The UK Environmental Audit Committee Calls For Garment Trade Supremo To Protect UK Garment Workers From Exploitation
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12 March 2021 : The introduction of a Garment Trade Adjudicator could help stamp out non-compliance with labour market regulation in the UK garment industry, the Environmental Audit Committee has said.
Background
In a letter to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Environmental Audit Committee reflects on evidence it has received of ongoing labour abuses in the domestic and international supply chains supplying UK fashion retailers.
Over the last three years the Committee has been shocked by reports of underpayment of wages and poor working conditions.
Over the course of the follow-up work launched last year that resulted in an evidence session in December, it appears progress is being made in some areas, such as on environmental issues, but there remains a lack of progress on tackling labour exploitation.
The Committee heard from the Director of Labour Market Enforcement, Matthew Taylor, in December who said the idea of a Garment Trade Adjudicator is worth exploring.
As voluntary corporate social responsibility initiatives have failed to significantly improve pay and working conditions, the Government should therefore explore the introduction of a Garment Trade Adjudicator.
Chair's Comments
Environmental Audit Committee Chairman, Rt Hon Philip Dunne MP, said:
“It is now two years since the Committee’s Fixing Fashion inquiry shone a light on ethical and sustainability issues within the industry.
Purchasing a garment with a ‘Made in the UK’ label ought to be a guarantee that the workers who produced it are paid at least the minimum wage, in a workplace which is safe.
We found that it is not.
During the initial inquiry the Committee was shocked by evidence that underpayment of wages and poor conditions appeared to be rife in UK garment factories supplying fast fashion brands such as Boohoo.
In the report of that inquiry, we recommended a far more active approach to the enforcement of national minimum wage regulations across the sector.
The Committee appointed for this Parliament continues to monitor progress on these issues.
We initiated a follow-up inquiry after renewed allegations of illegal pay and poor working conditions at garment factories in Leicester surfaced last summer, and have received over 50 written submissions in response.
We held one evidence session in December and intend to hold another later this spring. Despite encouraging signs of gradual progress on environmental sustainability, the evidence reveals frustration at the lack of progress in some areas—notably labour exploitation”
"The Committee has been shocked by revelations over the last three years of labour market exploitation, under our very noses, in certain quarters of the UK's garment industry.
"It is abundantly clear that voluntary corporate social responsibility initiatives are not leading to sufficient progress being made. Therefore, a compulsory initiative, such as the Garment Trade Adjudicator should be fully explored and consulted on.
"Brands and retailers often wield considerable economic power in comparison to the suppliers they source clothes from. A Garment Trade Adjudicator could help to ensure undue economic pressure is not placed on suppliers to cut corners on pay and conditions.
"We suspect this would have more effect, more rapidly, than introducing a licensing system on garment suppliers who tend to be smaller entities with less bargaining power than their customers.
"Only when brands and supply chains know that there is zero-tolerance to labour market abuses can we have confidence that workers will be paid properly and have appropriate working conditions."
