The Bangladesh garment industry generates 80 per cent of the country’s total export revenue........
world in focus
The Bangladesh garment industry generates 80 per cent of the country’s total export revenue. However, the wealth generated by this sector has led to few improvements in the lives of garment workers, most of whom are women.
In Bangladesh, the garment industry has been the mainstay of foreign exchange and economic development for the last thirty years. It generates 80 per cent of the country’s total export revenue. Some 25 types of garments are exported by Bangladesh to nearly 31 countries across the world.
In this situation, the plight of garment workers in Bangladesh is very dismal and pathetic. In Dhaka in April 2013, the Rana Plaza collapse killed 1,100 workers and injured many more. In July 2013, the Bangladesh government entered a Sustainability Compact with the European Union, pledging to reform its labour laws.
While 3.5 million Bangladeshi workers in 4,825 garment factories produce goods for export to the global market, principally Europe and North America, yet the country’s laws and rules governing labour rights and export processing zones still have rigid union restrictions. These are in violation of international laws.
Garment workers face daunting challenges to unionisation and remain at risk of interference and threats by factories six years after the Rana Plaza collapse. It is mind-boggling to know that merely 10 per cent of Bangladesh’s more than 4825 garment factories have registered unions. The rest are facing unnerving hindrances from the government and factory owners. Bangladesh labour laws and procedures propound demanding obstacles to the establishing and functioning of unions.
Besides, there are legal hurdles to well-organised unionising and collective bargaining, which includes the high minimum membership requirement of 30 per cent workers for factory-level unions, restrictions on trade unions’ right to easily elect representative, indistinguishable administrative power to cancel union registration and strict limitations on the right to strike. The data compiled by the Solidarity Center demonstrates that only 61 union registration applications were permitted while 148 were rejected. The Dhaka Joint Directorate of Labour disallowed 73 percent applications for forming unions.
In 1972 Bangladesh sanctioned ILO conventions 87 and 98 regarding freedom of association and collective bargaining that determine international standards that governments should allow workers to form unions of their selection and without inference and vowed to reform its laws under its Sustainability Compact with EU.
Due to insubstantial and fragile unionisation in the country, the general predicament of garment workers is starkly miserable. Workers are being denied basic human rights such as education, health and social protection. These workers get the lowest wages in the global garment industry. Since 2013 minimum wage for garment workers was 5,300 taka (about $63) that has now been revised to 8,000 taka ($95) though it is still far below any credible living wage. The workers still do not get the revised wage as factory owners are very powerful. According to the Japan External Trade Organization, the $95 monthly minimum wage is the lowest in global terms. The minimum wage should be an amount that can at least meet the basic needs of workers related to education, health and living costs. Such minimum remunerations and trade agreements with western countries have made the garments sector in Bangladesh a 30 billion dollar industry accounting for four-fifths of its exports, with such clients as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., JC Penney Company Inc., H&H Hennes and Mauritz AB.
The garment factory in Bangladesh can be summed up in three words: dangerous, unsanitary and exploitative. Wages are delayed and maternity leave is denied. Workers are forced to toil till late night and toilet facilities are appalling. The workers also face unsafe, cramped and hazardous conditions which lead to work injuries and factory fires. Sexual harassment and discrimination is also widespread. Since the Rana Plaza collapse, the Bangladesh Accord for Fire and Building Safety and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety have been working collaboratively to improve factory safety in the garment industry. There are hundreds of uncounted factories. These are largely informal and unregulated and tend to be very dangerous for workers.
Studies show that with some of the world’s lowest wages and no job security for workers, the garment industry in Bangladesh makes high profits. Inhuman working conditions, verbal and physical abuse, irregular or non-payment of dues and the inability to organise are common in these factories supplying world-class garments.
There are many other problems such as faulty structure of factory buildings including weak electrical wiring, lack of fire exits and fire alarms, narrow stairs and exit paths, poor foundations and locked doors. Apart from that, dozens of garment workers and labour leaders face unfair and fabricated criminal charges and fight for equal wages. This is due to lack of regulations and absence of monitoring by the relevant government agencies. The owners of factories are above the law and face no legal action for their wrongdoings.
Studies show that 60 per cent of the garment’s value is grabbed by international buyers and brand retailers. Of the remaining 40 per cent, the imported and local materials, together with the overhead costs take up nearly 35 per cent. As such, less than 1 percent is left for the workers.
The European Union, together with the USA and Canada as significant importing countries and advocates of reform, also engaged in monitoring the Sustainability Compact. They must make sure that the government of Bangladesh overtly declares time-bound pledges to go over its labour laws and rules. They should assert that all features of the Sustainability Compact have been publicized against which the Bangladesh government’s record and documentation can be evaluated. Besides, the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Accord and the Alliance for Bangladesh Workers Safety should support ease of legal restrictions on unions and stop union-busting activities. In addition, they must also reveal their dealer and processing factories and work with them to guarantee that they meet the international standards for workers’ constitutional rights. Apart from that, civil society organisations and INGOs should play their role to get garment workers their due and fundamental rights. Digital campaigns ought to be launched to create pressure on the government and relevant departments to take prompt actions.
The writer is associated with the Association for Water, Applied Education and Renewable Energy (AWARE) in Sindh. He can be reached at murtazatalpur@hotmail.com
- Article originally published in South Asia Magazine
