Garment workers in Asia make most of the clothing sold by the European and American fashion brands of the world. Although garments are a high-revenue industry that brands profit by, workers themselves are paid poverty-level wages. The Asia Floor Wage Alliance demands a living wage for garment workers whose labour clothes billions of people across the globe.
All garment workers in Asia need a wage increase to be able to provide for themselves and their families’ basic needs – including housing, food, education and healthcare. However often when workers struggle to improve their wage and conditions in one country, global brands relocate to another country where wages and conditions are lower.
To counter this divide and conquer strategy of global brands, AFWA built regional unity for a cross-border Asia-level living wage for garment workers in Asia – the first of its kind. AFWA living wage formulation is woman-centred and includes unpaid household and care work. Today, Asia Floor Wage is internationally recognised as a credible and legitimate living wage benchmark for garment workers in Asia.
AFWA demands that global brands pay – across Asia — the difference or the “gap” between national minimum wage of each country and the Asia Floor Wage so that workers manufacturing their clothing will get a living wage.
Click on the arrows to view the year-wise figures and move between years.
2009
2012
2013
2015
2017
2020
2022
2024 Asia Floor Wage Alliance, in collaboration with the Italy-based Permanent People’s Tribunal, organised a series of National People’s Tribunals on Living Wage for garment workers in the Asian garment industry between 2011 and 2014. These Tribunals were held to expose to the world the testimonies of garment workers most of whom are women, the analysis of experts from various perspectives in the field, and the positions of global brands regarding payment of living wage. The juries of the Tribunals consisted of eminent experts around the globe, including jury members of the Permanent People’s Tribunal.
To know more about National People’s Tribunals, click here.
To read a summary of the entire series of National People’s Tribunals and their observations, read the Synthesis Report here.
Sri Lanka
The first National People’s Tribunal, the Tribunal on Minimum Living Wage and Decent Working Conditions as Fundamental Human Rights, was organised in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 27-30 March 2011.
Cambodia
The first National People’s Tribunal, the Tribunal on Minimum Living Wage and Decent Working Conditions as Fundamental Human Rights, was organised in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 27-30 March 2011.
India
The third National People’s Tribunal, National People’s Tribunal on Living Wage as a Fundamental Right of Indian Garment Workers was held in Bangalore on 22-25 November 2012, and was itself the culmination of a local hearings process from two of the regions where most production takes place, the National Capital Region (NCR) around Delhi and Bangalore, in the State of Karnataka.
Indonesia
The fourth National People’s Tribunal, the Indonesian People’s Tribunal on Living Wage and Decent Working Conditions for Garment Workers as Fundamental Rights was held in Jakarta, Indonesia on 21-24 June 2014.
Concluding Tribunal
The Session of the Permanent People’s Tribunals as a Conclusion of National Peoples’ Tribunals in Asia on Living Wage as a Fundamental Human Right & the Role of International Institutions” was held Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 17-20 December 2015.
Dialogue with Global Unions
Asia Floor Wage Alliance’s First Dialogue with the Global Union Federations was held in Hong Kong, on November 17, 2014. There was mutual sharing on the results from the four National People’s Tribunals with eminent jury members, organised by Asia Floor Wage Alliance; and the work of the Global Union Federations in the area of wages and global supply chain.
Coming out of the day, we crafted a collective statement that can be Read Here.
Global Union Federations were represented by
- Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, ITUC (International Trade Union Congress)
- Jenny Holdcroft, Policy Director, IndustriALL
- Stuart Howard, Assistant General Secretary, ITF (International Transportworkers Federation)
- Ben Vanpeperstraete, Global Supply Chain Coordinator, Union Network International (UNI) and IndustriALL
- Rita Tambunan, Program Director-Asia Pacific Region, IUF (International Union of Foodworkers)
- Coen Kompier, Senior Specialist on International Labour Standards, International Labour Organisation (ILO)