Report: Hanging On By a Thread

Pakistan is experiencing mass inflation. Workers at the bottom of the supply chains are being hit the hardest with an erosion of purchasing power and an exacerbation of already challenging living conditions.

‘Hanging on by a thread: Garment Worker rights amidst rising costs and wage violations in Pakistan‘  reveals that factories have been exploiting workers by employing them in less formal ways to reduce risks and cut costs. Wage violations were also rife. Findings show factories paying a third of workers surveyed less than the minimum wage, equivalent to £68 a month.

The report findings are based on a survey conducted by the Pakistan NGO PILAR, carried out in early 2023.  The survey consisted of in-depth interviews with 273 workers in Pakistan, from Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad and covered 62 workplaces, with 3-6 respondents interviewed per workplace.

The survey was a baseline study for a project hosted by Global Rights Compliance, aimed at promoting and advancing international labour rights in Pakistan.