The aim of any country’s government is to develop an export-oriented fashion industry that earns sufficient forex besides maintaining healthy trade balance. Growing their tax base and providing employment is also an important goal of governments. This is achieved by offering citizens reliable product in a stable business environment. The biggest factor that enables governments to achieve this is cheap labor. However, often governments turn a blind eye to labor issues and do not allow workers to form unions.

Respecting workers’ rights

IndustriALL Global Union, an affiliate of 50 million workers in 140 countries urges the industry to respect workers freedom of association and fight against union busting. This can be achieved by making a systemic change, says a report by IndustriAll. Though brands like H&M and Inditex are working on this, their efforts are inadequate. A recent example of this is the protest by a Uyghur solidarity campaign outside Zara in Oxford Street, London, over alleged slave labor in their cotton supply chain. Zara was unable to control this protest as it did not address the underlying issues.

Global unions should respect the rights of workers at the bottom of the supply chain. They need to carry out factory inspections as per the directions of the labor inspectorate. Also, working conditions should be negotiated by local trade unions, not set by the brand police.

Achieving the balance of power

The best way to achieve a balance of power between employers, unions and governments is by industry-wide collective bargaining. Unions must negotiate with representatives of all factories rather than negotiating with individual ones. This would help them raise workers’ conditions and improve industry quality. Also, global brands need to stay committed to their current country even if it introduces collective bargaining. IndustriALL has signed joint declarations with Inditex and German brand Tchibo through the ACT initiative which encourages brands to secure constructive relations between employers and workers. The organization has introduced a multifaceted strategy for changing the sector. It aims to defend workers’ rights, by campaigning against violations when they happen.

IndustriALL also creates company networks, and builds national structures to unify unions as they confront employers. It fights for job and wage security in the sector. It campaigns brands that violate workers’ rights. It promotes sustainable industrial policies like the ILO Call for Action to create a more resilient garment industry. Though the organization has started making a difference in the industry, to make the sector more responsible towards supply chain, it needs to support collective bargaining and unionization.