WORKERS RIGHTS
This post was written by a student. It has not been fact checked or edited.
FAST FASHION
Fast fashion can be defined as "cheap, trendy clothing that samples ideas from the catwalk or celebrity culture and turns them into garments in high street stores at breakneck speed to meet consumer demand."
The idea is to get the newest styles on the market as fast as possible so these manufacturers need a lot of labour to produce it fast enough, however this has turned into modern slavery and forced labour since the workers in fast fashion industries are subjected to very poor working conditions. For example they are made to very work working for almost 18 hours leaving them with no time to rest. On top of that they are paid low wages compared how long they work, they are given pennies and with the high cost of living, these workers are suffering. Paying bills like water, electricity and rent has become stressful for them so I do see it as modern slavery.
I take an example of Ugandans who are going the Middle East (Saudi Arabia) to work as maids but ending up in poor working conditions, being over worked, some are threatened. So it's almost the same with fast fashion, workers being oppressed and not allowed to lead their normal happy lives. I call it "MODERN SLAVERY"
WHAT CAN BE DONE BY GOVERNMENT AND EMPLOYERS???
In my view, the government and employers can see to it that workers rights are respected by paying them fairly. Paying fairly follows terms like how long one works and how much he puts in. A person with an essential job like a doctor can not be paid the same money as with a non essential like a gardener, janitor or hairdresser because there is a huge difference in their hours of working and input for example you could find that a doctors spends a maximum of 5 hours off his job since he is always working on saving lives some thing that needs maximum attention and focus whereas a janitor spends a few hours working since most even work in shifts.
So following the odds, you have to pay these people differently accordingly and when it comes to fast fashion workers that are working for long hours they should be paid highly enough to help them sustain their livelihoods live through the high cost of living.
For the working hours, I think a worker should work for a minimum of 8 hours and a maximum of 12 hours plus a five day working course so that workers have the weekend for resting and catch up to their families as "family is an important thing if not everything." I think not only fast fashion workers but also other workers out there in the world should be treated in the same way so as they have equal rights as cherished citizens. The government should also put together a council that work upon these issues and help fight for workers rights in most cases the workers have no choice since they really need the money for survival.
In a nutshell, I strongly believe that if these workers could be given a good working environment it would solve this issue. A good working environment is an environment where workers are allowed to work at their pace without too much pressure and stress. This can only be achieved if their rights are advocated for with government and employers support.
"WORKERS DESERVE BETTER"
Comments (2)
I agree because the workers are human too, to be honest the fast fashion industry is still breaking the law when it comes to labor rights. Human rights violations and sweatshop-like working conditions affect millions of workers in textile and garment manufactures. Child labor and modern slavery cases are still being reported, particularly in Asian developing countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and The Philippines. Many factory workers are paid below the legal minimum wage, forced to work long hours in unsafe environments, don't have access to healthcare or paid leaves. Workers won't resist for fear of getting fired since they need their job to nourish their families. Many young women work in garments factories, being sexually abused, and forced to abort their pregnancy. Many facts about fast fashion are very shocking, and not enough people are aware of how awful this business is. The fast fashion industry is very damaging to people and local communities. For consumers, fast fashion is affordable, fun, and convenient and offers a large variety of styles every week to satisfy the need for an ever-changing wardrobe but for workers however fast fashion means low wages, terrible working conditions, and abuse. They work on farms and garments factories, being exploited and forced to work for less than they'd need to live. The fast fashion industry exploits local and underserved communities in sweatshops to produce cheap garments. It employs more than 300 million people in the whole world but doesn't pay living wages, poorly paid employees and dangerous working environments are numerous among fast fashion brands. It's hard to believe, but many garment factories run with sweatshop-like working conditions, even in the United States. The Labor Department investigates new allegations of wage violations at sewing contractors in Los Angeles every year. Labor rights violations are still occurring every day in the United States. Garments workers don't receive fair wages as often as they should in Los Angeles. The U.S. Department of Labor reports that in Los Angeles, more than 50,000 mostly immigrant women work in clothing production. And 85% of factories violate labor laws, federal wage, and hour laws to be honest that just seem downright horrible just because they need money that does mean they deserve unfair treatment don't you think.
I agree with you accurate wombat.The workers are human too, to be honest the fast fashion industry is still breaking the law when it comes to labour rights. Human rights violations and sweatshop-like working conditions affect millions of workers in textile and garment manufactures. Child labor and modern slavery cases are on the increase even in Asia like Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and The Philippines and they have caused great pain as many lose their loved ones in such scenarios. Maybe "MODERNITY" is the only solution we have,making robots and AI that does such work to stop the need for one to be another's slave.I believe modernity is the future that awaits humanity.