Mechanisms of labour exploitation: the case of Pakistan

Purpose The issue of exploitative labour practices has been a persistent and recurring problem in the textile and garment industry. Despite increased media, policy and practitioners attention the evidence base remains unexplored. The International Labour Organization (ILO) has acknowledged the presence of labour exploitation in global supply chains because of private sectors' employment practices. The purpose of this study is to apprehend views of multilevel stakeholders to explore the nature and driving mechanisms of exploitation. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 76 respondents from 25 factories from 3 cities of Pakistan i.e. Faisalabad, Lahore and Gujranwala. Convenient and snowball sampling techniques were used because of the complexity of research settings. Transcribed data was analysed with the help of NVivo. Findings Drawing on qualitative evidence, the study reveals that workers experience a range of exploitation at the workplace, which is unlikely to fall within the scope of severe exploitation. The findings reveal that three types of exploitation exist in Pakistan's textile and garment industry such as financial, physiological and psychological. Power inequality is the foundation and a fundamental cause of the endurance of exploitation. The study found three mechanisms that facilitate the endurance of exploitation, i.e. distance, profit and oppression. Originality/value This study argues that the international and local instruments do not specifically address the severe labour exploitation in Pakistan textile and garment industry. Therefore, the need arises to develop a specific instrument to address the problem. In the absence of such an instrument, there is a piecemeal approach by international and local bodies towards the regulation of labour exploitation.