In the UK about 20 years ago if the workers of a business did not like the way they were being treated they could set up a trade union.
After reading about the issues that garment workers in India are faced with, a lot of people ask why they don’t just form a union and come together to demand better treatment.
The reason there is no such thing as a trade union is because the garment sector is not run by one person or company. There are over 3000-4000 individual production units making clothes. As there are so many separate units, the workers don’t know they have the same issues as one another. This prevents them from coming together and standing as one voice for fear of being beaten or fired.
Even if 100 of those production units came together and protested, nothing would happen as there are over 2000 other production units willing to do the same job and probably for cheaper.
The exporters are the people who bring the clothes made in developing countries to us- the developed world. Exporters are in the minority compared to the vast amount of garment production units that are available. This means exporters can pick and choose where they buy their garments from.
The whole point of having a business is profit and so if you are an exporter then you will be spoilt for choice. The first thing you will ask before choosing which production unit to go with is ‘who is the cheapest’? And so the workers salaries keep getting pushed down in order to secure contracts with exporters.
This is one of many reasons why wages are low and why many clothing manufacturers move their production lines overseas.
Outsourcing to developing countries is a good opportunity for business to prosper and support poorer communities....Outsourcing doesn’t have to mean exploiting others to make a profit.
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