The readymade garment sector (RMG) in the Asia-Pacific region including Bangladesh has been hit hard due to the Covid-19 pandemic with falling retail sales in key export markets.
The fallout has also affected the workers and factories in the supply chain, according to a latest report published on Wednesday by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Imports from Asian countries declined by up to 70 per cent in the first half of 2020 due to collapsing consumer demand, lockdown measures and disruption in imports of raw materials, it said.
The report titled "The Supply Chain Ripple Effect: How COVID-19 is Affecting Garment Workers and Factories in Asia and the Pacific" was released at a virtual press briefing.
The report assessed the impact on supply chains, factories and workers in ten major garment-producing countries of the region: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam.
Regarding Bangladesh, it said that thousands of garment workers did not rejoin their respective workplaces after factories re-opened amid the coronavirus pandemic, said the report.
It also revealed that about 43 per cent of suppliers in Bangladesh were operating with less than 50 per cent of their pre-pandemic workforce as both demand and export dropped significantly in major destinations.
Bangladesh has seen a return in orders, particularly from buyers asking suppliers to execute pre-pandemic work orders while larger firms were securing more orders than the smaller and medium-sized ones.
"As of July, the average proportion of workers returning to work after re-opening was 57 per cent of factories' pre-pandemic total workforce," the ILO report said.
"A total of 230,749 workers among Better Work Bangladesh's member factories were still not working as factories re-opened, representing approximately 41 per cent of total workers under the BWB programme," it added.
The ILO, however, did not provide any information whether the workers were terminated, retrenched or laid off or specify the employment or benefit status of workers not returning to the workplace, nor their reasons for not returning.
A total of 260 factories employing about 0.647 million workers are currently under the BWB programme where 27 brands and retailers including C&A, H&M, Gap, M&S, Li & Fung and Inditex are also engaged.
Citing sample data for the month of May, the report said only 3.9 per cent of Bangladeshi suppliers retained their entire workforce. The largest proportion of suppliers (approximately 20 per cent) is operating with between 30 and 39 per cent of the number of workers they had before the pandemic.
Worker layoffs and dismissals have increased sharply, while factories that have reopened are often operating at reduced workforce.
"By June 2020, total year-to-date imports from India and Bangladesh fell by as much as 41 per cent and 32 per cent respectively, when compared to the same period in 2019."
Total value of garment imports of European Union, Japan and United States from Bangladesh during January-June, 2020 (year-on-year) dropped by about 35 per cent, it showed.
Citing survey findings, it said Bangladeshi garment women continue to receive lower pay when compared with men.
In June, women earned a median salary of Tk 9,200 (US$109) compared to Tk 10,000 (US$118) for men in similar positions.
Women workers also reported eating less food compared to men. Some 79 per cent of women reported they were not able to eat enough food in June compared to 70 per cent of men.
"Thankfully, many RMG exporters have resumed operations over the past few months. At the same time, these resilient Bangladeshi enterprises and workforces are having to wrestle with the ongoing pandemic and ensuring safe conditions for all," said Tuomo Poutiainen, Country Director, ILO Bangladesh.
"To this end, the ILO has supported the development of a national Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) guideline on COVID-19 to mitigate infections in workplaces. In addition, several initiatives to protect income, health and employment of RMG workers and support for employers during the pandemic have also been developed," he added.
"The typical garment worker in the region lost out on at least two to four weeks of work and saw only three in five of her co-workers called back to the factory when it reopened. Declines in earnings and delays in wage payments were also common among garment workers still employed in the second quarter of 2020," said Christian Viegelahn, Labour Economist at the ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.
Although the garment sector in Asia is generally marked by low levels of collective bargaining at both sector and factory level, the research noted that social dialogue appears to have helped strengthen crisis responses in countries where dialogue mechanisms are in place.
The brief called for more inclusive and meaningful social dialogue at national and sectoral levels in countries across the region.
Other recommendations include the need for continued support for enterprises, as well as the extension of social protection for workers, especially women.
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