Covid-19: Calls for donations and collaborations

Below are calls for support and donations to relieve the impact of Covid-19 on the garment industry. This information has been collected by our network of local and international partners to the best of Fair Wear’s knowledge, however we are not affiliated or involved in the actual collection or distribution of any funds.


Awaj Foundation (Bangladesh)

The RMG sector in Bangladesh has been particularly hard-hit by the pandemic – USD 1.5 billion of business has already been lost and 1.2 million garment workers’ livelihoods have been impacted. Many of Awaj Foundation’s members have reported that their factories have been shut down indefinitely and workers were given only 23 days of salary as severance. Some factories have closed without giving any payments to workers at all. These workers now don’t know how they will take care of their families in the coming days – how they will manage costs for food, rent and other necessities.

Awaj Foundation are asking you to stand with them and support the garment workers in Bangladesh.

The community Awaj Foundation is supporting includes:

  • 65 unions in Dhaka and Chittagong that collectively have 81,800 members
  • Another 200 factories where we had started to organize, with over 250,000 workers
  • Daily services to around 500 workers (healthcare, legal aid, etc.)

These are just the workers who are directly connected with the foundation, but its activities and services also benefit their children and families.

Your donations will contribute towards an emergency fund for workers who have lost their jobs. This will mainly be in the form of cash disbursements to make sure that their basic needs for food and shelter are met. Awaj Foundation will also continue to provide some health services and will connect workers with other resources when they need more intensive help.

If you would like to make a contribution then please write to Awaj Foundation at [email protected]. You can also make a transfer to the Awaj Foundation bank account. The details are as follows:

Account Name: Awaj Foundation
Account Number: 010611100009371
Bank: Mercantile Bank Ltd.
Bank branch: Banani Branch
Swift Code: MBLBBDDH007


Cividep (India)

Cividep has been working closely with the Bangalore garment industry, which has an estimated 500,000 workers in nearly 1200 factories.

The international branded apparel sector has been in the spotlight for poor working conditions in its supply chains. In India, the southern production hubs of Bangalore and Tirupur have been under scrutiny for labour and human rights violations. To address these concerns, Cividep focuses on analysing working conditions and barriers to decent work, creating labour rights awareness through training, providing legal assistance to workers and guiding dialogue between stakeholders.

Donations
All contributions received by Cividep will be directed to Munnade (see below) to carry out the relief work. This is because Munnade does not currently have a foreign contribution bank account.

Account name: CIVIDEP-INDIA
Account number: 187010014552
Account holder address: Plot No 12, 1st Cross, Venkataramaiah Layout,  Opposite New Baldwin School, Banaswadi, Bangalore- 560043, India
Bank name: Kotak Mahindra Bank
Bank branch address: Frazer Town Branch, No. 44, Coles Pinnacle, Coles Road, Frazer Town, Bangalore, India
Bank branch zipcode: 560005
SWIFT code: KKBKINBB


FEMNET (Bangladesh and India)

German:
FEMNET hat angesichts der Corona-Krise, die die Beschäftigten in Indien und Bangladesch besonders hart trifft, einen Corona- Nothilfefonds aufgesetzt. Ihr findet den Aufruf dazu hier.

Wir haben Hilferufe aus Indien erhalten, wo es insbesondere den Wanderarbeiterinnen aus anderen Bundesstaaten Indiens, die vom Norden gekommen sind, um in den Textilfabriken des Südens Geld zu verdienen, besonders schlecht geht. Fabriken haben geschlossen und alle öffentlichen Transportmittel fahren nicht mehr. Viele haben sich – teilweise zu Fuß! – auf den Weg zurück in ihre Heimat gemacht, aber zahlreiche sind auch im Süden geblieben. Sie erhalten keinen Lohn mehr – waren oft Kurzarbeiterinnen, Tagelöhner*innen – und müssen hungern, wenn sie jetzt nicht Unterstützung erhalten – so berichtet uns unser langjähriger Partner SAVE in Tamil Nadu, Südindien.

In Bangladesch ist die Situation auch gravierend. Hier arbeiten einige Fabriken noch; über 1000 Fabriken sind aber geschlossen worden, u.a. auch weil Aufträge fehlen. Auch hier fehlt es an allem, Löhne werden nicht gezahlt…

Habt herzlichen Dank für Eure Unterstützung. In diesen Zeiten ist es besonders wichtig, dass wir zeigen „solidarity works“!

English:
In the midst of this coronavirus crisis, which is particularly hard on workers in India and Bangladesh, FEMNET has set up a crisis fund, which you can view and donate to here.

FEMNET have received calls for help from India, where migrant workers who have come from the North to earn money in the Southern textile factories are particularly badly affected. Factories have closed and all public transportation is no longer running. Many have – sometimes on foot! – made their way back to their home states, but many have stayed in the South. They no longer receive any wages – they were often short-term workers, day labourers – and they will go hungry if they do not receive support now. This is what FEMNET’s longstanding partner SAVE in Tamil Nadu, South India, tells them.

The situation in Bangladesh is also serious. Over 1,000 factories have been closed, many because orders are have been stalled or cancelled. Wages are not being paid to workers, who were already struggling to provide for themselves and their families.

Thank you very much for your support. In these times it is particularly important we show that solidarity works!


GoodWeave International

GoodWeave stops child labour in global supply chains. Permanently. With 25 years experience, GoodWeave partners with companies and local producer communities to bring visibility to hidden supply chains, protect workers and restore childhoods. GoodWeave recently launched the COVID-19 Child and Worker Protection Fund to deliver immediate humanitarian aid and services to vulnerable populations in India, Nepal and Afghanistan. The focus is on reaching marginalised workers and children in producer communities where GoodWeave field teams are already embedded. For more information, read this press release.


IMF and World Bank

The global labour movement has called for coordinated action on public health and economic stimulus, and united with the International Chamber of Commerce on  emergency debt relief. This included full funding for the IMF Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust, which received additional donor pledges and was used by the Fund to cancel six months of loan repayments from 25 low-income countries. The G20 countries agreed to suspend debt payments from low-income countries facing emergencies. The World Bank and multilateral development banks declined to participate in a suspension without additional resources.

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is promoting a Global Fund for Universal Social Protection, a new debt relief process guided by the Sustainable Development Goals and paired with a binding sovereign debt workout mechanism, and the issuance of IMF Special Drawing Rights. Due to the opposition of the United States, the Spring Meetings failed to agree on new Special Drawing Rights. This would give emerging and developing countries a powerful tool to stop currency, employment, and economic collapse. A more limited IMF liquidity line with barriers to access was created instead.

Response loans from the World Bank are supporting preparedness and public health, including personal protective equipment for health workers. The IMF is disbursing rapid response loans and advocating for countries to spend what is necessary to stop Covid-19 and preserve employment. However, the Bank is already discussing means-tested social protection and structural reform, and the Fund is advising developing countries to prepare for austerity as soon as next year. ‘The world needs an ambitious plan that provides developing countries with the resources for immediate measures to protect health and jobs, and to conduct fiscal stimulus for an inclusive recovery. The backing of the IMF and World Bank for doing everything necessary to contain the pandemic is welcome and should be converted into further coordination. Once Covid-19 has abated, a return to austerity and deregulatory structural reform would be disastrous. This pandemic shows that our fates are deeply intertwined. A global reconstruction plan should reflect the need for complete solidarity to rebuild a sustainable world with quality jobs, universal social protection and strong public health systems’, said Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary.


Munnade Social Organisation (India)

Munnade Social Organisation, based in Bangalore, opened its doors in 2011. Its work aims to protect the rights of women garment workers, many of whom work in garment factories that supply to international labels such as Gucci, H&M, Levi’s. etc. Some important aspects of Munnade’s work include: training, counselling, self-help groups, community crèches, advocacy, life skill activities for children, availing of government schemes and awareness programmes.

Through this initiative fund, Munnade ensures relief to garment workers who are stuck, left stranded with no work and wages and are struggling to afford basic essentials due to the Covid-19 pandemic. If you are an Indian citizen and would like to donate, find the details below.

Account details for Indian citizens
Name: Munnade Social Organisation
Account number: 64075679566
Account type: Savings (local account)
Bank name: State Bank of India
Bank Branch: Mysore Road


Open Apparel Registry (OAR)

The OAR are working on a development to enable the company to track and share data on which facilities globally are manufacturing PPE (personal protective equipment). The information they need to add this data to the tool is:

  • Country
  • Facility name
  • Address
  • Contact details to make an enquiry
  • Product type e.g. scrubs, visors, etc.

Facilities can be of any size, from small studios to large manufacturing units. Data can be at the regional, country or global level. The company will do the work to pull the data together and add it to the OAR.

Do you know of any groups compiling this information? Do you have a data source you can share? Are you manufacturing PPE?

They would love to hear from you. Click here to get in touch.


READ (India)

READ believes empowering rural communities is critical to alleviating global poverty. They envision a world where individuals, families and entire communities have access to the knowledge, resources and opportunities necessary to build a more prosperous future through Community Library and Resource Centers (READ Centers).

Donations
FCRA bank account details
Account name: Rights Education and Development Centre
Account holder address: 195, MGR Nagar, Kombupallam, Bannari Main Road, Sathyamangalam, Erode District -638401, Tamil Nadu -638401, India
Account number: 512977665
Bank name: Indian Bank
Bank branch: Sathyamangalam
Bank address: Mysore Trunk Road Opp. Taluk office, Sathyamangalam, Erode District -638401, Tamil Nadu -638401, India
SWIFT code/BSB: IDIBINBBTSY

Local (Indian) bank account details
Account name: Rights Education and Development Centre
Account holder address: 195, MGR Nagar, Kombupallam, Bannari Main Road, Sathyamangalam, Erode District -638401, Tamil Nadu -638401, India
Account number: 512960458
Bank name: Indian Bank
Bank branch: Sathyamangalam
IFSC code: IDIB000S123
Bank address: Mysore Trunk Road Opp. Taluk office, Sathyamangalam, Erode District -638401, Tamil Nadu -638401, India
SWIFT code/BSB: IDIBINBBTSY


SAVE (Tirupur, India)

SAVE has been engaged in organising migrant workers and home-based workers in the textile production hub of Tirupur. It has different activities among migrant children, women and textile spinning mills across Tamil Nadu. SAVE is involved in distributing food related goods during the lockdown period, visiting communities and coordinating the relief materials.

The migrant communities and HBWs face distinct challenges after the virtual closure of garment factories. They face several challenges such as no jobs, no food stock, no food supply under PDS, no hygienic drinking water, no salary from employer/contractors, poor shelter, unhygienic stay, no medical services or help for the treatment. The employers/contractors fail to take care of their safety and well-being.

Objectives:

  • To respond the emergency situation to prevent hunger among migrant workers and HBWs
  • To provide a basic food provisions to migrants and HBWs during lockdown period beyond 21 days (as extended to 30 April)
  • To cover as many families and individuals and roughly 2,000 families (8,000 individuals) and to secure food for minimum 7 days by home delivery in the selected settlements  
  • Lobby and appeal to the Government for PDS to migrants and non-ration card holders in organised way

SAVE aims to distribute food materials and protective face masks, washing soap to 2,000 families. The food material consists of rice, wheat powder, oil, pulses, potatoes and onions, along with face masks.

Donations
SAVE accepts donations for the distribution of food materials as mentioned above.
Account name: Social Awareness and Voluntary Education (SAVE)
Bank name: State Bank of India, (Main)
Account number: CA / AC No. 350 232 103 44
Bank address: State Bank of India, (Main) 1, Salai Road, Dindigul – 624 001. Tamil Nadu, India.
Bank code: IFSC SBIN 0000835

For WIRE TRANSFER use swift code and its address.
Swift Code: SBI NINBB 452
Address: State bank of India (Main), Dindigul – 624 001.