The rise of the fashion industry in the South Asian region has played a big role in uplifting the economies of countries here, including Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. But behind the glitz and glam of this industry hides an unsettling and rather uncomfortable truth: the exploitation of labourers whose very sweat and blood fuel the industry. Human rights organisation Amnesty International’s latest investigation highlights the systemic exploitation in South Asia’s garment industry, where major global fashion brands continue to profit off of the unpaid and underpaid labour of a mostly women workforce. Across Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, authorities and factory owners are accused of suppressing union activity through legal barriers, intimidation, violence and employer-backed pseudo-unions.
The report details how workers are routinely denied the right to organise. It explains how restrictive laws in Bangladesh’s special economic zones; exclusion of home-based workers from India’s labour protections; Pakistan’s weak wage enforcement and anti-union repression or Sri Lanka’s administrative hurdles and reprisals against organisers. Amnesty argues that despite public commitments to ethical sourcing, many global brands fail to ensure basic labour rights, allowing a business model built on low wages, insecurity and silence to endure. In recent years, many global brands found factories in South Asia as the perfect way to cut costs. The government-mandated minimum wage, which at times is either equal to or less than the price of one article sold by these companies, allows these companies to hire cheap labour and keep them stuck in a legally protected cycle of exploitation. In Pakistan, these workers usually remain hidden. In 2020, when Covid-19 disrupted the industries and nearly halted production, many media outlets showed interest in highlighting the plight of workers. But as the world reopens, the interest waned.
Now, according to a new Climate Rights International (CRI) report, rising temperatures are exposing Karachi’s textile and garment workers to dangerous heat inside factories that lack basic cooling, ventilation and medical support. Workers described fainting, dehydration and physical collapse as indoor temperatures often exceed those outside with long shifts, sealed windows and limited access to clean water compounding the risk. All of this is ruthlessly ignored by factory owners and ‘middlemen’ who are more interested in securing contracts than providing a healthy working environment to people. At a time when the job market is highly saturated, job offers at garment factories become the only hope for many to earn a slightly decent income. But these workplaces have been nothing but a death cell for most people. The country can never forget the inhumane act of violence against workers when a factory in Baldia was set on fire with more than 300 people trapped inside. That in itself shows how profiteers see the workers. In a world that tries hard to be politically correct, workers’ rights are still ignored. Pakistan right now does not need more laws or factory ordinances, it needs the realisation that its workers are its backbone and their protection is its responsibility. Till then, unfortunately, the plight of workers will remain a solid headline for viral news reports.
