India’s economy
The sudden evolving Covid-19 pandemic has left the world with the utmost shock of the unpredictable and dangerous situation for the global economy with fears of a global recession on the horizons. Massive supply-chain has faced a lot of disruption and side shocks to the demand of the consumers which have given financial shocks to the Indian rupee. We’re devastated by the fact that we have to stop the market chain supply for a disease that we were working so hard to eradicate by following WHO guidelines. There has been a massive change to many lives due to the global coronavirus outbreak, specially in the lives of people who work for daily wages. When in a continues chain any unpredictable stop comes due to which temporary demands changes from one sector to the other sector, the chain gets disrupted thus leading to job loss, earning issues & financial outbreak.
Lockdown; Million garment laborer on roads
A 21- day lockdown in the wake of COVID-19 in India has left thousands of migrant laborers who work as a daily wager with no income. Suppliers in the country are going through a massive loss in their factories due to decrease in the demand of the garment which have turned into partially shut down or completely shutdown of the factories leaving workers on roads with or without the legally mandated pay. According to a research report by Penn State University’s Center for Global Workers’ Rights(CGWR), thousands of garment factories have already shutdown leaving employees unpaid. A lot of clothing suppliers said that they had to stop most or all of their operations because of order cancellations or lack of flow in the currency. The survey revealed that more than 72 percent of buyers refused to pay for raw materials like fabric and others that had already been purchased in the month of march keeping in the month about the production of garments in future month. Some of the owners have also refused to pay to the workers because of no income from backend. The government has come up with the solution to shut down the companies and stores as part of social distancing measures cutting down the demand for new clothes has simultaneously descend as shoppers stay home and stop buying anything that isn’t essential. Almost every store which deals in fashion brands are now closed temporarily due to the unforeseen circumstances, they are facing losses based on every day but can survive in the market only if the merchandise on the back hand already in production get their payments cleared for the previous orders placed by the fashion brands. Only after this process is taken forward smoothly, the laborers who are on roads now because of the Covid-19 will be able to get their un cleared wages and will be back on the track once the fear of the outbreak of pandemic gets over.
General Statistics
The Indian textile industry is estimated around 107 billion dollar and expected to reach 223 billion dollar by 2021. Textile sector is considered to be one of the oldest industries in India. According to fashion industry statistics, the total population of India is 1,324 million out of which 497 million people are working as labor which accumulates 1586 dollar as the total Gross Domestic Product per capita. According to the CGWR report almost 98.1 percent buyers have refused to contribute to the cost of paying the partial wages to the workers who have to sit back home because of the current situation. As a result, 72 percent of the workers had to be sent back to their homeland without pay and subsequently more than 8- percent people without jobs in their hands. When the situation will change these people will have to look again for a new job and relocate themselves according to their situations.
Big brands pledges to pay to factory workers
Big brands with high fame have cooperated with the government and with their workers by paying them their payments on the agreed terms also have taken few appropriate steps by taking deliveries of the already produced goods form the suppliers. Companies like Zara, H&M, PVH group (Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein), Marks & Spencer have shown a full corporation with the current situation setting up an example in the fashion industry for living up to their commitments and to take the deliveries of garments already made and those which are in production.