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Garment workers have lost out on $4bn of severance pay, says rights group

The employees, who made clothes for western clothing brands, were legally entitled to the money after losing their jobs

“It doesn’t grab headlines, but when workers lose their jobs and are then denied severance they spent years earning, it has devastating consequences for them and their families,” said Scott Nova, executive director at the WRC. Nova said the issue of severance “theft” was a “hidden crime” in the global fashion industry that received little attention, while victimising millions of workers across the world. In 2022, a coalition of more than 200 rights groups urged brands to sign a binding agreement with unions to establish a global severance fund that they would pay into to help workers who had lost their jobs and were not paid what they were due.

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