Income and Wages

Corporate codes of conduct that only commit companies to pay minimum or market wages to their workers have proven– in most key sourcing countries– insufficient in the task of ensuring workers are fairly compensated. To do their share, global brands must commit to a higher standard than just paying minimum wages.

A key driver behind the introduction of the minimum wage was the erosion of the German collective bargaining system that began in the mid-1990s.

All the world's successful industrial policies "those that have delivered the best wages, working conditions and opportunities for economic mobility" have made diversification a central aim. Countries like Bangladesh must do the same.

Declining wages and persistent poverty for garment workers in a majority of the world's leading apparel-exporting countries raises doubt that export-led development strategies create a rising tide that lifts all boats.