15 June 2022, Mumbai:
New research shows that Turkish garment workers earn a quarter of a basic living wage.
New research by CCC Turkey shows the urgent need for a living wage for garment workers as the legal minimum wage covers only one-quarter of what is needed for essentials.
1,5 million workers in Turkey make garments for many global fashion brands, including Adidas, Banana Republic, Benetton, Boohoo, C&A, Esprit, GAP, G-star, Hugo Boss, H&M, Inditex – Zara, Levi’s, Marks & Spencer, Next, Nike, Puma, Primark, Urban Outfitters, and VF. The top five export destinations for clothing made in Turkey are Germany, Spain, UK, Netherlands and France.
Despite the big-name brands these workers produce for, new research shows that garment workers earn poverty pay which leaves them struggling to survive, highlighting the inadequacy of the legal minimum wage. The Clean Clothes Campaign Turkey (CCC Turkey) investigated the working and wage conditions of garment workers in Istanbul and Izmir – the two major centres of clothing assembly in Turkey.
By interviewing hundreds of workers the researchers learned that garment workers are barely able to sustain themselves, a situation that has been ongoing since Turkey became a major fashion exporter in the 1980s, and has worsened in recent years due to the pandemic and hyper-inflation of 86% in 2021 alone.
Such extreme inflation has made it even harder for workers to make ends meet. Despite hikes in the legal minimum wage, workers only survive by constantly juggling debts, holding multiple jobs, or giving up education for work.
“Because I have debt, my child quit his education and started working” reported one worker. Increases in the statutory minimum wage have not compensated for the falling purchasing power of wages.
The minimum wage only covers a quarter of what is needed for basic living expenses. The report found that one in three garment workers earns just the legal minimum wage – even with overtime.
The minimum wage currently in Turkey is 4.253 TRY or 241 EUR net, but a basic living wage would be at least 13.000 TRY or 880 EUR (for January 2022), states CCC Turkey. Calculations by the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (TÜRK-İŞ) have found similar results.
CREDITS: Clean Clothes Campaign International Office Press
