More retailers are coming under fire as The Guardian revealed that Primark and Gap have launched inquiries into allegations of poor pay conditions for their factory workers in India. Claims that workers are being paid as little as 13p per hour, forcing them to sometimes rely on government food parcels, are being investigated by the high-street retailers following similar accusations at Tesco and Topshop.
An inquiry was launched after The Guardian uncovered breaches of international labour standards in Bangladesh involving Gokaldas Export, which supplies to brands such as Marks & Spencer and H&M. Now, factory workers from Texport Overseas who supply to Gap, Matalan and Primark have told the British newspaper that they are being paid similar wages and are regularly forced to work overtime between an extra six and 18 hours per week.
Further accusations of harassment and bullying have also been thrown at the garment suppliers with a number of accounts of tragic incidents relayed to The Guardian.
A spokesperson for Primark said they took the allegations "very seriously" and added that an immediate re-audit had been ordered for the premises. H&M has admitted accounts of harassment are "unacceptable" and would forward complaints to its suppliers. While Gap said it regularly monitored suppliers and would work to resolve issues including a "number of compliance violations at factories in the Indian subcontinent region".
Matalan and Marks & Spencer also put forward their responses.
To read the full article in The Guardian click here.
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