Across Pakistan, thousands of garment workers are battling against forced layoffs and months of unpaid salaries, as the deepening economic crisis caused by Covid-19 hits workers’ ability to support their families in the world’s fifth most populous country. The textile and apparel industry is Pakistan’s second largest employer after agriculture. Nearly 9% of Pakistan’s GDP – and almost 70% of the country’s exports – comes from the industry.
“Most of the textile factory owners are using the coronavirus crisis to lay off workers,” said the labour activist Farooq Tariq. “The crisis was already going on, but the pandemic has only accelerated it.” In March, Prime Minister Imran Khan urged companies not to fire workers during the lockdown, stressing that millions of labourers were at higher risk of dying from hunger than from Covid-19. Sindh province issued directives prohibiting worker layoffs and creating an emergency fund for labourers.
The pandemic has wreaked havoc on textile exports, which are mostly sent to the US, China, the UK and Germany.
Factory production has slowed dramatically across the country, with global fashion brands reducing or eliminating orders. This has precipitated a devastating crisis for Pakistani suppliers, who are passing the impact along to those least able to weather it: labourers living on meagre wages, campaigners say.
In Lahore, hundreds of garment workers were reported to have organised a strike last week against the non-payment of salaries at multiple factories and activists claim factory owners are treating workers as expendable commodities. Last year, Human Rights Watch censured Pakistan’s garment factories for rampant labour violations, including failing to pay the minimum wage, forcing hours of unpaid overtime, and neglecting to provide medical leave or adequate breaks to workers.
Source: Guardian
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