Sustainable Development Goal 8 aims to “promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all” . Decent work is a key element in sustainable development. Elements of SDG 8 are embedded across a number of other goals and it is key to achieving SDG 1 on ending poverty in all its forms everywhere. Decent work puts people at the heart of the development agenda and drives sustainable development.
What is Decent Work?
According to the ILO, 5.6% of the global population is unemployed, and even for those who do have jobs, nearly 2.2 billion people live below the US$1.90 poverty line . In order to keep up with a growing population of young people entering employment, it is estimated that around 30 million new jobs a year will need to be created.
The foundations of this goal go back to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1966, which states that “in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ideal of free human beings enjoying freedom from fear and want can only be achieved if conditions are created whereby everyone may enjoy his economic, social and cultural rights, as well as his civil and political rights.” The articles in the treaty recognise the right of everyone to the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work which ensure, in particular:
(a) Remuneration which provides all workers, as a minimum, with:
(i) Fair wages and equal remuneration for work of equal value without distinction of any kind, in particular women being guaranteed conditions of work not inferior to those enjoyed by men, with equal pay for equal work;
(ii) A decent living for themselves and their families in accordance with the provisions of the present Covenant;
(b) Safe and healthy working conditions;
(c) Equal opportunity for everyone to be promoted in his/her employment to an appropriate higher level, subject to no considerations other than those of seniority and competence;
(d) Rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay, as well as remuneration for public holidays.
The treaty also covers the right to form and join a trade union, the right to social security, parental rights and the right to health, safety and education.
In 1999, Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Mr Juan Somovia launched the Decent Work agenda which became their primary goal. In his speech, he defines decent work as “not just the creation of jobs, but also the creation of jobs of acceptable quality” The ILO’s decent work agenda is based on four pillars: employment creation, social protection, rights at work, and social dialogue, with gender equality as a cross-cutting objective across these themes.
What does decent work mean in the context of the fashion industry?
Achieving decent work within fashion supply chains is challenging. The race to the bottom (meaning brands competing to produce items at the lowest prices possible) we have witnessed since the 1980s has seen fashion brands and retailers sourcing from the countries with the lowest wages and the weakest worker protections. In Bangladesh, the new monthly minimum wage is 8000 taka ($95), which is half the 16,000 taka the legal representatives of 4.5 million garment workers are demanding in order to progress towards a living wage [4]. Informal workers and homeworkers provide a huge, invisible workforce within fashion supply chains. In 2016, 61% of all workers globally were engaged in informal employment [1]. According to official figures, men earn 12.5% more than women globally [1], but recent research by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research claims these figures don’t take into account women’s career breaks to bring up a family. Their research showed that over a 15-year period, women made 49% of what men made As roughly between 70% and 80% of garment workers are women, they will be disproportionately affected by the gender pay gap in the industry.
Most, but not all, fashion brands and retailers publish supplier codes of conduct relating to decent work in the factories that supply their clothing. These codes of conduct sometimes include subcontractors too. A small number of brands also have specific policies on homeworkers. However, these are far from comprehensive and policies alone will not drive change unless they are effectively implemented. 229 of the 250 brands surveyed in Fashion Revolution’s 2020 Fashion Transparency Index publish a policy on forced labour, frequently within their Modern Slavery Act statement. However, only 106 brands have specific policies on foreign and migrant labour . Globally, 40% of workers are in vulnerable or precarious forms of work and migrants are disproportionately represented in this percentage
Rose S. Still a Man’s Labor Market: The Slowly Narrowing Gender Wage Gap: https://iwpr.org/publications/still-mans-labor-market/
Within fashion supply chains, many workers will migrate within their country or overseas in order to find jobs in garment factories. The jobs they find are frequently precarious, where human rights abuses, including forced labour, are more likely to occur. A 2016 survey of UK retailers found 77% believed there was a likelihood of modern slavery occurring at some stage in their supply chains
Brands, retailers and governments must do more, and faster, to ensure that the future of fashion is sustainable, and this includes providing decent work for the millions of people around the world who grow, spin, weave, dye, process, sew, transport and sell our clothes.
UN SUSTAINABLE GOALS https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/economic-growth/
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