Migrant workers are workers who leave their country of origin to find employment abroad, often with a hope of improving their economic status. However, they often do not enjoy the same rights as local workers and, without language skills, networks and in many cases without adequate legal documents, they are especially vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, including bonded labor and trafficking. Migrant workers are known to experience discrimination in pay and employment status and have little opportunity to negotiate better conditions. They often lack access to suitable and safe accommodation and can become victims of sexual harassment and exploitation. The constant fear of deportation further increases their vulnerability to all of the above. Migrant labor is widespread across the global fashion supply chains, including migrant child labor (especially in cotton production). Migrant workers are increasingly employed in the garment factories in OECD countries such as the UK, the US and Australia, to achieve quick turnarounds of fast fashion lines closer to target markets while matching the low cost of offshore manufacture.(1-8)
MIGRANT WORKERS
