According to Bangladesh’s “Financial Express” report on December 20, eight U.S. congressmen urged the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) to support fairer wages in the Bangladeshi garment industry and Protect workers’ rights and strongly support Bangladeshi garment workers’ demands for fairer wages.
They wrote to the AAFA Chairman on December 15, calling on U.S. buyers to commit to maintaining long-term purchasing relationships with suppliers and to increase brand purchasing prices to fully absorb the additional costs. labor costs. The lawmakers’ letter asks AAFA member companies to support workers’ petitions demanding a living wage and to speak out in defense of labor rights in a country key to the global apparel industry. The letter stated that while it is great to see several American brands expressing support for wage increases and a fair and transparent wage setting process, words alone will not be enough. The reluctance to support a living wage of BDT 23,000, or about $208 a month, is not only frustrating, but shameful.
Lawmakers call on U.S. brands to use their influence to stand with workers and immediately demand better wages and rights for working families in Bangladesh, demand Bangladesh The government respects and protects workers’ rights to organize, peacefully protest, and bargain collectively without fear of reprisal, violence, or intimidation, and calls on authorities in Bangladesh to stop arresting workers and union leaders over wage protests and to immediately release innocent detainees. The letter echoes the views of local workers’ organizations, international unions and the U.S. government to revisit minimum wage decisions and respect workers’ rights, including freedom of association.
AAFA represents more than 1,000 apparel, footwear and other sewn products companies and their suppliers in the United States, with annual retail sales in the United States exceeding $490 billion. </p
