Day 14 - Stand with Leicester Garment Workers

I love the work that I do, but there is no chance of promotion in this work. There is also no guarantee, the boss can throw you out whenever they want, I am made to forcefully do longer hours but do not get paid the overtime rate, I get paid the same as my normal hours. I have not received any sick or holiday pay in my 23 years of working in this garment industry.

- Leicester Garment Worker, 2023

The fashion industry has made an estimated £1.2 trillion globally in revenue in 2022.

Yet little of this vast wealth trickles down to garment workers - either at home or abroad. In fact, when you pick up a t-shirt and look at the price tag, remember less than 1% of its cost actually goes to pay the worker that made it![1]

The UK is still home to big fashion brands, but its once huge garment-making industry now mostly survives in Leicester, where thousands of poorly paid women from predominantly migrant communities are struggling to make ends meet.

Most factories in Leicester are small workshops, often housed in dilapidated buildings with little investment in building safety and modern ventilation.

For several years, numerous media reports have detailed illegal practices at Leicester-based garment factories linked to big brands. The Covid-19 boom of online orders was short-lived, while also exposing the lack of care and due diligence brands showed for workers. There was no social distancing, no PPE for garment workers and many of them couldn’t take time off even when they were sick for fear of losing their jobs.

When the headlines started dropping, many brands picked up and left. They switched to sourcing elsewhere, leaving workers behind to deal with the new crisis - the cost of living and inflation.

Those brands that remain in Leicester are asking suppliers for discounts and cancelling orders, which has led to closures and a drop in hours for hundreds of workers. When times are tough, fashion brands use their power to demand lower prices and push factories to closure.

Leicester workers are fighting back. In October, over 500 of them rallied for job security and better wages. And they are not alone in this fight.

We all deserve safe conditions at work, job security and a wage that allows us to lead full lives and take good care of our families.

We call on fashion brands to recognise the vital role Leicester’s workers play to build their profits, and commit to good sustainable jobs in Leicester.

[1] https://cleanclothes.org/poverty-wages