Whosoever is associated with the readymade garment industry in Bangladesh agrees that the country would be able to achieve the target of US $ 50 billion in next 5 years but what is required are peaceful working conditions and a total control over labour unrest, which unfortunately are growing lately. Industry associations, buyers, Government and unions, all claim to be doing their best to resolve the labour issues, despite which unrest is prevalent…, and is rather on the rise. Why these unrests, and how could these be resolved? On this and allied issues, Apparel Online talked to Amirul Haque Amin, President, National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF)/Chairman, IndustriALL Bangladesh Council (IBC), Dhaka, working as an activist since last 33 years in the Bangladesh apparel sector.
Amirul strongly believes that factories must work under all circumstances and at the same time workers/unions should also work within the legal framework without bypassing the system. According to him, as a long-term solution, Bangladesh needs to develop the culture where every stakeholder should respect the law of the land – be it the workers or the factory owners. “Compared to other industries in Bangladesh, RMG is still lacking in this regard. The recent issue of Ashulia was not raised by any federation, but rather by some workers. Instead they should first talk with their concerned factories, respective unions or federations like us,” Amirul underlines.
He too agrees that the general system as per the law of the land is that wage revision should take place every five years and that too by the Government, but raises a point rather strongly: “In public sector, salary has increased by 100 per cent as well as the overall expenditure, which is not normal. So, why not in the RMG sector? I would sincerely expect all stakeholders to come forward and work on the workers’ wages immediately, only then can there be peace in Bangladesh.” The current wage of the workers is Taka 5300-6800, which is the lowest in the world. IndustriALL, which is the IBC of 22 federations/labour groups, governs 400 factory-level unions.
How unions in Bangladesh are serving the purpose of growth and development of the sector; How can they help and support the industry in critical conditions; or What positives have they been able to deliver, are some of the questions which crops up in the minds of every stakeholder. “Yes, unions/federations do have their limitations, but the industry too needs to change its mindset about the unions. If a factory has a proper union, it will work more peacefully and systematically as there will be a controlling authority. Union representatives could be made accountable in case of any mishaps or workers’ unrest. Currently, majority of the workers are not represented by any union/organization. Some entities might be covering factory committees/solidarity members but have no legal identity like us,” says Amirul, adding that there is no other alternative but let unions and NGOs to exist and work. But how can one overlook that Ashulia has many un-unionised factories. “We are doing a positive work to perk up the image, improve the industry by counselling the workers and guide them correctly at the ground level,” he says.
Amirul insists on increased role of buyers in the entire scenario underlining that buyers are the main actors of the industry enjoying major share of profits. “They should have more responsibilities. But I don’t think that they are doing as much as they ought to… Whatever they are doing is because of client’s pressure and not on their own accord,” fees Amirul.
NGWF started its journey in 1984 and today has 55 registered factory unions under it. It has factory-level committees/solidarities in 700 factories while a total of 68,000 workers (direct/indirect) are attached with the federation. It has 14 full-time staff members and volunteers. Its biggest achievement, as claimed, has been to get May Day declared as a holiday and festival bonus for workers; and it is also due to the persistent effort of NGWF/IBC that maternity leave and weekly holidays are also being followed and implemented partially. “We played a major role to get these benefits for the workers,” concludes Amirul.
