Pakistan plans to join Cambodia, Vietnam and Bangladesh as a member of Better Work Programme six years after it was turned away due to lack of capacity. Launched by the International Labour Organization and International Finance Corporation in 2006, the initiative works to improve labor standards and boost competitiveness in the global apparel supply chain by providing practical assistance to factories, demonstrating the business benefits of decent work and rallying the influence of leading brands and retailers.
Pakistan’s garment industry suffered a blow in 2013 after a catastrophic factory fire, which killed 262 garment workers the previous year, prompted the Walt Disney Corporation to suspend its sourcing from the country, along with other ‘high-risk’ locales such as Belarus, Ecuador, Venezuela and a post-Rana Plaza Bangladesh.
When Disney pulled out, it gave Pakistan two options: either to improve its WGI standing or join the Better Work program. The country chose the latter as it had more candidate countries than it could accommodate. A recent study conducted by the Consortium for Development Policy Research on behalf of the Pakistan Business Council concluded that Pakistan’s garment sector is ‘grossly underperforming relative to its potential’ because of a slate of impediments, including higher production costs, an overvalued currency and export tariffs that restrict market access.
The country’s share of the global export pie is far smaller than those of its competitors: 1.1 percent compared with China’s 32 percent, Bangladesh’s 7.7 percent, Vietnam’s 5.9 percent and India’s 3.8 percent.
