The latest development in the readymade garment (RMG) factories of the country, courtesy of limited automation, has sent mixed signal to all concerned. Particularly, the workers are alarmed, for it means loss of their livelihood. Already close to 31 per cent workers, mostly helpers, in the production process of the RMG units, have reportedly lost their jobs as a result of automation. Similarly, the cutting section of the RMG units have experienced the biggest (nearly 50 per cent) job cut. In comparison, the sewing process suffered the least with about 27 per cent retrenchment. But factory owners, on the other hand, are elated since automation has enhanced the industry's productivity. No doubt, higher productivity is the most sought-after development of the RMG industry in the interest of gaining competitive edge of its products in the international market. However, one cannot also be oblivious of the plight of the workers who have already lost jobs including those who are going to face similar reality in the future due to increased automation in this industry. The emerging realities in the RMG sector call for striking a balance between these two mutually conflicting developments.
These are the findings of a recent study, titled "Assessment of technological transition in apparel sector in Bangladesh and its impact on the workers" conducted by local and international non-profit organisations and a local private university. The study brought to light how different segments of the apparel sector such as the sweater factories saw the highest number of job cuts followed by the woven factories. In a similar vein, the study also show women, who overwhelmingly dominate the workforce in the apparel industry, are getting a raw deal in terms of job-loss at 62 per cent as the fallout from automation. However, in the case of some larger apparel factories, the women risking automation-related unemployment have been reassigned, that is, transferred to other sections. But this is a temporary answer to the challenge for some of the female workers who are already in employment. But those women, especially from the countryside, who have been looking for employment in the garment industry will now be left with fewer opportunities.
Against this backdrop, since the RMG sector gained a global reputation as a model job creator for women in Bangladesh, it has a stake in continuing in that role. In that case, the RMG industry needs to find ways to avoid firing workers, more particularly the female among them, to maintain its positive image. There is yet another group of workers who are also the victims of automation. They are the aged, the unskilled, the less educated workers. While there is no question of opposing automation which is but the way forward for industries in the future, one cannot also leave the retrenched workers in the lurch. To get around this dilemma, the best way is to upskill workers, both women and men, who are already in employment in the apparel sector so they may keep up with the pace of automation at their workplaces. At the same time, both the government and the industry should create training facilities where members of the new generation of workforce might learn the skills required for jobs in the automated apparel factories.
What is important to note here is that it is not only the apparel industry that is facing this transformational challenge. In fact, the trend is all-embracing. In that event, preparations should be there for the government and the industry so the working class might tide over the crisis automation is going to bring with it.
