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Thursday: October 22: 2020 || ά. The COVID-19 pandemic has
triggered government lockdowns, collapsed consumer demand and
disrupted imports of raw materials, battering the Asia Pacific
garment industry especially hard, according to a new Report,
released on Wednesday by the International Labour Organisation:ILO.
ILO Report highlighted that in the first half of 2020, Asian imports
had dropped by up to 70%. And how we would like the reader to
contemplate what is happening to the workers, who have lost their
jobs and livelihoods? How are they feeding themselves and their
families? How are they paying for their necessities when they
neither have any savings nor any income coming from anywhere? How
long can they survive in this state? In hunger, malnutrition and
perpetual misery and hardship? How long can they go on being
destitute? Till they fall apart and end their life? This can not go
on and it must not be accepted. It is time the world and the entire
mechanism of the world must come up with real, measurable, credible,
immediate and urgent means and mechanism to support the world’s
countries, where there is no social security, to create and extend
social security to those, who need it. This can not go on for the
pandemic has brought untold and all-ignored destitution over
hundreds of millions of humanity across the world. It is time new
progressive political forces begin to work and demand that this
becomes the absolute-must task before all humanity: to end hunger,
malnutrition and destitution, that are now being enforeced on such a
large number of humanity across the world! It can not keep on going:
it must come to an end. NOW.
Moreover, as of September, almost,
half of all garment supply chain
jobs, were dependent on consumers,
living in countries where lockdown
conditions were being most tightly
imposed, leading to plummeting
retail sales. ILO Regional Director
for Asia and the Pacific, Ms Chihoko
Asada Miyakawa, pointed out that the
research highlights the massive
impact COVID-19 has had on the
garment industry at every level. In
2019, the Asia-Pacific region had
employed an estimated 65 million in
the sector, accounting for 75% of
all garment workers worldwide, the
Report shows. Although, governments
in the region have responded
proactively to the crisis, thousands
of factories have been shuttered,
either temporarily or indefinitely,
prompting a sharp increase in worker
lay-offs and dismissals. And the
factories, that have reopened, are,
often, operating at reduced
workforce capacity.
“The typical garment worker in the
region lost out on, at least, two to
four weeks of work and saw only
three in five of her co-workers
called back to the factory when it
reopened.” said Mr Christian
Viegelahn, Labour Economist at the
ILO Regional Office for Asia and the
Pacific. “Declines in earnings and
delays in wage payments were, also,
common among garment workers still
employed in the second quarter of
2020”.
As
women comprise the vast majority of
the region’s garment workers, they
are being disproportionately
affected by the crisis, the Report
tracked. Additionally, their
situation is exacerbated by existing
inequalities, including, increased
workloads and gender
over-representation, as well as, a
rise in unpaid care work and
subsequent loss of earnings
To
mitigate the situation, the brief
calls for inclusive social dialogue
at national and workplace levels, in
countries across the region. The
Report, also, recommends continued
support for enterprises, along with
extending social protection for
workers, especially, for women.
The ILO’s recent global Call to
Action to support manufacturers and
help them survive the pandemic’s
economic disruption and protect
garment workers’ income, health and
employment’ was cited as ‘a
promising example of industry-wide
solidarity in addressing the
crisis’. “It is vital that
governments, workers, employers and
other industry stakeholders work
together to navigate these
unprecedented conditions and help
forge a more human-centred future
for the industry.” said Ms Miyakawa.
The Study assessed the pandemic’s
impact on supply chains, factories
and workers in Baangladesh,
Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia,
Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri
Lanka and Viet Nam. It is based on
research and analysis of publicly
available data together with
interviews from across the sector in
Asia.