The garment industry is plagued by reports of dodging workers’ rights in the steadily growing Myanmar garment and footwear sector with new factories popping up all around Yangon’s industrial center, generating exports of $3 billion every year.
Research indicates that along with the potential physical and psychological costs of poor working conditions in garment factories, there can be significant financial harm, to both the women and the industry.
According to a 2017 report by Care International shows that in Cambodia, the productivity cost of sexual harassment in the garment sector is estimated to be $89 million per annum: $85,000 due to employee turnover as workers leave jobs where they feel unsafe, $545,000 due to absenteeism and $88 million in reduced productivity.
Prompted by the Cambodia figures, Ellen Maynes, Gender Operations Officer at International Finance Corporation, a part of the World Bank Group, says the organisation is planning the first-ever attempt to measure the scope of workplace harassment in Myanmar and how much it’s costing the country’s businesses.
