings, installed equipment, and employed workers directly
had to t ake responsibil it y for employing t hose workers, and th
from t rade unions. So, f rom the 1980s they found another st ra
they contracted ot her companies t o t ake on t hose burdens and
They out sourced or subcont racted.
Today, famous sportswear and clothing companies such as Nike, Adid
promote and sell a name, a brand label. They get their profit from d
and they reduce their costs and risk by getting subcontractors to do
big retailers such as Marks & Spencer and Walmart, who used to buy
now send their own buyers overseas to place orders directly wit h sub
During the first phase of relocation in the 1960s and 1970s, Eu
companies went t o count ries such as Hong Kong, Singapore, So
where labour costs were lower t han in t he North . Later, t hey we
economies such as the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand, an
and Cent ral America More recent ly t hey have moved to Viet nam
Easy to shift work between factories4
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a y k b a
The global garments industry runs on fierce competition. Profits at the top of the
chain can be huge, but have to be maint ained year on year t o keep shareholders
happy. Consumers shop around for the best buys, and so retailers are in constant
compet it ion wit h each other to maintain t heir profi t margins.
So t he retail ers put pressure on t heir subcontractors, agent s and t rading companies
for l ower cost goods. This creates in tense compet it ion between companies and
countries, fighting to get the orders. The brand-name retailers from the North have
a lot of power to pl ay one subcont ractor off t he other. They often claim they can get
a better deal elsewhere, so as to drive down the price.
Rather t han t urn down an order, manufacturers accept unprofit able deals and make
them work by increasing pressure on the workforce for lower cost and greater
fl exibi li t y. Orders can fluctuate a lot . Retail ers get dat a in f rom their stores about
what i s selli ng well and want to re-stock thei r shelves quickly. Or t hey demand a
rapid response to changing fashion, such as last minute changes in f abric or colour.
Or t here are product ion delays caused by l ate arrival of cloth.
So manufacturers reduce their cost s and increase their f lexibil it y by reducing the
regular workforce. I nstead they employ contract l abour on very low wages wit h no
benefits such as paid holidays or sick leave, and they demand forced or unpaid
overtime. They also place part or all of t he orders t o smaller factori es, i .e. they
subcontract again. These smaller product ion unit s also increase their fl exibili t y
by hiring and firing temporary workers and putting work out to homeworkers, the
lowest paid workers at t he end of the chain.
Thi s does not mean t he end of large fact ories and Free Trade Zones. The number of
FTZs is still increasing, for example in China. But companies in zones are also
putting out work to local subcontractors, agents and homeworkers, even if the big
retailers dont know it .
Not all work goes to cheap labour count ries. The t ight demands of t he fashion
industry mean that it can be more efficient to produce some items in the country
where t hey will be sold rather than in a far-off place. Where thi s happens, t here is
st il l subcontracti ng and homeworking. Homeworkers play a key role also in t he
indust riali sed countri es of Europe and North America.
4
Policies that encourage globalisati
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g g
Developments i n t he garment indust ry are also related to econ
on governments of poor countries by international f inancial in
for loans, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in
should produce for export rather than home consumption. Me
trade agreements established a system whereby poor countries
garments for markets in North America and Europe.
I nt ernational t rade agreement s say how many goods can be i m
count ry int o another (quotas), and the level of import dut y th
will put on t he imports (t ariffs). The garment industry expand
as a result of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
has a special agreement wi t h t he European Union. But t he mo
international trade agreement affecting the garment industry
Fibre Arrangement (MFA), which was established in 1974.
Under t he MFA, quotas have been negot iated between importi
countri es each year, stat ing t he exact quanti t y of each i tem th
Quota agreements have affected where garment factories are lo
Hong Kong and Korea have had severe quota restrictions. So ccountri es relocated to count ries like Indonesia, t o reduce cost
advantage of unused quotas there.
I n 1995, the World Trade Organisat ion ( WTO) was set up, and t
by the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC). This says tha
wil l be phased out in t en years. So, by 2005, companies will b
wherever they can maximise profit s. This will increase competi
highly competi t ive i ndustry. So some government s, f or exampreaching one-t o-one agreement s wit h Northern government s,
industry in t heir own count ry.
Many count ries were t old i n t he 1980s that their economies w
focussed on producing garments for export. Now some are like
losing out to count ries which offer eve
investors. Those hit t he hardest wil l of
garment workers laid of f and t heir compeople will be affected.
For t hose workers st il l get t ing garmen
sign yet that they can look forward to
It has been said that if exports couldcatapult our country to industrialisation, thenwe should have advanced by now through the
garment industry alone From 1989 to the
PRANOMS STORY4
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Pranom works for MAP, a human rights organisation in northern Thailand. She suppo
who have fled the brutal military regime in neighbouring Burma which systematicall
labour. Over one million Burmese people have sought safety in Thailand, but they hav
rights there. Pranoms cases include gross exploitation of Burmese women in Thai ga
factories. Pranom says:
Burmese workers are harassed by employers and government officials and can be deporte
About 120,000 have temporary work permits, but if they leave an abusive employer, they calegal status. If they try to take any action, the employers blacklist them and they dont ge
At the Siriwat Garments factory in the Mae Sot area, women have to work up to 18 hour day
over the factory in very cramped conditions. After the employer takes deductions for accom
and the work permit fee, they receive 1400-1500 baht (US$35-37) a month including over
The factory is Thai-owned. We were told it sews clothing for export to Japan, but the signbo
says Next Retail Ltd., LE95AT England, and maybe they produce for that company. Recent
out they are subcontracted by a company in Bangkok to produce for Levis.
On 19 September 2003, the workers were ordered to work from 8am until 12 noon the next
altogether. If anyone disobeyed, they would be f ined and dismissed. That next day, the em
them continue until 1pm the following day. Then on the third day, he tried to make them g
11pm. Finally the exhausted workers refused. That evening, all of them - 64 women and 11
were ordered out of the factory and told to sleep elsewhere. The employer said that if they d
agree to work overtime, they would be laid off. Police came and threatened them with depo
back to Burma.
Levis told us they have a Code of Conduct. I told them we re not calling for a boycott but w
improve the negotiating power of the workers. The employer at Siriwat now says he will pay
minimum wages and abide by the law. He still asks them to work overtime to 11.00 pm, say
there are a lot of orders.
4
Facilitato
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The globalgarment industry
Aims: to understand how the garment industry developed in our own country
t o explore how the garments supply chain fi t s into t he bigger picture of g
t o di scuss the way the garment indust ry seeks out vulnerable people for it
Preparation:Before running the workshop, it would be useful to prepare information on:
how t he garment indust ry has developed in your count ry, especially i n t he
t he role of int ernat ional t rade and fi nancial organisations in t he economiyour country;
how your government has promoted
investment in export-oriented i ndustry;
t he garment industry in your country aft er
the phase-out of the MFA by 2005.
Methods:
Analysing the garmentindustry in our country
Start with discussion by the participants.
Depending on the part icipants, t he Facili tat ormay need to be prepared t o add in a l ot of
information.
h i d l b li i
1
How has the garmen
developed in our cou
Why has it develope
Who has benefited findustry in our counConsider in turn: (a)retailers, (b) local reforeign manufacturmanufacturers, (c) t(f) garment factory (g) non-factory garm(h) consumers.
Key Ques
Combating exploitation of vulnerable people34
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Combating exploitation of vulnerable people
Use Pranoms Story as an example of how the garment industry seeks out margin
workforce, why t hi s happens and what we can do about i t . Ask a part icipant t o rea
Pranoms Story shows:
Women migrant workers in
garment factories
Forced and excessive overtime
Subcontracted producti on for
big retailers Harassment of support workers
Role play: solidarity with migrant workers
The participants divide into three groups:
undocument ed migrant workers from another count ry who are working in a nea
factory
unemployed workers in t he local communit y organisers from a local trade union for garment workers.
Scenario: The migrant workers live in the factory and were forced t o work 18 hodays to finish an order. Now they are exhausted, on strike and locked out. They ha
local union for support but there is some resentment because many of i t s member
when t he migrant workers came. The migrant workers and union organisers want t
together to achieve a positive outcome for all. They hold a meeting in the commu
by unemployed workers. What arguments can t hey use to persuade the l ocal comm
support the migrant workers win back t heir j obs wit h decent working hours and w
What did we learn? E l i f h i
3
Why do garment factories in Thailand emigrant workers rather than Thai work
Does a similar situation exist in our coworkers are exploited in the garment in
What do we know about their situation
Why is it important for all workers to h
How can we build solidarity with migraeffective?
Key Questions
Information Sheets
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Solidarity beworkers
Only by working together can we improve our situation. Inhistory have workers won justice or respect for our rightstogether in solidarity.
The most import ant form of solidarit y is between workers in o
if we win support from the local communit y. Local solidarit y is
succeed in claiming our ri ght s.
But solidarity is very difficult when workers are in and out of e
Sometimes we are making clothing; somet imes we have to f ind
other way. I t is hard t o fi ght t ogether for bet ter condit ions whto change jobs.
Formal and informal workers
Many garment workers do not have a permanent job in a facto
work contract t hat says how many hours t hey will work and ho
paid. More and more employers, in garment s as in other indus
people on short-t erm contracts, as probati oners, as seasonal
t here are orders and f iri ng when t here are none. They are cutt i
increasing t heir f lexibil it y by shi rking t heir responsibil it ies to
being made to bear t he risks and insecurit y.
One t erm for t hi s sit uati on i s informal employment. This i s be
not being hi red through formal employment arrangement s whcountrys employment laws. The term informal covers all the m
who do not work in a defi ned workplace, for a known employe
employment contract.
Am I a formal or an informal worker?5
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Have you got a lett er of appoint ment or a work contract f rom your employer?
Are you on the payroll of t he company you work for?
Do you get a payslip?
I f you can answer yes to these quest ions, t hen you are a formal worker. Your
employment may not be secure but at least you have legal proof t hat you are an
employee of a part icular company. This means that you have legal righ ts under your
countrys employment laws. For example, you cannot be dismissed without a reason.
I f you answer no to all t hree quest ions, t hen you are an informal worker. You arenot seen as an employee under employment law. Your legal status is unclear, and so
your l egal ri ght s are very weak. You can be di smissed for any reason. You cannot
even prove that you were employed in t he fi rst place.
Why do employers prefer informal workers?
Employers say that t hey cannot employ workers on a formal basis because orders are
irregular and so t hey need flexibil it y. I t is t rue that t here are peak periods when
demand is high, and slack periods when demand is low. But in most cases where
workers are dismissed, production has not stopped. I t is carrying on wit h new
workers in the same place or somewhere else. In other words, employers could carry
on employing t he existi ng workers but choose to employ ot hers.
One reason for shif t ing from one set of workers to anot her is because the new onescan be paid lower wages or made to work in worse condit ions. Another is that t he
fi rst set of workers have formed a union.
Also, when employers formally employ workers, they have legal obligations. They
may have to pay social insurance contri but ions, whi ch increases their labour cost s.
They may have to pay compensation to retrenched workers. If you are a formal
worker, you have right s, for example to t ake an employer to court or t o form a union.
I t may be very hard to exercise these right s, but many employers will do whatever is
possible to avoid their legal obligations and our legal rights.
So, employers who do not want to deal with unions, or want to be able to shift
d ti t h l ti t t id th i l l ibil it i t t h i
Building solidarity between formal informal workers
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informal workers
By making some workers in formal, employers undermine the c
all workers, i ncluding formal ones. So t hese quest ions are imp
and fighting to strengthen the rights of informal workers bene
means reaching out in soli darit y and organising together.
Trade unions are usually organisations of formal workers. All w
establish and belong to trade unions, and to negotiate collect
according to international Conventions of the International La
(I LO). But i n most countri es t hese right s are only specifi ed in workers, even if these right s are not well respected in pract ice
Informal workers find it even more difficult to organise than fo
you are an i nformal worker, you may be hidden or out of sight
or alone in your own home. You may move from one employer
intervals. You are vulnerable to losing your job at a moments n
hard t o get t ogether to buil d organisat ions.
Nevertheless, in formal workers organisat ions have been bui lt
They i nclude associat ions of homeworkers or st reet vendors. S
support women informal workers to get together to find soluti
Some trade unions have set up special sect ions and go out t o
workers. Other unions are trying t o include informal workers in
act ivi t ies. I n some places, all iances are being established betw
groups and t he t rade unions of f ormal workers.
I t is not important which model you foll ow, whether or not inf
t heir own organisati ons or are taken in as members of t he t rad
important is that there is joint action.
More Information:
Legal pressure on employers5
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Here is a list of demands that could be made to t ry to halt the increasing employment
of workers in i nformal sit uations. Are any of them appropriate in your situati on?
Labour laws protecti ng basic right s must apply t o all workers;
Employers must not employ informal workers in a job t hat is permanent or
perenni al; t he employment of all workers in such posts should be formalised;
Workers hired through an agency or labour contractor should be regarded as
employees of the company for the period they work for it, however short that is;
Employers must be legally obli ged to give an appoint ment l ett er to any workers who
are in t he same job for more than, say, 3-6 months, and make them permanent; Employers must not be allowed to create arti fi cial breaks in employment so as to
avoid making workers permanent;
Temporary, casual or cont ract workers must be pai d at least t he same as
permanent workers, wi t h pro rata benefit s and leave;
Informal workers must have access to social security and employers must pay
social security contributions for them;
All irregular workers, including homeworkers, should be issued with an attendance
card and social security card which the employer must stamp; this means that, even
if they dont get employment on a regular basis, their status as workers is recognised;
Employers should be obliged by l aw to recognise and negoti ate wi th
organisat ions of i nformal workers.
Such demands are aimed at changing laws to oblige employers to carry out certain duties. Only
then can there be legal sanctions against employers who fail to carry out their obligations.
With whom can you campaign for such changes to employment laws?
Solidarity within our community
Workers - whether formal or informal - are all part of the community where we
li ve/ work. So are other local workers involved in t he garment supply chain such as
off ice workers, t ransport workers, and shop/ retai l workers. Beyond that are also other
workers and members of t he communit y, i ncludi ng newcomers and migrant workers.
I t is always important t o make alli ances wit h members of t he wider communit y.
Many wil l be experiencing very similar sit uati ons, such as the l oss of permanent
j b l t S h i b th b i f b d b d it
CRISTIS STORY
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Cristi is an organiser with the Women Workers P
City, in the northern Philippines. In the citys expthe Baguio City Economic Zone (BCEZ), there are
factories and 14 small garment factories. At pea
workers are employed. But in November each yea
layoffs, until March when the factories start up a
how they have been campaigning in Baguio agai
contract labour that leaves the workers so insecu
In BCEZ, during the high season producing for the
North, many workers are employed and there is a lo
November, the garm
piece-raters so that t
the 13th month Ch
companies, one Kore
they actually shut do
laying off all the workers in November and rehiring
workers cannot afford to pay rent and have to go ho
look for other work in shops or as small traders.
In 2000, the national womens organisation Gabrie
to look at this question of contract labour. Represen
Inabuyog, the Womens Federation of the Cordillera
members organising in plantations, electronics, ga
department stores.
At the time, workers of the Shoemart chain of stores
20,000 employees (50% of whom are women), only
and 18,000 contractuals. We have been experienc
types of irregular employment - agency hiring, piec
At the time, workers of the Shoemart chain of stores wereon strike: out of 20,000 employees (50% of whom are women),only 2,000 were regular and 18,000 contractuals.
It was from the 2000 conference that the national Campaign Against
Contractualisation was born. In the campaign, we make contact with
5
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garment workers and carry out education programmes in the communities
where they live near the Zone. We introduce issues through testimonials
from the workers, and then carry out education on the subcontracting
chain. We have some small groups, but it is very difficult to encourage the
participation of new contacts. They will distribute leaflets but few attend
the education sessions because they fear contact with unions will lead to
them being kicked out of work.
Contractualisation affects so many sectors, especially the service
industries and government employees. In fact, the Government is the No.1
implementer of contractualisation. So in the campaign we reach out also
to teachers and university lecturers and other public employees. We have
built alliances with the Church, and take every opportunity to be on the
radio to make a noise. We have high prof ile activities on festive days such
as Baguio Day, International Womens Day and May Day, with big posters
saying We Need Jobs, Wage Increases and No to Contractualisation.
Our aim is to form an association of contractual workers. Before, we
organised unions in the factories. But they were shortlived; activists were
fired and left the area. Regular workers were dismissed and replaced by
contractuals. Now when workers in the Zone hear the word union it is
difficult. We do hope to transform the association into a union in the long-
term. Under Philippines law, an association has no bargaining power; only
a union does. It really affects the orientation of the workers movement, as
we have to shift to what is appropriate to the situation today.
From an interview with Celia Mather, October 2003
Facilitato
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Solidarity betweenworkers locally
Aims:
to understand the significance of informal employment in undermining tworkers, and why i t is important t o develop solidarit y between formal an
t o enable part icipant s to use mapping t o draw up a st rategy for organisin
claiming their rights
Preparation:
Before running t he workshop, you may like to f ind out what are the ri ght s unlaw in your country t hat are denied to in formal workers because they have no
as employees.
Methods:
Using mapping for organising locally
Take up again t he local map produced in Unit s 1, 2 and 3. Ask the part icipant
and where are the f ormal workers, and who and where are the i nformal worke
chain. I f needed, t he facili t ator can add in i nformat ion about what laws in yo
employers avoid if they employ workers on a non-permanent basis.
Ask a participant to read aloud Cristis Story.
Cristis Story shows:
Cont ract labour in garment factories
A broad campaign against cont ractualisati on
1
Organising formal and informal workers toge25
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Ask parti cipants to brainstorm the barriers to organising and how to overcome th
On whi teboard or paper on t he wall, make two columns:
Barrier to organising How to overcome the ba
Writ e up on the whit eboard/ wall. I t might be useful to priorit ise them, t o note w
dealt wit h fi rst.
Campaign Demands: Ask the part icipant s to make a li st of demands that could uncampaign for t he right s of i nformal workers. Compare the li st drawn up by t he part
t he list on t his Units informat ion sheet . Consider adding t o or changing the parti
Then priori t ise the demands, according t o which are appropriate i n your local sit u
parti cipants t o li st ways in which t hey could promote t hese demands.
Solidarity within ourcommunity
Look again at Crist is Story.
3
Are the formal garment workers in our area already members of atrade union?
Do the irregular garment workers in our area have any organisationor association that supports them?
How can formal and informal workers organise together in our area?
What are the barriers to organising and how can we overcome them?
Key Questions:
What are the lessons we can leastudy about organising within o
Who are the other sectors of oub th ti t th t
Key Questio
S lid it
Information Sheets
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Solidarity
the supply
It is essential to build solidarity locally between workers ancommunity. Solidarity can also be built between workers inand different countries. In fact, in a global industry like garm
solidarit
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