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Garment workers paid £3 an hour??
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Pin money: the numbers behind hand knitting
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Pin money: the numbers behind hand knitting
June 04, 2014 at 6:43 PM
We often see beautiful, hand-knitted, 'made in the UK' sweaters for sale in shops at very low prices. As knitters, we literally didn't understand how these shops could sell them at those rock bottom prices. How could it work?
Sadly, the answer seems to be low pay for the skilled artisans who actually make the garments.
A lot of these garments are made by home workers, who are knitting as a supplement to their regular income. Groups of them are 'run' by a knitting gang-master. Yes, for real, a gang-master. They're paid on a per piece basis, and are not employed with any of the rights of employment.
So it is, that in the shops of London, it's possible to purchase something 'made in the UK' by someone earning less than the minimum wage.
View the full Knitting by Numbers infographic here.