Asda, Matalan slated over poverty pay
06 October 2009
NEWS HOOK: Wednesday, 7 October 2009 World Decent Work Day
Clothes retailers head factory shame list
Asda and Matalan are today named as among the worst British retailers for trapping their overseas garment workers in poverty.
This accusation comes in a new report that cites their lack of any coherent strategy to ensure a living wage for people who make their clothes abroad.
The report (attached) claims there is no coherent strategy to ensure a living wage for workers making clothes for Asda and Matalan stores.
It also criticises nine other retailers for their failure to undertake any real work towards a decent wage - Bhs, Clarks, Debenhams, French Connection, John Lewis, River Island, Sainsbury's, Tesco and the Arcadia Group, which includes Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Topman, Topshop and Wallis.
The report - Let's Clean Up Fashion - is being launched today by campaign group Labour Behind the Label and anti-poverty charity War on Want.
It coincides with World Decent Work Day and a new campaign by trade unions and labour rights groups which demands a minimum living wage for all garment producing countries in Asia.
The campaign for an Asian floor wage seeks the same living wage throughout Asia to stop retailers driving down pay.
Research by War on Want found workers making clothes for Asda, Tesco and Primark in Bangladesh earned as little as 7p an hour for up to 80-hour weeks.
The new Let's Clean Up Fashion study shows that retailers taking some action to end poverty pay are Gap, Next, New Look and Monsoon Accessorize.
But the report says that none of the 25 UK high street brands yet pays workers a living wage.
Its author, Anna McMullen, from Labour Behind the Label, said: "Many companies fail to admit that the prices they place on clothing and their own buying practices are to blame for the poverty experienced by those who make our clothes. Global buyers have the power to threaten to relocate production in the search for ever-lower prices. The downward pressure on prices lead to poor wages and keeps garment workers in poverty."
Simon McRae, senior campaigns officer at War on Want, said: "Exploitation is still rife in the fashion industry, and our high street companies are responsible for it. There needs to be proper regulation to ensure fair treatment for the workers who produce our clothes. The British government must act now to end this abuse."
War on Want has launched the biggest-ever campaign to win a living wage for overseas garment workers.
The new Love Fashion Hate Sweatshops drive aims to collect 50,000 names calling on British prime minister Gordon Brown to regulate the industry.
It has brought support from public figures such as Strictly Come Dancing star Jo Wood, pop singer Little Boots, actors Gael Garcia Bernal and Ashley Jensen, designer Betty Jackson and comedians Jo Brand and Francesca Martinez.
People can add their names on the campaign's website at http://www.lovefashionhatesweatshops.org
CONTACTS
Paul Collins, War on Want media office (+44) (0)20 7549 0584 or (+44) (0)7983 550728
Anna McMullen, the report's author at Labour Behind the Label (+44) (0)7786 832035
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