Apparel July 2019 Apparel July 2019 issue | Page 141

FEATURE
and garment-sourcing practices. Nearly all of
these workers exist outside formal networks of
manufacturing; they and are neither a part of
worker unions nor posses work contracts. In
most cases, they are subject to forced labour
and in some others, receive, at best, 10 per
cent of minimum wage. The issue of ensuring a
living wage is integral to the apparel and fashion
industries today more than ever, as they are
shifting towards a more ethical and sustainable
model. So the question is: What’s holding it back
and how can businesses make it happen?
UNDERSTANDING LIVING WAGE
Despite the desire to provide garment factory
labourers with a living wage, there remains
no clear definition that guides most policy.
Globally, different nations have followed different
benchmarks for their domestic markets, with the
European region proving to be the most sensitive
to its importance, while others continue to work
on the minimum-wage model. However, for most
production-centric nations, the legally mandated
minimum wage is anywhere from 20–50 per cent
of the actual estimated living wage. This creates a
massive dissonance in policy discussions as the
notion of establishing minimum wage does not,
in anyway, ensure that workers are capable of
sustaining a reasonable living.
This is not simply an issue in developing
economies, as even in the United States, the
legally mandated minimum wage varies from state
to state. The national average minimum wage
is US$8.49, with US federal laws mandating
US$7.25 as the minimum wage but with all
its technicalities, it can range from US$5.15 in
Georgia to US$12 in California. In European
countries like Switzerland, Ireland, Luxembourg,
and the Netherlands, the minimum wage is nearly
twice the US rates, while that in less prosperous
European nations like Estonia is significantly
THE ISSUE OF ENSURING A
LIVING WAGE IS INTEGRAL
TO THE APPAREL AND
FASHION INDUSTRIES
TODAY MORE THAN EVER.
lower. In terms of living wage, however, these
numbers prove to be problematic as each nation
offers diverse social support systems, so while
the UK, for example, has a minimum wage lower
than California, it has a robust public health
system that ensures that people spend less to
none of their wages on healthcare.
But for people in the developing world,
these factors are nearly homogenised and
simplified. In, India for example, the newly
proposed government-enforced hourly minimum
wage is about US$0.68 (R46), currently it is
US$0.32(R22), based on an eight-hour work-
day. Organisations like Labour Behind the Label
estimate the bare living wage to be closer to
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