Figure 4.18: Percentage of workers who received Covid-19 support from various sources

Access To Covid-19 Related Relief Efforts

Only 44% of garment workers reported that they were able to access some form of relief/support during the Covid-19 crisis.

• Civil society organisations and trade unions played an important role in supporting workers during the Covid-19 crisis. Around 41% of the workers received food relief from NGOs while 21% of the workers reported receiving food relief from trade unions (Figure 4.18).

• 24% of the workers received monetary support from the government. However, most workers received a meagre one-time amount of 1000-2000 PKR (6-12 USD), which could hardly help meet consumption needs for more than two weeks.

Figure 4.18: Percentage of workers who received Covid-19 support from various sources Figure 7.16 : Percentage of workers who received Covid-19 support from various sources

50

rs rc entage of w or ke Pe 40

41%

30

20

24%

14% 21%

10

0

4% 4% 2%

0%

Monetary Support Food

0% 0% 0% 0% Healthcare

Factory Government NGO/Charity Trade Union

Source: Primary data, n = 605

Though garment exports from Pakistan continued to increase and an ambitious Textile and Apparel 2020-25 Policy with a trillion rupees in subsidies for suppliers is on the anvil, the unanticipated decision of the government to stop cotton imports from India has led to a shortage of cotton. The condition of garment workers, especially women, continues to remain bleak and is likely to worsen because brands have not taken any significant steps to curb wage theft in their supply chains.

Most women garment workers who have been terminated are now working at extremely poorly paid jobs that roughly provide 2-3 USD per day, while those who were laid off and rehired are working more hours of unpaid overtime and suffering increased levels of verbal and mental harassment. Unlike in other garment-producing countries, our sample shows that a significant number of children of garment workers in Pakistan have been forced to drop out of schools and are engaged in menial jobs that pay 1-2 USD per day. The impact of the Covid-19 crisis is likely to have long-lasting effects on inter-generational poverty and gender disparity in Pakistan.

1 Hearst, K. (2020, July 20). Open Democracy. Retrieved from Our Economy: https:// www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/covid-19-and-the-garment-industrys-invisiblehands/

2 Frederick, S., & Daly, J. (2019). Pakistan in the Apparel Global Value Chain. Durham: Duke Global Value Chains Center, Duke University.

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4 Human Rights Watch. (2019). No Room to Bargain Unfair and Abusive Labor Practices in Pakistan. Karachi: Human Rights Watch. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/ files/report_pdf/pakistan0119.pdf

5 All Pakistan Textile Mills Association. (2020). Statements/Circulars. Retrieved from APTMA.

6 The News International. (2020, March 30). Tripartite mechanism activated to mitigate impact of COVID-19 lockdown on workers. Karachi, Pakistan. Retrieved from https://www. thenews.com.pk/print/636776-tripartite-mechanism-activated-to-mitigate-impact-ofcovid-19-lockdown-on-workers

7 Pakistan Today. (2020, May 4). Can’t Pay Workers During Lockdown, Textile Owners Tell Court. Pakistan. Retrieved from https://archive.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/05/04/cantpay-workers-lockdown-textile-industry-owners-tell-court/

8 State bank of Pakistan. (2020, April 22). Press. Retrieved from State Bank of Pakistan: https://www.sbp.org.pk/press/2020/Pr-22-Apr-20.pdf

9 International Labour Organization. (2016, April). Publications. Retrieved from ILO: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---travail/documents/ publication/wcms_467449.pdf