A meaningful minimum wage and decent working conditions are amongst the basic human rights of factory workers in the garment industry, and the UN should include the enforcement of this minimum living wage as one of the "human development indicators" of UN member countries. These are amongst the many recommendations issued by a People's Tribunal on the situation in the garment industry that was held in Sri Lanka on March 27 and 28.

The People's Tribunal organised by the Apparel Industry Labour Rights Movement (ALARM), with support from the Committee for Asian Women, as a way of promoting decent wages in the country through an Asian Floor Wage. The Asian Floor Wage is a campaign to fight for fair and equitable factory salaries.

The Tribunal was held near the Katunayake Free Trade Zone where the judges were prominent international experts on labour and human rights issues  from Bangladesh, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Australia. They heard the  testimonies of six women garment workers , as well as presentations from academics and other experts of the industry.

The factory workers gave extensive, sometimes emotional, testimonies on the impact of the low wages on their day-to-day lives, such as ill-health and the inability to lead proper family lives. These wages fail to meet their needs and force them to work excessive overtime hours.

One worker, identified as Nadeeka, testified how her meagre salary forced her to leave the care of her daughter to others. "My basic salary was not enough. I needed to do overtime work to provide for my child as a single parent. If only my basic salary was enough I could have kept my child with me. So I sent my child to my mother in the village".  "The salary that I received was not sufficient to meet my needs at home," recounts a worker called Srimathi. "In 2010 my basic salary was Rs. 8700 per month. I have two children. I have to pay a rent of Rs. 5000 per month. For food, I need Rs. 10.000. In addition I have to pay for electricity, medical expenses, clothing, etc." As a consequence, Srimathi has to work enormous amounts of overtime and can still hardly meet her basic needs.

The Tribunal, in it's closing statement, calls on the Sri Lankan government and governments in the region to ensure a minimum living wage for all workers. Governments should also work together in a regional approach to prevent a race to the bottom by global industries seeking the lowest costs.

Ashim Roy, Secretary General of the New Trade Union Initiative in India and gave an presentation on how to define and calculate a minimum living wage across the Asian region. Jeroen Merk of the Clean Clothes Campaign discussed some general constraints that impede living wage policies being implemented. He also discussed current living wage policies, or lack thereof, of global clothing brands, and recommended some steps these companies  could take implement a living wage.

The Tribunal is being undertaken to pursue a global campaign for an Asia Floor Wage targeting garment manufacturers, suppliers, consumer-importers, garment workers and government officials. The Sri Lanka Tribunal is the first of a series of national hearings that are scheduled in upcoming months, and will culminate in a session being requested at the People's Permanent Tribunal, an international opinion tribunal independent from State authorities. It examines and provides judgements relative to violations of human rights and rights of peoples.

For more information on the Asia Floor Wage, see www.asiafloorwage.org