The independent Fairtrade initiative, together with the Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), the Alliance for Sustainable Textiles and the fashion company Primark, Hch. Kettelhack, Hugo Boss, Takko and Tex Idea started a project to improve working conditions in Pakistan’s textile sector for the first time.
“Although Pakistan already has legislation on labor law, grievance handling and dealing with unions at both provincial and federal levels, poor job security, low wages, enforced overtime and a lack of codetermination are still part of everyday life in many garment factories. The complaint options used are often insufficient or inspections take place too seldom,” says Fairtrade, summing up the initial conditions in a statement.
The project “Strengthening internal complaints structures in Pakistan” developed as part of the Alliance for Sustainable Textiles is therefore intended to support textile factories in setting up functioning internal complaints structures or in further developing existing mechanisms. The on-site implementation is coordinated by Fairtrade Germany.
Up to 20 textile factories are to receive training as part of the project, drawing on the experience of the Fairtrade textile program implemented in India. The Pakistani factories will also receive individual support offers tailored to their needs, which will be implemented with the help of a team of local experts.
There are also training courses for workers, in which they are informed about their rights and how to deal with grievance mechanisms, or special offers for management to sensitize them to the needs of workers.
The installation of functioning grievance channels is one of the main goals that will enable factories to solve incidents and grievances together in dialogue with employees in the future.
Pakistan’s textile and clothing sector employs around 15 million people – mostly men – and is the country’s most important industry.