Foreign buyers must support garment industries in Asia: Majyd Aziz.

KARACHI -- 'Ready-made Garment industry is a labor intensive industry and the largest employer of women workers in Asia. Foreign buyers and brands must support factories by making longer term and advance bookings of existing capacities. They must endeavour to make serious projections and commitments, and must collaborate with garment factories in planning future production, otherwise operations are disrupted, cost efficiencies not achieved, and losses become common. Moreover, multiple audits for compliance and other stipulations by buyers also add to the cost of the product and frequently disrupt production'. This was stated by Majyd Aziz, Former President Employers' Federation of Pakistan (EFP), at the 'Decent Work in Garment Supply Chains Asia' event held in Bangkok. Majyd Aziz, who spoke on behalf of all Asian employers at the inaugural session added that 'major international retailers and brands are much larger and richer than the Asian garment manufacturers. The consumers in Europe and North America are better positioned to pay extra money for the garment. Unfortunately, most Western buyers ruthlessly negotiate to maximize their profit margins by asking for discounts by claiming poor sales, demanding unjustified claims, and making arbitrary cancellations of orders, etc. Moreover, they routinely threaten factory owners to shift their orders to other factories which often results in factory closure and rendering workers unemployed.' He advised that "major brands pay a fair price since costing is simple and transparent for garment manufacturing". He added that 'the welfare of a garment worker is also dependent on the...