Table 5.2: Cuts in bonus payment by region, 2020

“By July 2020, my monthly salary was reduced by one-third because I was laid off for several months. This continued until September, when the No Work No Pay policy was announced by the factory, and my salary fell by 70 percent. I was receiving IDR 2 million per month before Covid-19 and from September onwards, I only got IDR 630,000. Despite working in the factory for more than 4 years, I was still employed as an FTC worker, making it easier to deny my wages. On paper, the working hours were from 6 AM and ends at 4 PM, but I ended up working until 9PM on most days. I was not allowed to leave until I met the production targets, which was difficult due to the reduced number of workers in the production line. We worked a single day with a two-day workload, without receiving wages for our extra work!”

– Fitri, a 37-year old garment worker from an H&M supplier factory

Despite facing inhumane conditions on the days that she received work, Fitri’s salary was not adequate to even pay back her loans, requiring her to pay 700,000 IDR per month for three years. In addition to repaying her loans monthly, she has to cover cost of education for her two children. The school fees and additional costs such as data packages for online classes take up another 300,000 IDR per month. She had taken the loan to buy a motorcycle for her husband, who uses it to work as a motorcycle driver. Along with some other odd jobs, he is only able to earn an average of IDR 50,000 per month. This money is spent on groceries and to pay utilities such as electricity, gas, and water. Annual bonus, paid as the Eid-ul-Fitr festive bonus, forms an important portion of workers’ earnings in Indonesia. As low-paid workers, garment workers are highly reliant on the annual bonus as an additional source of income. However, bonus is often the first benefit to get cut during a crisis, as it is considered an ‘optional payment’ despite its significance to workers’ livelihoods. The customary practice is to pay one month’s wages as annual bonus.

The majority of workers reported that they did not receive the full bonus, even though 98% of the workers reported receiving some bonus.

Table 5.2: Cuts in bonus payment by region, 2020

Region

Low Minimum Wage Region High Minimum Wage Region Bonus Owed Average Bonus Paid % Cut in Bonus

200 USD 112 USD 44

250 USD 163 USD 35

Source: Primary data, n = 390

Several factories informed workers that they would pay the bonus in installments over the course of the year. However, by the end of the year, workers were yet to receive 3544% of their bonus.

Section 5: An Unfolding Humanitarian Crisis

As the actions of brands resulted in extensive wage theft over the course of 2020, workers and their households were pushed into