"Ten Commandments" for clothing brands published

On the occasion of May Day 2011, the Asia Floor Wage campaign has issued new figures that constitute minimum living wages in Asian garments-producing countries.

In 2009 a large Asian alliance of unions and labour-rights activists defined and calculated a floor wage (minimum living wage) for Asian garment workers. The floor wage is designed to guarantee that workers receive enough to meet basic needs for themselves and their families. It translates into different local currencies through the PPP (Purchasing Power Parity)  conversion factor for each country. In 2009, the formula was 475 PPP$.

The new minimum living wage benchmarks for 2011 and 2012 are based on the same definition but adjusted for two years of inflation - reaching 540PPP$ for 2011. In local currency this translates into

• Bangladesh 12248 BDT
• Cambodia 692903 Riel
• India 7967 Rupees
• Indonesia 2132202 Rupiah
• Srilanka 19077 Rupees
• China 1842 RMB

(these are monthly wages)

Currently, actual minimum wages in these countries are far below a minimum living wage, often less than half of it for working weeks in excess of 48 working hours. In many countries, the legal minimum wages are not observed or enforced at all.

The garment industry in Asia, which employs predominantly women workers, is renowned for poverty wages, excessive overtime and poor working conditions, and protests often land the workers in jail.

The campaign has also issued ten practical guidelines for garment companies that outsource their production to Asia, and urge them to take up their part of the responsibility to ensure that these Asian workers can live more dignified lives.

For more general background info, please visit www.asiafloorwage.org .

You can find the May Day press release under http://www.asiafloorwage.org/asiafloorwage-media.htm
and the formulas according to which these numbers were modified under
http://www.asiafloorwage.org/Resource-Reports.html