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It's rainingheavily. Hope weget to reach the
union officeon time.
Me too.Today our friendwill also be there.
They saidthey are going todiscuss somethingimportant today.
Welcomemy friends
Meet ourfriend from AFW.
She wants to discuss
something importanttoday.
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Outside a garment manufacturing unit in Asia
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I am new in the union.I have heard about AFWfrom my fellow workers.Can you please tell me
more about AFW?
Maybe all ofyou are familiarwith the concept
of AFW.
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Most of the world's garmentsare produced in Asia. Seeing the dismal working
conditions and below poverty level wages, labour activistsand unions leaders in Asia came together to find a
strategy for improving the wages toa minimum living level.
These discussions started in Asian countries.These discussions have expanded to countries in the
west too with the help of several partner organizations.An AFW Alliance was formed in 2007 and
the countries in AFW Alliance are
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How does the globalgarment industry work?We see buyers comingfrom Europe and USA
to our factories
It is like this
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Big retailersand Brands
Consumers
Workersin supplier factories
Retailers andbrands placing
order with
big suppliers
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I understand it now!So, you are saying, by
implementation of AFW,the garment workerswill get higher wages?
Exactly. The livingconditions of workers
will definitely improve whenthe AFW is implemented.
Did you notice that you producethe clothes but you do not buy
them yourselves?
No! Because it isa common demand of all
garment workers organizationsin Asia.
Will raising wagenot lead to closing
down of factoryand job loss?
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True! That isbecause we don't have
enough money toconsume even thebasic necessities!!
Exactly! But themoment we establish aminimum living wage, allof you will have enough
money to buy more.
It is simple. Supposethat you have Rs.100more in your wages....
I think I am confused.Can you explain how
that is going tohelp the economy?
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We did not think of that before.
So, imagine if allgarment workers have
that extra money, that wouldbe powerful enough to help
the economy to get outof recession.
You spend that extra Rs 100buying more rice, flour andvegetables...
And that is how it goes on...A Rs 100 will have big effecton lots of people
Then the grocery shop ownerwill have a Rs 100 more. He cannow spend that money onsomething else....
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That soundswonderful. But who
is going to bearthe cost of paying
us more?
I don't thinkthat my factory
would pay meextra.
The increasein prices will
be negligiblefor them.
It is not that difficult. You knowthat the clothes you produce are sold to
big brands in Europe and US.
The brands' profit margins are huge and it wouldcost them next to nothing to pay Asia Floor Wage.
They sell these clothes to consumers.They could also pay a little more.
But we have heardabout the economic
slowdown in Europe andthe US? Can consumers
there pay more forthe clothes?
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It seems that AFW
has thought of playersat all levels in thegarment industry.
Moreover, the number of Asian workersis quite large and only if they are paid
more, the general demand will increase.Increasing the demand will help in easier
recovery from economic slowdown.
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I hope you allunderstood the
concept!May be consumerswill pay more. But
how we will make surethat workers will get
that more' paid bythe consumers. Yes.
That is the point!That is why unions and
labour rights organizationsin the countries where these
garments are producedare important.
The unions can make industrywide agreements which will
ensure the garment workersare paid Asia floor Wage.And that is why we wantyou all to join the unions
that are demandingAsia Floor Wage
for garmentworkers.
Yes. WE should join thecampaign which is goingto make sure a decent
living for us.
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ILO on soaring food prices:
Buyers receive government benefits but workers receive none:
Lower wages mean less money for the nation:
Buyers' CEO Pay:
ILO on wage, poverty, and national wealth:
The impact of higher food prices can be particularly dramatic forpoor workers and households because they spend more than 50 per centof their income on buying food. Women workers and children areoften hit hardest. Higher food prices will also lead to cuts in the
purchasing of other goods and services that are vital for the well-beingof family members.
A study by researchers (in the US) found that a big buyer (Wal-Mart)received over $1 billion in benefits from the US government: such asfree or reduced-price land, tax benefits, legal exemptions, and generalgrants, but the workers who are producing for these big buyers are
not even paid the legal minimum wage set up by the suppliercountry governments.
When an employer pays low wages to its employees, the employeeshave less money to spend on goods and services in the community,which in turn reduces the income and spending of others in thecommunity. In other words a reduction in wages has a multiplierimpact in the surrounding area.
Example from a US town study: For every $100 in consumer spendinglocally, $68 remains in the local economy. Changes in consumerspending habits can generate substantial local economic impact.
Wal-Mart's CEO Lee Scott took home $17.5 million in 2004, whichequals $8,434 an hour! An Asian garment worker's hourly wage is $0.25
(25 cents an hour)!!!
too much inequality is in fact bad for economic growth.
there seems to be a correlation between higher economic developmentand lower wage inequality.
governments are encouraged to display a strong commitmenttowards protecting the purchasing power of their populations and hencestimulating internal consumption.
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Design: Dharana; [email protected]
Visitwww.asiafloorwage.org to learn more....
[email protected], [email protected]
Trade Union Rights CentreJakarta, Indonesia
[email protected], [email protected]
Globalization MonitorHong Kong
Clean Clothes CampaignAmsterdam, The Netherlands
Action Aid-UKLondon
Jobs with Justice
Washington, [email protected]
International Coordinating Office & South Asia CoordinationSociety for Labour Development / Jobs with Justice
New Delhi, India
Southeast Asia Coordination
East Asia Coordination
Europe Coordination
UK Coordination
United States Coordination
Your local contact
