H&M: Fair living wages were promised, poverty wages are the reality
In November 2013, H&M announced that all “H&M’s strategic suppliers should have pay structures in place to pay a fair living wage by 2018...
Clean Clothes Campaign set out to check what workers were making in some of those supplier factories, and how close that was to a living wage...
Our researchers spoke with 62 workers in Bulgaria, Turkey, India and Cambodia. This document highlights their key findings as well as some additional facts that shed light on H&M’s supply chain and the brand’s progress in implementing its commitments...
Workers reported that they have to work overtime just to earn the statutory minimum wage, but even doing overtime does not necessarily mean they will receive the minimum wage...
Two thirds of respondents have fainted at work and all workers have had to receive glucose drips because of dehydration...
In addition, women workers have to care for the household and family. These factors combined have a detrimental effect on women workers’ health...
Whereas H&M is involved in a multistakeholder initiative 36 engaging national governments on the issue of living wage, minimum wages in all researched countries are still far below living wage estimates.
Note: The report also mentions labour abuses at Shahi Exports Pvt. Ltd factory in India. More information, including Shahi's response and actions taken can be found here.