“What is happening—in Qatar and in garment-producing countries—is the devaluation of human lives into “cheap” units of labor. Instead of the better lives they hoped for, workers are trapped in a cycle of debt and despair.

It’s for this reason that the #PayYourWorkers campaign has been calling on brands like Adidas to sign a binding agreement on wages, severance pay and the freedom to organize. Everything else has proven ineffective, labor campaigners say.

“Relying on brands to voluntarily resolve rights violations on a case-by-case basis does not work and will not solve the endemic issues of wage and severance theft in the garment industry,” said Ilana Winterstein, urgent appeals campaigner at the Clean Clothes Campaign.