Kasia Babis @kasiababis
“Working in the garments industry means that I don’t have to depend on my family,” Bobita said. “Women like me are independent and we don’t have to suffer abuse by our husbands or in laws. But we deserve living wages.”
A 2017 report by Deloitte Access Economics for Oxfam Australia shows that on average, only 2% to 4% of the price of a piece of clothing sold in Australia goes toward factory workers in Bangladesh, Vietnam and other garment production countries.
“Brands are instructing the factory owners to talk to the workers [to stop the protests] but no one is saying, fine, we’ll increase our rates,” explains Nazma. “Everyone is looking out for themselves, and what the workers are getting is actually not a living wage.”
The FLA report states that a key building block for better working conditions is more visibility. Brands should make sure workers and the public know which factories are producing for which brands. More and more companies are now disclosing where there factories are, but a vast majority of the industry, including many fast-fashion leaders, still do not publicly disclose which factories produce their branded clothes. Among them is Inditex, the company that owns ZARA — who Bobita sews jeans for.
Despite the challenges, Mitchell says the current model is working well for employees and customers. “Unfortunately, there’s a power dynamic that exists with people with tipping where they feel like they could withhold wages from somebody if things don’t go their way,” she says. “So we wanted to take some of that drama away from the staff. You can feel good at your work and you know nobody can mess with your wages. It’s about the guest experience too. We want people to come in and feel like they’re getting good value for what they’re eating and they’re supporting their local community as well.”
Harrell is one of 10 people who filed charges with the EEOC detailing widespread sexual harassment. They are being backed by the Fight for $15 low-wage group and the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, founded earlier this year to help provide lawyers for women who don’t have the money to hire one.