- Huw Hughes
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Some factories in Pakistan supplying clothes to Boohoo have been accused
of paying workers 29p per hour and making them work in appalling
conditions.
An investigation by the Guardian into the working conditions of two
factories in the industrial city of Faisalabad found workers who claimed
they were paid 10,000PKR (47 pounds) a month – well below the legal monthly
minimum wage for unskilled labour of 17,500PKR.
There were also claims workers would sometimes do 24-hour shifts.
Documentary, video and photographic evidence seems to back up claims of
safety issues, The Guardian said, including motorbikes being parked indoors
next to flammable materials.
In response to seeing the report, Boohoo has suspended a supplier, JD
Fashion Ltd, and a factory, AH Fashion, from its supply chain while it
investigated the claims, The Guardian said.
Boohoo faces fresh accusations
The report comes just months after Boohoo concluded an independent
review that found “many failings” in the factories of some of its suppliers
in Leicester following an undercover investigation in July by The Sunday
Times that allegedly exposed poor working conditions and illegal pay at
Boohoo’s suppliers.
When publishing the results of the independent review, Boohoo announced
its Agenda for Change programme in which it set out six steps to enhance
its supplier audit and compliance procedures.
Last week, Boohoo co-founder and executive chairman Mahmud Kamani told
MPs he would “fix whatever’s gone wrong” at his fast-fashion empire.
“We have made some mistakes but over the last 14 years we’ve got more
right than wrong and we have a very very fast-growing business,” Kamani
said while giving evidence to parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee as
part of its investigation into the fashion industry.
“I’m determined to fix whatever’s gone wrong and I understand things
have gone wrong because of the fast-growing nature of this business,” he
said.
Boohoo also told the committee it had exited arrangements with 64
Leicester suppliers and factories since late 2019 after finding violations
of its code of conduct.
Photo credit: Boohoo
