An official with the largest federation of trade unions in Fiji is speaking out about a difficult dilemma workers are facing in the underpaid garment industry.
What's happening?
Jotika Gounder-Sharma, an official with the Fiji Trades Union Congress, spoke with RNZ Pacific about the "double-wall challenges" that the FTUC experiences when trying to connect with workers in the garment industry.
Most of those workers are women who are paid less than Fiji's minimum wage, which initially rose to around $2 USD per hour for most industries after lobbying by the federation.
The FTUC also fights to eliminate forced, compulsory, and child labor while working to prevent discrimination and seeking freedom of association and collective bargaining.
Gounder-Sharma pointed to one factory in which union membership dropped drastically amid high fees and management policies that made workers feel unsafe joining the organization.
"This can be said for other companies as well, where the workers feel that it is about their job security, which matters more than them being part of the unions," Gounder-Sharma told RNZ Pacific.
Gounder-Sharma added that supervisors sometimes mislead employees about their rights to join a union, with migrant workers who feared deportation being especially vulnerable.
"The employer will not pay them the dues that they are supposed to receive as per their contract," Gounder-Sharma said. "So they stay within their own community groups, and they are reluctant to engage with the union. They are reluctant even to talk to the local people."
Why is this important?
While the fast-fashion industry is a money-maker — expected to be worth $179.50 billion by the end of the decade after having a market size of $60.5 billion in 2022, per Zion Market Research — those dollars often come at the expense of the workers who make the garments.
Not even 2% of the 75 million fast-fashion workers earn a living wage, according to George Washington University, even as they are exposed to thousands of toxic chemicals, including ones associated with cancer.
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Set strict regulations 🚫 Others face unethical working hours or life-threatening code violations, among other things, and remain impoverished as brands push to deliver mass volumes of low-cost, trendy clothing.
The consequences of fast-fashion business practices negatively impact our wider communities as well, even if the workers are the ones taking the brunt of the problem.
The world tosses the equivalent of a garbage truck full of clothes each second, per Earth.org. These textiles end up in landfills or incinerators, leaching toxins into our waterways and soil and releasing harmful pollutants into the atmosphere.
What's being done about this?
Gounder-Sharma told RNZ Pacific that the FTUC is continuing to push for a higher minimum wage in Fiji for all workers and fighting to ensure garment workers are included.
The Minister of Finance announced a $5 per hour minimum wage in the last budget address after the FTUC asked for $6, and the federation is now advocating for an $8 per hour living wage.
As part of its efforts, the FTUC has teamed up with UnionAID to educate workers about their rights, secure better pay and conditions, and raise awareness about their plight.
"We really have had to push hard to ensure that the workers come up with the issues that they are facing inside," Gounder-Sharma said. "Otherwise we are not able to help them, and this has only been made possible by the UnionAID's project."
Ultimately, while several fast-fashion companies have marketed themselves as more eco-friendly and ethical than they may actually be, many people are beginning to wave goodbye to fast fashion and invest in high-quality apparel or hunt for secondhand gems.
For example, DoneGood's ethical marketplace is one tool empowering consumers to use their purchasing power for good.
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