Tesco, Primark and Asda are criticised by War on Want for poor labour standards.
Factory workers in Bangladesh are paid as little as 5 pence an hour to make cheap clothing for UK retailers Tesco, Primark and Asda, War on Want said on December 8.
The report, Fashion Victims, alleges that suppliers are flouting labour standards despite pledges by the retailers to protect labour rights. Workers are also forced to work 80-hour weeks and factory managers lock emergency exits in order to ensure maximum output. The report is based on interviews at six factories that employ around 5,000 people in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The retailers denied the allegations.
Geoff Lancaster, head of external affairs at Associated British Foods, Primark’s parent company, said: “If War on Want give us details of which factories are ignoring the code we will investigate immediately.” He defended Primark’s reputation for cheap clothing by stating that “labour is only part of the cost of clothing on the high street” and added that “our low prices are the result of technology, efficient distribution and supply, bulk buying and the fact that we spend almost nothing on advertising”.
A spokesperson at Tesco defended its links with suppliers in Bangladesh by saying that “Bangladesh is a developing country that relies on garment exports for much of its income” and that “trade helps Bangladesh to achieve its objective of developing and improving the living standards of its people”. He went on to state that suppliers to Tesco are paid above the national minimum wage and that all suppliers must “meet our ethical standards on worker welfare, which are closely monitored”. Tesco also believes that affordable clothing on the high street benefits low-income families in the UK.
Asda, owned by Wal-Mart, Primark and Tesco are all members of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) – an alliance or companies, NGOS and trade unions that promote and improve the implementation of corporate codes of practice with regard to supply chain working conditions.
Dan Rees, director of the ETI, called for a “joined up” approach to resolving poor working conditions in Bangladesh. He said on Radio 5Live’s Wake up to Money programme: “War on Want has raised serious allegations, which we have advised our member companies to promptly investigate. The more information War on Want can provide them to do so, the better.
“Up to 15m people in Bangladesh rely in one way or another on the garment sector as a source of income and it is vital that brands stay in Bangladesh and support the industry. To change the situation across the board, which is what’s required, we need to engage with the entire industry, including government. ETI members have been reaching out to the Bangladesh government and industry and to brands around the world to try and get a joined up approach”.
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