The story of thousands of migrant women workers is revealed in the new report launched by War on Want and the Asian Migrant Centre.
The report presents the appalling conditions faced by women who have to migrate because of poverty and political oppression. Despite being important economic drivers for countries’ economic growth, migrant women’s rights are consistently violated by Western companies while their governments turn a blind eye. Exporting cheap labour has become an economic strategy promoted by governments within the neoliberal economic model.
Many Western companies are profiting from the abuse of migrant women workers detailed in this report. High street brands such as Adidas, Nike, Reebok and Levi-Strauss sell goods produced in Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia, while low labour costs have made Cambodia a key source of cheap clothing for stores such as Gap, Zara, Mark & Spencer and H&M. Workers in Malaysia’s booming electronics industry supply market leaders all over the world.
The report also documents the response of grassroots organizations, such as the MAP Foundation (Thailand), Legal Support for Children and Women (Cambodia) and the Workers Hub For Change (Malaysia) which have been working tirelessly to facilitate migrants’ access to justice and their rights in the workplace and society.
War on Want is campaigning for a living wage and decent working conditions for all workers who supply British companies, wherever they are in the world. War on Want is demanding that justice secretary Chris Grayling establish a business, human rights and environment commission to protect rights for workers in British retailers’ supply chains.
 Restricted Rights: Migrant women workers in Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia |
You can help women workers by calling on the UK government to stop companies profiting from sweatshop labour!
