"H&M Speaks Out on Minimum-Wage Struggle", 10 February 2022

Workers embroiled in a minimum-wage dispute in the Pakistani province of Sindh have scored a minor victory, albeit one that still falls short of what was promised last year.

On Jan. 27, the South Asian nation’s Supreme Court gave the Sindh Wage Board two months to renegotiate the contested minimum wage, which factory owners in the garment-producing hub have refused to honor since it was raised from 17,500 Pakistani rupees ($99.86) to 25,000 rupees ($142.65) per month last June, insisting that it was “humanly impossible” to fulfill. Till then, a three-member bench helmed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial has directed the Sindh government to fix the minimum wage at 19,000 rupees ($108.42).

The decision arrived one month after the Supreme Court suspended the scheduled wage hike following a petition by trade groups such as the Federation of Pakis­tan Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Employers Federation of Pakistan. The organizations had decided to escalate their appeal after the Sindh High Court upheld the original 43 percent increase in October.

...labor campaigners have criticized fashion brands such as Bestseller, C&A, Gap, H&M and Levi Strauss for not speaking out about the matter...

“Many garment brands that are sourcing from Sindh province say in their codes of conduct that they want to work towards living wages or say they follow the country’s legislation and always pay at least the minimum wage,” Nasir Mansoor, general secretary of the National Trade Union Federation Pakistan, told Sourcing Journal. “This is a case where brands can show what their words are worth.”...

H&M has “made it clear” to its suppliers in the province that they must pay the workers the legally mandated minimum wage, including all arrears. “As of now, all suppliers we work with in the Sindh province are paying the new minimum wage of 19,000 rupees,” a representative told Sourcing Journal. “We will continue to closely follow this.”

C&A said the retailer is “looking very closely” at developments in Sindh. “As with all our suppliers, we require the ones in Sindh to pay wages that meet or exceed the legal minimum wage per function/grade,” a spokesperson told Sourcing Journal. “In case of any additional agreement beyond that, we also require our suppliers to comply with the respective terms.”

Gap declined to make a statement, and the other brands did not respond to requests for comment.

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A minimum wage of 19,000 rupees will push workers already being crushed by the pandemic’s economic fallout into “deeper poverty, higher debt and poorer standards of living,” Ali said. “If we need to improve living standards for the vast majority of people in Pakistan, it is important that we move closer to the Asia Floor Wage Alliance’s living wage figures instead of leading a race to the bottom on minimum wages.”