IOE, ITUC, IndustriALL Global Union, Bangladesh Employers’ Federation and major brands and retailers including Adidas, Bestseller, C&A, H&M Group, International Apparel Federation, Inditex, M&S, NEXT, Primark, PVH Corporation, Ralph Lauren, Tchibo, VF Corporation, Under Armour and Zalando SE, together with the ILO, made a call to work with governments and financial institutions “to mobilise sufficient funding to enable manufacturers to ensure business continuity including payment of wages, as well as income-support and job-retention schemes to address the impact of the crisis”.

The global action presented five priorities, ranging from a request to facilitate access to credit, unemployment benefits and income support and other type of fiscal or financial support, to the promotion of respect of ILO core labor standards, and of health and safety workplaces. This global action also called for work on sustainable systems of social protection for a more just and resilient garment industry.

An international working group is planned to meet to further elaborate the necessary implementation steps to deliver on the signatories’ commitments to this global call.