Trade ministers and diplomats were today asked to put themselves in the shoes of low-paid textile workers who had lost their jobs in the past year and then ask themselves if the Doha Trade Round was really a Development Round
Speaking in Davos, Neil Kearney, the General Secretary of the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF), told ministers and diplomats that it would need a lot of imagination to conclude that the Doha Round was aiding development when one of the most obvious outcomes was the impoverishment of hundreds of thousands of low-paid workers in the poorest countries.
“Take the textile industry”, he said. “Trade liberalisation in textiles and clothing at the beginning of 2005 was supposed to bring huge benefits worldwide. The exponents of free trade had promised that everyone would be a winner. Instead trade liberalisation in the sector has wreaked havoc.
“In Sri Lanka 60 of the 735 factories have closed with the loss of 10,000 jobs. There is no alternative employment for these workers.
“In Guatemala, 58 factories have closed with the loss of 40,000 jobs - 35% of total employment in the sector. Again, no other jobs to go to.
“In Lesotho, 12 of the 40 factories have closed, with the loss of a quarter of the jobs in the industry. Once more no alternative employment available.
“Three countries, three continents and repeated many times over around the world! Factories closed, jobs lost, no alternative employment - in short, poverty for the workers involved and their families. Homes gone, empty stomachs, children out of school. Hardly the route to development.
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