How global fashion brands failed Rana Plaza’s survivors
by Rebecca Prentice The survivors of the deadly supply chain disaster were paid ‘rights-based’ compensation from global brands; it wasn’t sufficient to help rebuild their lives The Rana…
Author: rebeccaprentice
Work injury compensation still missing in Bangladesh’s labour standards
by Rebecca Prentice **Republished from The Conversation.** In the five years since the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory building in Bangladesh – in which more than 1,134…
No Paninis for Poverty Pay
by Rebecca Prentice Throughout the UK yesterday restaurant and food delivery workers walked off their jobs to protest low wages, zero hours contracts, and unpredictable work schedules—including those…
Deliveroo Riders Aren’t Workers, Says London Tribunal
by Rebecca Prentice In a surprise setback for trade unions attempting to organise the ‘gig’ economy, a London tribunal has ruled that Deliveroo riders are self-employed contractors, not…
When buildings burn, from London to Dhaka
by Rebecca Prentice There is for me a sad familiarity in the story of the Grenfell Tower fire. I have spent recent years researching garment factory fires and…
The Gig Economy Strikes Back: Deliveroo in Brighton
by Rebecca Prentice May 1, 2017: On a rainy evening in Brighton, more than two hundred people took to the streets to protest economic precariousness. The ‘Precarious May…
The True Cost
by Rebecca Prentice **Originally published in Anthropology of Work Review (2016).** The global fashion industry is worth more than two trillion dollars, creating jobs, economic growth, tax earnings, a…
Beyoncé’s Anthropology of Labour
by Rebecca Prentice Last Sunday, the headline screamed: “Exposed: Sweatshop ‘Slaves’ Earning Just 44p an Hour Making ‘Empowering’ Beyoncé Clobber.” British tabloid newspaper The Sun claimed that Beyon…
Remembering Rana Plaza
by Rebecca Prentice It’s been three years since the most deadly disaster in garment manufacturing history: the April 24, 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory building…