GLOBAL - The right to freedom of association and collective bargaining is under attack in major garment producing countries in Asia, according to new research by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC).
Researchers interviewed 24 trade union leaders and surveyed 124 union activists and labour advocates in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka for the report, entitled Unpicked - Fashion and Freedom of Association.
Six out of ten (61 per cent) said that rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining had ‘gotten worse’ since the pandemic. Almost half (48 per cent) reported an increase in discrimination, intimidation, threats and harassment of trade union members.
