RMG: Enemies at home and beyond
Monday, 17 September 2007
Shamsul Huq Zahid
Yet another violent incident rocked the Dhaka Export Processing Zone (DPEZ) at Savar last Friday, leading to suspension of operations in all units there for a couple of hours.
Garment workers enraged by a rumour about the 'killing' of one of their fellow worker ransacked their factory and engaged in a fierce clash with the police. The situation came under control following the intervention by the army-led 'joint forces'.
With the government divesting the industrial units under its control and the private sector regaining and expanding its grip over the industrial sector, the incidents of labour unrest have come down remarkably, only exception being the readymade garments RMG sector. Troubles do often flare up in many RMG factories without any notice, catching the management there off-guard.
The good thing about the export-oriented RMG sector has been that it has emerged as the number one foreign exchange earner, employing hundreds of thousand people, more than 85 per cent of whom are women. But the growth of the apparel sector has been mainly due to its duty and quota-free entry into the US and European market until 2005. However, the sector has weathered many odds, both domestic and international. All these years have proved the doomsday preachers, who predicted the collapse of the Bangladesh RMG following the total phase-out of the quota restrictions in 2005, wrong. The Bangladesh RMG is very much alive and kicking.
There exists a strong suspicion that an outside force with the help of a section of international labour and children rights organisations and their paid local agents has been trying to thwart the growth of the Bangladesh RMG sector that has emerged as strong contender of a neighbouring country in the global textile market.
In the late 90s, a US labour organisation first launched a strong campaign against the use of child labour in the Bangladesh RMG and wanted the US government to stop import of apparels from Bangladesh. However, through a tripartite arrangement between the government, the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association and the said US labour organisation, the child labour was eliminated from the industry gradually.
The situation remained stable for some years since then. But deaths of a large number of workers in fire incidents in garment factories and growing dissatisfaction over low wages continued to trouble the sector. The situation took a new turn when violence erupted in many RMG factories suddenly in the middle part of the last year, mainly in areas adjacent to Dhaka, in support of the workers' demand for higher wages and better working conditions. A large number factories suffered huge losses due to violence and arson. Some lost their lives.
Many tend to suspect that some outside forces had engineered to project the Bangladesh RMG as an unstable sector in the major importing countries and grab the Bangladesh's portion of the market.
A section of the owners of the garment owners, however, cannot absolve themselves from the responsibility of what had happened a few months back in the RMG sector over the demand for better pay and facilities. Everybody, even the BGMEA leaders, were aware of how their fellow members had been exploiting the poor workers.
In many factories, there were pitiable working conditions. Fortunately, after a prolonged discussion between the BGMEA, workers' representatives and government officials, a solution to the problem could be found and normalcy returned to the RMG sector. Later, the government announced minimum wages for the RMG workers.
But in the midst of all these developments, there were strong demands from the importers of Bangladesh apparels to comply with certain conditions, including better safety and security of the workers and elimination of child labour.
Many suspect that the compliance issue had been engineered by vested quarters trying to take over part of the Bangladesh apparel market, particularly in the USA. One can easily guess who could be immediate beneficiaries if the move was successful.
Several months back there was a campaign in a section of the international media against Bangladesh RMG. A US-based labour organisation has allegedly found some child labourers at a RMG factory at Rupganj under Narayanganj district a few months ago. Capitalising this issue, that labour organisation and some others in the US and the UK with the help of some media launched a campaign against Bangladesh RMG sector.
The National Labour Council (NLC) of USA and a British human rights organisation-War on Want-and Channel 4 had launched a campaign against Bangladesh RMG sector, allegedly, through their websites and TV shows.
The campaign led to the placement of a bill, titled, 'The Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act' in the US Senate. In the event of the adoption of the bill, any individual or organisation of the USA would be able to file cases against any importer of apparel from non-compliant garment factories using child labour or failing to ensure better working conditions for their workers.
Major US importers of Bangladesh apparels, including the Wal mart, Hanes, UK buyers, including Marks and Spencer, Primark, Tesco and Asda had warned that they would stop buying from non-compliant factories.
Of late, the influential US labour organisation-the American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organisation AFL-CIO that had earlier raised the child labour and workers' trade union right issues in the past, has, reportedly, filed a petition asking the US trade representative USTR to withdraw the GSP facility granted to Bangladesh products, including the RMG, claiming violation of labour rights in the country. It has alleged that Bangladesh RMG and frozen food units located outside the export processing zones have been violating labour rights. The USTR has arranged a public hearing on the complaints on October 04 next and a Bangladesh delegation is expected to attend the meeting.
It is suspected that some so-called international labour and human right organisations being under the influence of vested quarters from outside have been trying to create all possible obstacles to the growth of Bangladesh economy, the RMG sector in particular.
Those quarters preach one thing in public but do the opposite behind the scene. During diplomatic parleys, they express their desire to see an 'economically strong and stable' Bangladesh. But when it comes to protecting their own interests, they are always ready to stoop low as far as possible to deprive Bangladesh of its due.
Yet another violent incident rocked the Dhaka Export Processing Zone (DPEZ) at Savar last Friday, leading to suspension of operations in all units there for a couple of hours.
Garment workers enraged by a rumour about the 'killing' of one of their fellow worker ransacked their factory and engaged in a fierce clash with the police. The situation came under control following the intervention by the army-led 'joint forces'.
With the government divesting the industrial units under its control and the private sector regaining and expanding its grip over the industrial sector, the incidents of labour unrest have come down remarkably, only exception being the readymade garments RMG sector. Troubles do often flare up in many RMG factories without any notice, catching the management there off-guard.
The good thing about the export-oriented RMG sector has been that it has emerged as the number one foreign exchange earner, employing hundreds of thousand people, more than 85 per cent of whom are women. But the growth of the apparel sector has been mainly due to its duty and quota-free entry into the US and European market until 2005. However, the sector has weathered many odds, both domestic and international. All these years have proved the doomsday preachers, who predicted the collapse of the Bangladesh RMG following the total phase-out of the quota restrictions in 2005, wrong. The Bangladesh RMG is very much alive and kicking.
There exists a strong suspicion that an outside force with the help of a section of international labour and children rights organisations and their paid local agents has been trying to thwart the growth of the Bangladesh RMG sector that has emerged as strong contender of a neighbouring country in the global textile market.
In the late 90s, a US labour organisation first launched a strong campaign against the use of child labour in the Bangladesh RMG and wanted the US government to stop import of apparels from Bangladesh. However, through a tripartite arrangement between the government, the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association and the said US labour organisation, the child labour was eliminated from the industry gradually.
The situation remained stable for some years since then. But deaths of a large number of workers in fire incidents in garment factories and growing dissatisfaction over low wages continued to trouble the sector. The situation took a new turn when violence erupted in many RMG factories suddenly in the middle part of the last year, mainly in areas adjacent to Dhaka, in support of the workers' demand for higher wages and better working conditions. A large number factories suffered huge losses due to violence and arson. Some lost their lives.
Many tend to suspect that some outside forces had engineered to project the Bangladesh RMG as an unstable sector in the major importing countries and grab the Bangladesh's portion of the market.
A section of the owners of the garment owners, however, cannot absolve themselves from the responsibility of what had happened a few months back in the RMG sector over the demand for better pay and facilities. Everybody, even the BGMEA leaders, were aware of how their fellow members had been exploiting the poor workers.
In many factories, there were pitiable working conditions. Fortunately, after a prolonged discussion between the BGMEA, workers' representatives and government officials, a solution to the problem could be found and normalcy returned to the RMG sector. Later, the government announced minimum wages for the RMG workers.
But in the midst of all these developments, there were strong demands from the importers of Bangladesh apparels to comply with certain conditions, including better safety and security of the workers and elimination of child labour.
Many suspect that the compliance issue had been engineered by vested quarters trying to take over part of the Bangladesh apparel market, particularly in the USA. One can easily guess who could be immediate beneficiaries if the move was successful.
Several months back there was a campaign in a section of the international media against Bangladesh RMG. A US-based labour organisation has allegedly found some child labourers at a RMG factory at Rupganj under Narayanganj district a few months ago. Capitalising this issue, that labour organisation and some others in the US and the UK with the help of some media launched a campaign against Bangladesh RMG sector.
The National Labour Council (NLC) of USA and a British human rights organisation-War on Want-and Channel 4 had launched a campaign against Bangladesh RMG sector, allegedly, through their websites and TV shows.
The campaign led to the placement of a bill, titled, 'The Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act' in the US Senate. In the event of the adoption of the bill, any individual or organisation of the USA would be able to file cases against any importer of apparel from non-compliant garment factories using child labour or failing to ensure better working conditions for their workers.
Major US importers of Bangladesh apparels, including the Wal mart, Hanes, UK buyers, including Marks and Spencer, Primark, Tesco and Asda had warned that they would stop buying from non-compliant factories.
Of late, the influential US labour organisation-the American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organisation AFL-CIO that had earlier raised the child labour and workers' trade union right issues in the past, has, reportedly, filed a petition asking the US trade representative USTR to withdraw the GSP facility granted to Bangladesh products, including the RMG, claiming violation of labour rights in the country. It has alleged that Bangladesh RMG and frozen food units located outside the export processing zones have been violating labour rights. The USTR has arranged a public hearing on the complaints on October 04 next and a Bangladesh delegation is expected to attend the meeting.
It is suspected that some so-called international labour and human right organisations being under the influence of vested quarters from outside have been trying to create all possible obstacles to the growth of Bangladesh economy, the RMG sector in particular.
Those quarters preach one thing in public but do the opposite behind the scene. During diplomatic parleys, they express their desire to see an 'economically strong and stable' Bangladesh. But when it comes to protecting their own interests, they are always ready to stoop low as far as possible to deprive Bangladesh of its due.