May Day 2026 Statement: From Global Crises to Rising Costs of Living, to Gender- Based Violence and Harassment - Garment Workers and Unions Demand Accountability
Solidarity Greetings on May Day!
International Workers’ Day stands as a testament to the enduring struggles and collective power of working people across the world. On this day, the Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA) stands in solidarity with workers and trade unions across Asia. Our struggles are interconnected, and our strength lies in building power across borders.
The garment industry, driven by global fashion brands’ extreme greed, is emblematic of working people’s hardships and resistance. Garment supply chains are sustained by systemic exploitation of women workers whose labor drives the industry. Women workers in garment production countries in Asia face entrenched injustice: poverty wages, wage theft, gender-based violence and harassment, and the routine denial of fundamental rights. This is not incidental – subjugation of women workers fuels this highly profitable industry whose revenues are primarily captured by fashion brands from the Global North.
Read the statement here: English
Asia Floor Wage Alliance Statement on the Thirteenth Anniversary of the Rana Plaza Collapse
Thirteen years have passed since the Rana Plaza factory complex collapsed in Savar, Bangladesh, crushing the lives of 1,134 workers and injuring thousands more. Today, Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA) does not merely commemorate this tragedy; we confront the reality that the conditions which led to one of the deadliest industrial disasters in the history of Bangladesh and the region remain largely intact.
Read the rest of the statement here: English