Global Worker Dialogue (GWD)

Making sure your suppliers are complying with local laws should be a routine part of any global brand's supply chain due diligence. Yet evidence from our dialogue with workers in #bangladesh in March 2024 suggests that many workers employed by factories in the global apparel supply chain work "excess hours"—hours over the legal maximum allowed by Bangladesh's labor laws.

There has been a lot going on in #bangladesh in the past month--political upheaval and floods to name two momentous events. Nevertheless, throughout all this workers in the country's garment factories have been churning out clothes for the rest of the world to wear. They continue to earn low wages, despite the minimum wage increase at the beginning of the year. GWD spoke to them in November 2023 and again in March 2024 to find out what impact that increase had on workers' wages. The results are striking. Almost all workers reported an increase in their wages, but only 57% are earning more than the new minimum wage for a 48-hour week. The only way they are coming close to making ends meet is by working overtime and hours, often beyond the limit allowed by law.

In November 2023, when the Minimum Wage Board increased the minimum wage, it also restructured the grading system, reducing the number of grades from seven to four. In our March 2024 Dialogue, we asked garment workers if they were aware of the changes in the grading system, and 80% of the workers we spoke to reported that they were aware. However, only 48% correctly identified that the new number of grades was now four. Discover the impact of these changes in our comprehensive report and interactive dashboard by visiting globalwd.org

GWD's latest Dialogue with garment workers in Bangladesh has a lot of good information about the confusion that having multiple minimum wages for workers in different grades causes, and how that impacts how much they get paid.

The new minimum wage for garment workers in Bangladesh went into effect at the start of this year. If you have read anything about the new minimum you will have seen that it is Tk. 12,500. But you would have to dig deeper into the stories to find out that this is one of four new minimums for garment workers in 2024. The other three are higher and are for workers in higher grade levels. This has causes a lot of confusion among workers and the results from our Dialogue with them in March 2024 suggests that many of them are not being paid what they are owed according to their own understanding of which minimum wage applies to them. You can read more about this on our dashboard and in our report at globalwd.org. #labor #LaborRights #supplychain #duediligence #ESG

The GWD team, along with our partner RAPID (Bangladesh), and the workers who engaged with us in our Dialogues are pleased to share a report and data dashboard that documents the impact of the minimum wage increase in Bangladesh (announced in November 2023 and implemented at the start of 2024) on the work and home lives of workers in the apparel sector in Bangladesh. Find out more at globalwd.org.

On July 25th, GWD will be officially releasing our latest report from our on-going Dialogues with garment workers in Bangladesh, but the report and the dashboard are already available at globalwd.org. This report focuses on the impact of the increase in the minimum wage at the start of 2024 on garment workers' salaries and standard of living. There is a lot to share, which we will be doing over the next few weeks. Stay tuned.

A Material Issue in the Bangladesh Apparel Supply Chain: Excess Work Hours Findings from GWD's latest Dialogue with workers showed nearly half of workers reported exceeding legal work hour limits in November 2023. Despite our previous reports on this issue, it persists, posing a risk to brands sourcing from Bangladesh. With the introduction of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), corporations face new obligations. While initial reporting may not include worker metrics, policies addressing worker risks are required. Our data highlights the urgency of addressing excess work hours in the apparel sector. Brands must prioritize policies to mitigate risks associated with excess work hours. Failure to act not only ignores a material risk but also exposes brands to potential penalties. Visit globalwd.org for insights from our November 2023 Dialogue with workers. For inquiries on verifying work hours, contact info@mfopps.org. #WorkerRights #CSR #SupplyChain #CSRD #RegulatoryCompliance

A Material Issue in the Bangladesh Apparel Supply Chain: Excess Work Hours Findings from GWD's latest Dialogue with workers showed nearly half of workers reported exceeding legal work hour limits in November 2023. Despite our previous reports on this issue, it persists, posing a risk to brands sourcing from Bangladesh. With the introduction of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), corporations face new obligations. While initial reporting may not include worker metrics, policies addressing worker risks are required. Our data highlights the urgency of addressing excess work hours in the apparel sector. Brands must prioritize policies to mitigate risks associated with excess work hours. Failure to act not only ignores a material risk but also exposes brands to potential penalties. Visit globalwd.org for insights from our November 2023 Dialogue with workers. For inquiries on verifying work hours, contact info@mfopps.org. #WorkerRights #CSR #SupplyChain #CSRD #RegulatoryCompliance

A Material Issue in the Bangladesh Apparel Supply Chain: Excess Work Hours Findings from GWD's latest Dialogue with workers showed nearly half of workers reported exceeding legal work hour limits in November 2023. Despite our previous reports on this issue, it persists, posing a risk to brands sourcing from Bangladesh. With the introduction of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), corporations face new obligations. While initial reporting may not include worker metrics, policies addressing worker risks are required. Our data highlights the urgency of addressing excess work hours in the apparel sector. Brands must prioritize policies to mitigate risks associated with excess work hours. Failure to act not only ignores a material risk but also exposes brands to potential penalties. Visit globalwd.org for insights from our November 2023 Dialogue with workers. For inquiries on verifying work hours, contact info@mfopps.org. #WorkerRights #CSR #SupplyChain #CSRD #RegulatoryCompliance