Monsoon makes wage amendments

Recently, Monsoon the British high street fashion brand that always prided itself as the industry

pioneer in fair trade faced flak over outsourcing from suppliers in India and China who engaged child labor and  flouted the minimum wage level. Stung by the accusations, the company stated that it will act to eliminate unacceptable wages discovered in its supply chain.

The retailer, for the first time, in 2008, began auditing its entire supply chain, including subcontractors. The audit led to startling results some of its 10,000 home-based workers in Bareilly, near Delhi, were not paid a minimum wage by subcontractors to Monsoon suppliers. Monsoon’s audit reports identified 64 suppliers in India who were unable to provide evidence they were not complying with wage rules, set by Monsoon, via sub-contractors.

Monsoon has issued a press statement to clear any misunderstandings or misinformation that may have risen from the recent news article.  The company said: “Supply chains are complex, particularly where home working is involved and it requires considerable effort to ensure that payments made to our suppliers reach the workers involved in the production of our products.” The company also said it has made “significant progress” in the past two years to tackle this problem. The retailer said pay rates have risen threefold and it is a year away from ensuring 100 per cent of these workers get minimum wage.