Powerloom workers in Pallipalayam have staged an indefinite strike after talks to increase the minimum wage collapsed. During a recent meeting between workers, powerloom owners, and textile manufacturers, workers brought up the proposed increase, which was subsequently rejected in favor of a 2-year pact proposal that would give powerloom owners a 20% hike in their

Indonesian trade officials are considering filing a complaint against Turkey with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over their anti-dumping measures on yarn. Last week, Turkish trade authorities announced that higher levies would be implemented on Indonesian yarn for at least the next 5 years, a move which Indonesian officials say would hurt local companies. Turkish

Tehran recently hosted a German Textile Symposium aimed at growing interest among Iranian textile companies in German-made machinery. Demand for German products among Iranian textile producers has waned in recent years thanks to sanctions placed on the country by the German government, but machinery suppliers say they are now embarking on a mission to reinvigorate

The secretary of the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association (MGMA) says that the country opened one new garment factory every week in 2014. MGMA leaders say that foreign buyers are being attracted to the country thanks to economical wages, a plentiful labor supply, and that numerous buyers driven out of Bangladesh by safety and compliance concerns

Workers’ groups in Pakistan are pushing the government to increase the country’s minimum wage to US$245 per month and implement stronger worker protections like mandatory appointment letters and more robust workplace inspection policies. The push was made at a recent conference in Hyderabad organized by the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) where laborers also spoke

The government of the Philippines has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Foreign Buyers’s Association of the Philippines (FOBAP) aimed at increasing international labor compliance among export-oriented factories in the country. According to the country’s Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the agreement will help improve compliance among production facilities as well as

Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland has launched a new Master of Science in Fashion Ethics degree program. University officials say the degree will consist of a “research led, taught programme, focused on analysing and understanding the industry, whilst mapping the changes in practice, monitoring the voices and diversity of stakeholders in the supply-chain.” The university

Victims of the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh have filed a federal lawsuit against 3 major retailers and the government of Bangladesh claiming that all of these parties knew of the unsafe conditions in the Rana Plaza building before it collapsed, yet they failed to act. Along with the government of Bangladesh, the suit

Policymakers in Vietnam are working on more robust protections for workers following several incidents where factory owners suddenly shuttered their facilities without paying workers their due wages. At least two separate incidents have occurred this month where workers arrived at their factories to find them shuttered with no sign of management to distribute owed wages.

Global international development group Baptist World Aid has released a new report looking at how dozens of global apparel brands are protecting their foreign workers from exploitation. “The Australian Fashion Report 2015” is based on research from 219 companies, both within and outside of Australia, looking at their supply chain security and social compliance policies