Last October 7, on the World Day for Decent Work, workers throughout Asia announced the official launch of Asia Floor Wage (minimum wage in Asia), a campaign to demand a decent minimum wage for textile workers. In this mobilisation, there was an aspect which has become indispensable: unionisation beyond frontiers, between 70 unions, NGO’s and labour rights movements of 17 countries.

In Asia, over 100 000 million textile workers produce today over 60% of all clothing sold worldwide. They receive less than 3% of the sale price of the clothing, and suffer abusive treatment: misappropriation of social insurance payments, moral harassment, unfair dismissal, threats to suppress any unionizing activity. A ‘race for the lowest salaries’ is orchestrated by big companies, who threaten employees with delocalisation to another city or country. In Bangalore, a taylor earns around 3500 rupees a month, or about 50 euros.

In this city in southern India, more than 300 workers took to the streets in October 2009, for the launching of the campaign. Fedina, a partner of Frères des Hommes, was with them, as was the new textile workers union of Karnataka (Karnataka Garment Workers Union, KGWU), created by Fedina. A comic strip ein English and Kanada, the local language, was distributed to the workers, and posters were put up in Bommanahalli, the garment workers district.

The main demand of these workers in Asia is a minimum living wage for themselves and their families. The wage they are demanding was calculated on the needs of a family of 2 adults and 2 children, and on the cost of living in each country. This comes to 10 754 taka in Bangladesh (103 euros), 1 639 yuans in Chine (160 euros), and 6 968 en Inde (100 euros).

At Bangalore, 7 October 2009, textile workers demonstration.