garment worker rights

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

the labour rights, safety protections, fair wages, and dignified working conditions to which workers in the clothing and textile manufacturing sector are entitled under international labour standards and national law; garment workers — the majority of whom are women in low-income countries including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Vietnam, India, and Ethiopia — are among the most vulnerable workers in global supply chains, frequently subject to poverty wages, excessive working hours, unsafe factory conditions, suppression of trade union rights, verbal and physical abuse, and sexual harassment; the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh in 2013, which killed over a thousand workers, galvanised international attention to garment worker rights and spurred the creation of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety and the development of fashion brand transparency initiatives; garment worker rights remain a central concern of ethical fashion advocacy