Today, the Fair Labor Association (FLA) released its first annual compensation report, publishing data on the earnings of workers in 124 mostly apparel and footwear factories assessed by the FLA in 2015. This first-of-its kind collection and publication of wage data and analysis is part of a commitment by the FLA and its affiliates to improve compensation for workers in global supply chains.

For each factory where FLA assessors collected compensation data, the FLA has produced a chart depicting how much workers are earning, compared with other local benchmarks, such as the legal minimum wage, World Bank poverty levels, and cost-of-living figures developed by governments, unions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and others. Intended to place workers' compensation in a local context, these "wage ladder" charts provide a snapshot of workers' purchasing power at current compensation levels in each of the 21 countries where FLA assessors collected data.

At the four factories assessed in Bangladesh in 2015, the FLA found average compensation (including benefits and incentives, and excluding taxes, legal deductions, and overtime) fell below the World Bank poverty line for a three-adult-equivalent household. Compensation for workers in assessed facilities in Cambodia, the Dominican Republic, India, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka (and for migrant workers in Jordan) averaged above World Bank poverty lines, though the FLA found that purchasing power of compensation for these workers remained relatively weak in these countries. Average compensation was found to be highest relative to the World Bank poverty line in the 14 factories assessed in the United States. Read More