Beyoncé's clothing range is made by 'sweatshop labourers paid 55c an hour'

[GennGreymane]

http://www.thejournal.ie/beyonce-ivy...70659-May2016/

BEYONCÉ’S SPORTSWEAR range for Topshop, Ivy Park, is made by sweatshop workers who earn as little as £4.30 (about €5.45) a day, a British newspaper has claimed.

The Sun on Sunday is reporting that seamstresses making some of the clothes in the range earn just 44p (about 55c) an hour.
The newspaper spoke to workers in an MAS Holdings factory in Sri Lanka which supplies some of the range’s garments.

The newspaper says many of the seamstresses, mostly young women from poor rural villages, work more than 60 hours a week.
MAS is owned by Sri Lankan tycoon Mahesh Amalean and his two brothers. It employs 74,000 workers in 48 factories across Asia.
The Sun notes that MAS is not breaking any laws as all workers are paid more than the legal minimum wage of 13,500 rupees (about €80) a month.

However, human rights campaigners say a living wage is closer to 43,000 rupees (€260).
Jakub Sobik, from the charity Anti-Slavery International, compared the conditions the workers face to “slavery”.

Ivy Park response
Ivy Park is described as activewear brand “made for women who want to look and feel at the top of their game”.
One machinist reportedly told the Sun: “When they talk about women and empowerment this is just for the foreigners. They want the foreigners to think everything is OK.”

A Topshop spokeswoman told the newspaper:
Ivy Park has a rigorous ethical trading programme. We expect our suppliers to meet our code of conduct and we support them in achieving these requirements.

A statement by Ivy Park added: “We are proud of our sustained efforts in terms of factory inspections and audits, and our teams worldwide work very closely with our suppliers and their factories to ensure compliance.”

[Blueobelisk]

How else do you expect clothes to be cheap to purchase? I mean, if it gives people jobs and they're willing to accept it who are we to look down on them just because their pay is something we don't think is high enough for our standards.

[Spectral]

I'm sure they at least play Lemonade on repeat to make sure the women in question are sufficiently empowered.

In all seriousness though, I don't see any evidence of the putative "slavery" in this context. Low wages aren't slavery. I'd rather than situations like this not be the case, but there isn't really an obvious solution. Increasing labor costs to be equal to (or close to) Western competitors just results in disemployment. Presumably, these women rely on their wage to feed their families. It's easy to say "no one should have to live in those conditions", it's harder to actually do anything meaningful about it.

[Ciddy]

To be fair, doesn't that apply to pretty much all clothing these days?

[Reeve]

Ummm, that's how pretty much all clothes are made.

[Orlong]

That isnt slavery, its just low wages. The working conditions are not bad. They arent whipped or beaten or even denied breaks, nor are they working in an unsafe work environment. Low wages doesnt equal slavery or sweatshop. If people are willing to work for 55 cents per hour, then that is their own fault.

[Independent voter]

Beyoncé's "Sorry" / "I ain't sorry" song.

[Dezerte]

Exploitation is what it is, in my view. And the reason why jobs are moving outside our countries. Honestly, something should be done about this practice because ultimately it not only harms the workforce where the products are sold but it also stifles innovation and ingenious start-ups from happening in the poorer countries.