So far, the clothing brand's Twitter handle has chosen to respond directly to criticism from activists Ammar Ali Jan and Zoya Rehman. Generations has dismissed accusations of labour rights violations and described its factory shutdown as temporary and necessary for the health of its staff.
However, it is not yet clear if the brand will be paying its workers for the duration of this shutdown.
Historian and activist of the left-wing Haqooq-e-Khalq Movement (HKM) Ammar Ali Jan had been involved with citizens' inspection teams which are claiming to have unearthed a number of workers' rights violations as factories around Lahore appear to be laying off workers in response to the Covid-19 shutdown.
Ammar Ali Jan tweeted out his findings:
Workers in Limelight & Generation were told they will be fired on 1st April. Workers' financial situation is already DIRE!
Firing workers during crisis is shameful. Punjab govt must ensure job security & #BasicIncomeNOW or we will face riots in midst of #CoronavirusPandemic.
— Ammar Ali Jan (@ammaralijan) March 21, 2020
To this, Generation responded as follows:
Where are you getting your facts from? This is completely incorrect. Kindly stop spreading false information. Very disappointed.
— GENERATION (@GENERATION_PK) March 21, 2020
Meanwhile, feminist researcher and activist with the Women's Democratic Front (WDF) Zoya Rehman had tweeted the following:
what good are @GENERATION_PK's 'feminist' kurtas/pajamas/dupattas to these workers who are laid off for cutting losses? what good is this feminist shtick to anybody when the brand deliberately skirts the question of how/where its 'feminist' clothes are made + who makes them?
— Zoya Rehman (@pind_wave) March 21, 2020
To this, the Twitter handle for Generation chose to respond as follows:
GENERATION has not fired employees/workers as a result of the upcoming shutdown in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. This news is false and baseless. The factory is being shut down initially for two weeks to safeguard health of our staff; a difficult but necessary decision. https://t.co/kyuYVE780u
— GENERATION (@GENERATION_PK) March 21, 2020
The brand's Twitter handle subsequently tweeted out a general response to criticisms being leveled against its labour practices in the Covid-19 pandemic:
Reports of @GENERATION_PK firing staff in view of coronavirus shutdown are false and baseless. In view of the dire situation regarding the outbreak and keeping in view the safety of all workers, it was decided after consultations that the factory will temporarily be shut down 1/2
— GENERATION (@GENERATION_PK) March 21, 2020
The temporary shutdown is for two weeks initially. No one has been fired. We realize everyone is concerned about the economic impact of this but spreading unverified, in fact false, news doesn’t help any cause that matters right now.
— GENERATION (@GENERATION_PK) March 21, 2020
Critics on social media, led by Zoya Rehman, have since pointed out that the brand has not yet clarified as to whether or not its employees will be paid for the duration of the shutdown:
are your workers being paid for the coming weeks during which the factory will be shut down? https://t.co/vqykW53fFj
— Zoya Rehman (@pind_wave) March 21, 2020
okay so no answer to my question that i asked TWICE. in any case, the daily wagers wala excuse is not gonna work because we all know how fashion brands benefit greatly from the use of short-term contracts. @GENERATION_PK
— Zoya Rehman (@pind_wave) March 21, 2020
hiring temporary/contractual workers allows such brands to hire and fire workers easily, to adapt to the ebb and flow of production needs, and reduce/not pay their workforce whenever necessary. please kisi aur ko buddhu banaayein.
— Zoya Rehman (@pind_wave) March 21, 2020
Ammar Ali Jan, meanwhile, reiterated that his accusations were based on testimony from workers, including videos:
This is why workers, especially those on contract, contacted us. In videos they claim they were told to finish assignments and leave. And for me, the claims of workers are as "verified" as those of the bosses.
Govt should itself hold inspections across industrial sector. https://t.co/wgIJKD4hEA
— Ammar Ali Jan (@ammaralijan) March 21, 2020
Other activists who were involved with the citizens' inspection team stuck to their version:
I was part of the inspection team, we have several audio and videos testimonies from workers to testify these claims. Factory managers are saying to workers that they will not be working after 1 April and they aren’t going to pay them anything. #BasicIncomeNOW https://t.co/Rvy21cJXuq
— Zahid ali ☭ (@ali_zahid12) March 21, 2020