Sean Davis/Flickr. (CC 2.0 by-nd)
The average hourly wage in the apparel industry in the East Midlands was just £3 per hour (at a time when the national minimum wage stood at £6.50)
How is it that wages in the apparel manufacturing sector in the UK have been pushed well below the national minimum wage, and basic work and employment standards are frequently violated? Even in one of the industries most exposed to the vagaries of the global market, wouldn’t you expect minimum employment rights to be safeguarded in the UK? Haven’t worker rights campaigns tried to address the gaps in the social regulation of global value chains and, particularly in developing and emerging economies, developed groundbreaking campaigns to halt the race to the bottom in employment and working conditions (for example, the Clean Clothes Campaign; Worker Rights Consortium; Ethical Trading Initiative and The Accord)? This post will highlight some of the dynamics that have caused this to happen.
