Garment workers’ rights activists, at both production and retail ends, have been at the forefront of international accountability campaigns for over a decade, around the globe. Activists have supported organizing of workers, publicised labour rights violations, fought to hold employers and multinationals accountable to fair labour standards, and organised consumer-led anti-sweatshop campaigns. Campaigns have brought together companies, social organisations, unions, government, and international institutions in an effort to build multi-stakeholder initiatives for accountability. Garment workers’ rights activists have also extensively documented the industry, working conditions, the global supply chain, consumer attitudes, etc. In short, activism in this area has a long and committed history.
Various sophisticated mechanisms have developed for corporate monitoring and accountability in the garment industry. One example is the Code of Conduct which many multinational companies voluntarily developed, under pressure from activists. On a similar vein, the Code of Labour Practices was developed through dialogue initiated by the activist community. Along with codes, various monitoring mechanisms evolved such as the multi-stakeholder Foundation Model and the Ethical Trading Initiative. SA8000 is another mechanism for certifying and monitoring companies that are supposedly practising fair labour practices. International complaint mechanisms like the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) mechanism have been painstakingly developed.
This work has a long history and their limitations and strengths have been documented. These mechanisms have established the need for monitoring and have played a major role in developing powerful publicity campaigns to shape public opinion and outrage. These activities also help to develop a full understanding of the range of improvements needed for ensuring liveable conditions for workers.
Laudable as this work has been, it has little ability to provide leverage for building worker collectivity with bargaining power. Workers collectivities with bargaining strength need measurable and bargainable demands appropriate to the economics and the power holders of the industry.
For example, the recognition of a right does not necessarily lead to bargaining power. Although, it is important for employers to recognise the workers’ right to organise – the recognition, in itself does not lead to a collectivity with bargaining power.
Organising, in itself, also does not necessarily lead to bargaining power. Workers have attempted organising over the years in numerous, courageous ways. However, workers who have developed bargaining ability in a certain factory and demanded higher wages, have done so at the threat of closure and jobs moving elsewhere where the wages are lower. Or, workers demanding higher wages from a manufacturing facility are told that their employers’ hands are tied by the insufficient prices that they receive from the buyer, that is, the parent multinational.
