Report calls for more rights for Leicester garment workers

LEICESTER – A new report is calling on fashion retailers and government agencies to improve garment workers’ lives and working conditions in the UK. The report by the University of Nottingham and De Montfort University was commissioned by the Garment & Textile Workers Trust (G&TWT). The trust was set up after Boohoo was slammed for conditions and workers’ rights at its suppliers in Leicester.

It was given £1.1m by retailer Boohoo to spend on potential improvements.

The researchers have published their findings, along with their recommendations for intervention, in a report which will inform the Trust’s priorities for the coming year.  

They have recommended priority areas for major retailers and government agencies to focus on to improve workers’ lives and working conditions – these include: 

• Improve worker access to English language provision, both at work and in community settings, with greater flexibility to enable all workers to attend
• Provide a single ‘front door’ contact point for workers wishing to make a complaint to enforcement agencies and offer ongoing support and case management for those who raise issues.
• Establish trusted support to advocate for workplace rights.
• Connect workers with sources of community-based legal advice and support, available in a range of community languages. Improve access to local educational services for workers and their families, particularly related to further education, and language support for younger children.  

Dr Alison Gardner, lead researcher from the Rights Lab at the University of Nottingham, said: “Garment workers told us that they want to build a beautiful future for the next generation in Leicester, but there are currently many constraints that stop them from accessing fair pay and conditions. Our report has added to the existing knowledge about these issues, but importantly also points to solutions suggested by workers themselves. We hope that the interventions outlined in our report can help to guide both local and national-level action in the years ahead.” 

Dave Walsh, professor in criminal investigation at the School of Law at De Montfort University, said: “Economic pressures on small business in the garment industry in Leicester may well contribute to continued exploitation of workers. In turn, we have learned that while workers tend to know their rights they report feeling powerless. As such, there may well be opportunities for community leaders and outreach workers to represent these workers so that they receive a decent wage and help them overcome unethical tactics that some employers were allegedly undertaking that effectively meant people were not being paid for the work they done.”  

Initial funding for the Trust of £1m, donated by the Boohoo Group, will be funnelled through charities which are already proving to have a positive impact for garment workers and who would benefit from an injection of additional funding. The funds will be targeted at partners who can provide training and access to free advocacy, two of the key challenges faced by those who took part in the research.  

Kevin McKeever, chairman of the Garment & Textile Workers Trust, said “This research is an important addition to the body of knowledge on labour exploitation in the garment and textile industry and significant in listening to the voices of workers themselves, alongside local government and civil society. It’s crystal clear that there’s only so much companies, individuals, trade unions and civil society can do to tackle labour exploitation in Leicester and beyond – it’s time for government to step up and form – and fund – their long promised single enforcement body.”