Today, most of the world’s garments are made in Asia. Yet Asian workers are paid the least.
All garment workers in Asia need a wage increase. But often, when workers struggle to improve their wages and conditions in one country, companies relocate to another country, where wages and conditions are lower.
So workers are afraid to fight for better wages and conditions, because they might lose their jobs.
The Asia Floor Wage Campaign is a response to this problem. We propose a regional floor wage for all garment workers in Asia.
The Asia Floor Wage, is different in each country's national currency, but has the power to buy the same set of goods and services in all countries.
An Asia Floor Wage for the garment industry will help us fight poverty, develop economically with decent labour standards, and improve the lives of workers who are mostly women.
Union leaders and labour activists in Asia came together to explore a strategy for Asian workers in the global garment industry. What began as an Asia-based process has now expanded to become an international alliance for Asia Floor Wage.
Asia Floor Wage is potentially a global collective bargaining strategy for global industries. It is being tested in the garment industry which is one of the oldest global industries.
Largest concentration for global garment production is Asia. Asian labour has regional and numerical bargaining power in the garment global supply chain.
Asian labour can set a floor to the global corporate race to the bottom. Asian bargaining power can be applied globally to prevent the global race to the bottom for all workers.
Join the Asian Floor Wage Campaign – Stop the global race to the bottom