For decades, garment workers in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka have faced systemic exploitation characterised by poverty wages, long hours, unsafe conditions, and denial of basic labour rights. Recent investigations and reports reveal that most garment workers are women who are grossly underpaid and overworked, often struggling to meet basic needs despite labouring long shifts under intense production targets.
Research by a prominent human rights organisation highlights profound violations of the right to freedom of association — a core human and labour right — across these countries. Workers attempting to form or join unions are frequently harassed, threatened, dismissed, or criminalised, effectively silencing collective action and enabling continued exploitation. Governments have introduced legal and administrative barriers that undermine union registration, restrict access to workers, and in some cases, promote weak “welfare committees” in place of independent unions.
In Sri Lanka, limited sanitation and overcrowded living conditions exacerbate health risks, particularly for women, and reflect broader failures to provide decent work environments. Informal employment practices in Pakistan and India exclude workers from formal protections and social security, further deepening their vulnerability. Across the region, denial of written contracts, retaliation for organising, and poverty-level wages are common, leaving workers exposed to retaliation and economic instability.
Independent reporting also emphasises that garment workers face not only economic exploitation but also gendered labour discrimination, with women disproportionately subjected to harassment and denied opportunities for advancement or safety. These documented abuses contravene internationally recognised human rights standards, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
As the Rights Defenders Initiative (RDI), we call on the governments of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka to urgently uphold and protect garment workers’ rights to decent work, freedom of association, and collective bargaining. States must enact and enforce labour laws that eliminate punitive barriers to union formation, ensure safe and dignified working and living conditions, and provide effective redress for violations. Protecting these rights is critical to ending entrenched exploitation and safeguarding human dignity within global supply chains.
References
- Fashion giants accused of benefiting from unpaid, silenced garment workers across South Asia, says Amnesty International – Profit by Pakistan Today
- South Asia: Garment workers in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan & Sri Lanka face systemic denial of freedom of association under global supply chains – Business and Human Rights Centre
- New Age | 92pc RMG workers in Bangladesh employed without written contract: study
- Gendered exploitation in the global garment industry – FreedomUnited.org
