wages and working hours

"Wages are so low and the cost of living so high, she finds it very hard to make ends meet. At 18, she is the only earning member of her family of three. She is an only child and both her parents are jobless. She spends almost 40% of her income on the rent of a one bedroom house. When told that companies check that workers should get at least the minimum wage set by the government, which they all do, she said that 'if they think this is enough , they should all try to live on this amount for a month and decide if it is OK.'” - Interview with a Pakistani worker

In many countries those who can get jobs in factories are considered lucky, and young girls leave their families in rural areas to travel hundreds of miles in search of such work. Yet the reality when they arrive is tough.  Wages are low and overtime, although necessary to make ends meet, is excessive and compulsory.

Long working hours and forced overtime are a major concern among garment workers. Factory managers typically push employees to work between 10 and 12 hours, sometimes 16 to 18 hours a day. When order deadlines loom, working hours get longer. A seven-day working week is becoming the norm during the peak season, particularly in China, despite limits placed by the law.

Phan, a 22-year-old machinist in a Thai garment factory, gives this account of life at her factory: “We work from 8 am till noon, then have our lunch break. After lunch we work from 1 to 5 pm. We do overtime every day, from 5.30 pm. During the peak season, we work until 2 or 3 am. Although exhausted, we have no choice. We cannot refuse overtime: our basic wage is too low. If we want to rest, our employer forces us to keep working”.

Workers are often informed at the last minute that they are expected to work extra hours. In many instances, workers report being threatened with dismissal and subjected to penalties as well as verbal abuse if they cannot work the additional hours.

Further information:

- For more detailed information about wages and working hours, see factsheet 6 and factsheet 5a.

- To learn more about what different companies and brands are - or are not doing - about garment workers' wages read Let's Clean Up Fashion: The state of pay behind the UK high street.

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