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On October 7, workers' rights groups in over a dozen countries throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas are participating in the public launch of the Asia Floor Wage Campaign (AFWC). The campaign is demanding a common minimum living wage for garment workers across the Asian region, in order to stop the destructive race to the bottom on wages and labour standards - which is fueled in part by companies moving production between countries in the region in search of ever-cheaper labour costs. The AFWC now turns its efforts to campaigning for the adoption of the Asia Floor Wage across the region.
Our most recent Update highlights recent comments by Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer which confirm that company's race to the bottom; Adidas is seeking to shift production to lower-wage countries like Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The real impacts of this race to the bottom are being felt by the workers around the globe who produce Mr. Hainer's products. Those impacts were best illustrated last May when former Salvadorian factory worker Sonia Lara Campos attacked Adidas' poverty wages in El Salvador at the company's annual general meeting. Sonia asked the board " How long do the workers of Adidas have to wait until they receive a dignified salary?"
In December 2006, War on Want published an exposé on the wages and working conditions of the garment workers in Bangladesh who produce clothes for some of the UK’s most important discount retailers.
Background paper prepared by MIT (Harvard) US for the JO-IN project discussions: This memo was prepared by Gustavo Setrini under the supervision of Professor Richard Locke of MIT. This memo is intended as a background paper for the JO-IN project on various code issues. Download the paper in PDF format here.
This 2004 paper surveys various Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives on how they determine a living wage for apparel workers, and recommends clauses on wages to include in codes of conduct.
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