H&M in factory horror as workers endure ‘outrageous sweatshop conditions’ making clothes which include Beyonce’s own line
According to a grim report, almost 8,000 Cambodian workers have reportedly collapsed since 2010 due to stifling conditions
WORKERS making clothes for high street giant H&M endure sweatshop conditions, according to a grim report.
They receive poverty wages, regularly faint in stifling conditions and are denied loo breaks.
Almost 8,000 Cambodian workers have reportedly collapsed since 2010 while making stock for H&M, which has collaborated with Beyonce and David Beckham on special ranges.
The collapses are linked to malnutrition, excessive heat, long hours and stiff targets.
At the M&V International factory in Kampong Chhnang — rated gold by H&M — workers said they get £104 basic pay a month, less than the country’s minimum wage.
Norway’s human rights group Future in Our Hands co-authored the report. It said: “The workers describe practices which are outrageous.”
Staff were interviewed at four of H&M’s highest rated factories earlier this year, and the report, released this month, claims: “The faintings occur in H&M’s ‘platinum’ and ‘gold’ [rated] suppliers - assumed to be among the ‘best in-class’ factories…
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“It is justified to ask what conditions leading to faintings one can expect to find in factories not scoring that high in H&M’s supply chain, and elsewhere in the garment sector.
Some of the 3,500 workers at a "platinum" plant called Eastex Garment, in the capital Phnom Penh, claimed they were forced to work on illegal short-term contracts without sick pay. And they alleged their wages were cut if they arrived more than five minutes late for work.
Workers at Vanco and Seduno Fashion factories also made similar claims, while Vanco staff said the "platinum" factory bosses limited how many times they could use the loo.
H&M has pledged to ensure workers in its supplier factories earn a “living wage”, but researchers found they were earning less than those producing clothes for rival brands.
Workers at all four factories also said they were told by managers not to report any grievances to outside safety inspectors and feared they would be victimised if they joined a union.
Swedish H&M has more than 260 UK stores and previously promised to be an ethical retailer.
A spokesman said: “We demand our business partners offer employees good working conditions.
The report raises important issues which we work on every day."