Wages in Context in the Garment Industry in Asia. 2016. Amsterdam: WageIndicator Foundation.
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ABSTRACT
This report is the result of a study undertaken for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands, on behalf of the Asian Living Wage Conference (ALWC) in Pakistan in 2016. The Asian Living Wage Conference (ALWC) aims to engage Asian textile-producing countries in the initiatives of EU and US brands and multi-stakeholder initiatives to implement living wages. The ALWC will highlight the need to link the supply chain initiatives of brands to the collective bargaining processes between local unions and employers (ACT/IndustriALL MoU is best practice). A good understanding of the countryspecific wage context is thereby of utmost importance. The Ministry has asked WageIndicator Foundation to prepare input for the conference, among others by specifying the cost of living in the garment industries in all countries concerned. The Ministry has asked the Foundation specifically:
• to provide information about labour law, minimum wage setting and minimum wage levels pertaining to the garment industry in nine Asian countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam);
• to include an overview of sources providing information about wages of garment workers in these countries, and provide information about these wage levels;
• to give insight in the cost of living levels and related living wage levels in the garment industries;
• to prepare an overview of the country-specific hurdles for realising living wages, such as prices/cost of living, purchasing policies of brands, employment contracts, based on interviews with experts.