This archive report was first published on 15 July 2020.
Asia's Garment Workers Say Virus Used as Cover to Smash Unions ¶
As the COVID-19 pandemic ravages the world, garment workers in Asia are facing a new threat: the use of the virus as a pretext to smash their unions.
Orders worth billions of dollars have been cancelled across manufacturing hubs in China, Bangladesh, India, Cambodia, and Myanmar, leaving hundreds of thousands out of work in some of Asia's poorest countries.
But workers allege that the financial turmoil has also provided an opportunity for bosses to target troublesome shop floors where unions have pressed for higher wages and better conditions.
Union leader Padma, from southern India's Karnataka state, has been protesting the closure of her factory, Euro Clothing Company II, since early June. She was among the entire 1,200-strong workforce let go, 900 of whom were union members.
"I have sweated here for the past 10 years for 348 rupees ($4.60) a day," Padma said, who was responsible for checking trousers, jackets, and T-shirts bound for Swedish clothing giant H&M.
Padma's workplace was the only Gokaldas plant with a union, she said. "They wanted to get rid of the union for a long time, and now they're using COVID-19 as an excuse," Padma alleged, saying the workers were "illegally laid off" without notice.
Gautam Mody, general-secretary of the New Trade Union Initiative, said the firm was "union-busting under the pretext of COVID". Mody told AFP that the shuttered facility was "the sole factory where the majority of workers are union members".
Published on July 15, 2020, the article highlights the plight of garment workers in Asia, who are facing the brunt of the pandemic's economic impact.
