UK lawmakers, stores name for action against exploiting garment workers

The letter was printed following media reports of workers being paid below the UK minimum wage

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Coronavirus | UK | workers

A neighborhood of 50 British lawmakers, stores such as Marks & Spencer and New Glimpse, and investors and NGOs known as on Monday for urgent action to cease the exploitation of garment factory workers in the United Kingdom.

Their joint letter, coordinated by trade lobby neighborhood the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and addressed to inside of minister Priti Patel, asked for the introduction of statutory licensing of garment factories to be certain that all of them meet their merely obligations to workers.

The letter was printed following present media reports of workers being paid below the minimum wage, no longer being supplied with private safety tools (PPE) and working in unsafe prerequisites.

Britain’s minimum wage is 8.72 pounds ($10.95) for folks over 25 years extinct and 8.20 pounds for folks outdated 21 to 24.

The BRC acknowledged it and its contributors possess prolonged been calling for increased enforcement by the authorities to attend the actions stores are taking to be certain that horny remedy of workers and to assist agencies to make investments in UK type manufacturing.

“Most in type reports in the media present the urgent need for action before extra workers are needlessly taken honest appropriate thing about,” acknowledged BRC chief govt Helen Dickinson.

The letter acknowledged the proposed licensing scheme would offer protection to workers from forced labour and mistreatment, be certain that price of taxes and create a stage taking half in field for agencies to compete pretty by preventing rogue manufacturers undercutting prices.

It would furthermore assist stores to source their dresses from the UK, supporting the enchancment of the trade.

Retailer signatories consist of ASOS, Walmart owned Asda, M & S, Morrisons, N Brown, Joules, New Glimpse, River Island and Matalan.

Online type retailer Boohoo was no longer a signatory. It wrote its possess letter to Patel on Friday backing a licensing scheme.

“We fully attend the proposals of the BRC and others on the need to put into effect statutory licensing of garment factory homeowners and executives,” acknowledged a Boohoo spokesman.

Investor signatories consist of Allianz Global Traders, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Constancy Global, Jupiter Asset Management and Schroders Funding Management.