European patients resting on crisp, clean hospital sheets rarely stop to consider who stitched the fabric or the human cost behind it. Yet a new study reveals that these everyday healthcare essentials often come at the expense of severe labour exploitation far from Europe’s borders. The report, authored by Swedish NGO Swedwatch in collaboration with Pakistan-based AwazCDS-Pakistan, exposes how European Union public procurement is directly linked to labour abuses in Pakistan’s textile industry.
Based on interviews with 89 workers employed in nine textile factories across Faisalabad and Karachi, the study paints a disturbing picture of systemic exploitation. Most workers are not directly employed by factories but hired through private labour contractors. This arrangement allows factories to evade responsibility for wages, benefits, job security and workplace safety. Written contracts are rare, leaving workers with little legal protection. Many workers are unaware of the brands they supply or the countries their products are shipped to, knowing only that the goods are “for export.”
In reality, much of this production ends up in EU public hospitals in the form of bed linen, patient clothing and staff uniforms. Despite Pakistan’s legal minimum wage of Rs37,000 per month, workers in Faisalabad reported earning between Rs15,000 and Rs30,000. Some survive on as little as Rs250 per day when work is irregular. In Karachi, wages range from Rs20,000 to Rs30,000, but only after enduring exhausting 16- to 18-hour workdays. Even when employers meet the legal minimum, the report finds that a family requires more than Rs75,000 per month to live with dignity, meaning “legal” wages still trap workers in poverty.
Excessive working hours are routine, with the legal 48-hour workweek widely ignored. Overtime is often unpaid, underpaid, or disputed. Workplace safety conditions are equally alarming. Workers report poor ventilation, prolonged exposure to hazardous chemicals, blocked fire exits, and protective masks that appear only during factory audits. Injuries are common, yet compensation is rare, leaving workers to bear the physical and financial burden alone.
Women and transgender workers face even greater risks. The study documents a clear gender pay gap, widespread sexual harassment, and grievance mechanisms that workers do not trust or dare to use. Attempts to organise or unionise are effectively banned. Even the suspicion of union activity can result in dismissal, reinforcing a culture of fear and silence across factory floors.
The report criticises European buyers for relying on superficial audits that are easy to manipulate and fail to uncover real abuses. As a solution, it urges the EU to make human rights due diligence mandatory in public procurement, moving away from price-only contracts and demanding genuine transparency and accountability throughout supply chains.
However, responsibility does not rest with Europe alone. The report stresses that Pakistan can act immediately. Provincial governments should regulate and license labour contractors, digitise worker registration for social security, and tie export incentives to verified payment of legal wages and overtime. Above all, workers must be allowed to organise freely and safely.
Public money spent on healthcare is meant to heal and protect. As the report concludes, EU taxpayers’ funds should not quietly bankroll exploitation abroad. Clean hospital sheets should not come stitched with poverty, fear and abuse.
Shafaqna Pakistan
pakistan.shafaqna.com
Note: Shafaqna do not endose the views expressed in the article
