Source: medium
The clothes that we wear from the top most fashionable brands- H&M and Zara are often made by workers with low wages and poor working conditions. Workers' rights are neglected. Women workers are especially the most exploited and these biggest fashion companies are to be blamed.
Source: Impact
Sexual harassment and assault in workplaces have become a very sad reality. Women work overtime and under extreme pressure and are unpaid or underpaid as compared to male workers. This gender-based violence in garment factories is a result of fast fashion's unreasonable deadlines. The noted abuse includes rape, slapping, gendered bullying, and misuse of power to pursue sexual relationships. The reports also list numerous workplace malpractices, including forced overtime and preventing women from taking bathroom breaks.
Gender violence is highly unacceptable and brands need to make sure that women working in their supply chain are protected at all costs. All the supervisors at the factory are men.
Women workers are verbally abused almost every day and it has become part of their job, now. If a supervisor asks them to do some work, they’ve to do it or else they will lose their job.
Source: economic times
In H&m and Zara
In India, women workers employed in an H&M supplier factory in Bangalore, India reported physical abuse and sexual harassment associated with pressure to meet production targets. Radhika described being thrown to the floor and beaten, including on her breasts. Even after filing a complaint, despite the factory’s human resources department telling the supervisor to stop harassing her, nothing changed. Radhika suffered in silence.
H&M responded to this by emphasizing its zero-tolerance policy against such gender-based violence and harassment(GVBH) and said that an independent investigation would be started to look into the matter.
Gender-based violence and harassment are not unique to this one supplier or brand. Brands must wake up to the harsh reality that decent working conditions no longer exist. Workers had to work until midnight and these factories did not even provide transport to go back home in that case at least one woman is raped.
It is expected H&M and Zara to investigate these allegations and take steps to help women recover from the exploitation they had gone through. Transparency is essential in every business. It is important to ensure that fair labour rights and the well-being of workers are upheld through a business’s production process and its supply chains.
These big fashion brands like Zara and H&M fail to stick to these ethical policies and so the workers continue getting exploited.
Despite being so advanced, these brands are failing to provide a safe environment, free of harassment, and discrimination. Equality merely exists on paper, complaints of assaults and violence often go unreported.
This agreement is the first of its kind in the entire Asian garment industry and is historic in the labour rights movement. It allows for suspension or termination from employment of anyone found to have inflicted GBVH on the employees.
Therefore, transparency is one of the most important tools for brands such as Zara and H&M to protect their community, the environment and their employees.
The question still remains, are these famous fast-growing fashion brands doing anything to create a safe environment for their employees?
Written By: Prabhveet Kaur
Edited by: Nidhi Jha
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