EXECUTIVE SUMMARY During the past five years, governments in Cambodia, India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka have deregulated labour and employment law by replacing all or most of the existing laws. There is no evidence that labour and employment deregulation boosts worker productivity or economic growth. Yet governments, backed by industry, are initiating sweeping changes that reduce worker power at every opportunity. COVID-"# has exposed the full extent of impacts that deregulating labour protections has on workers’ livelihoods. It is vital that any future legislative changes promote worker power and rights at work, not undermine them. This report, Garment workers under threat from labour deregulation in Asia, explains the legislative changes to labour law in Asia, and how they will likely impact garment workers. Garment-exporting countries in Asia do not have effective systems for guaranteeing decent work in garment factories. Employers pay garment workers poverty wages for difficult and challenging work. Garment factories commonly discriminate against and harass workers, and often fire workers in retaliation for filing complaints or attempting to join a union. Labour and employment laws that protect workers against employers are rarely enforced in order to protect domestic industrial interests. The following changes in Asia are under way: In India, a %'"# Code on Wages sets wages by region and skill level, permits low minimum wages and reduces protections against wage theft. The Industrial Relations Code attacks worker power in several ways: formalising fixed-term employment, making termination of permanent employees easier, imposing barriers to striking and restricting union leadership. The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code and the Code on Social Security do not ensure workers’ safety or security. In Sri Lanka, the draft labour and employment law eliminates tripartite wage setting. As in India, it attacks workers’ freedom of association and the right to organise, and offers limited health and safety and social security protections. In Indonesia, several provisions of existing labour and employment laws were deregulated by introducing an Omnibus Law on Job Creation. The Law exempts certain sectors from minimum wages, increases overtime, reduces availability of paid leave and eliminates limitations on fixed-term and on subcontracting. 6