The way Bangladesh has stamped its dominance globally, withered many storms (from Rana Plaza to Tazreen to labour unrest…) over the years to emerge as the most preferred sourcing destination for buyers across geographical locations, is praiseworthy.
Under the scanner for long over compliance issues, the industry has yet again achieved a significant milestone, as 322 Alliance factories successfully completed remediation work towards making a sustainable garment sector. Announcing this achievement recently, Jim Moriarty, former US Ambassador to Bangladesh and Executive Director of Alliance, shared that all the active factories have completed 88 per cent remediation, including 84 per cent remediation of potentially fatal workplace standard… No mean achievement to say the least!
However, even as the industry continues to grow, develop and achieve new landmarks, a recent finding by an NGO on workers’ well-being has raised question marks on the industry that prides itself in taking care of its efficient and sincere workforce.
So even as the Government is busy hammering out the nitty-gritty to fix a new wage standard for the workers to ensure their welfare, this startling report has revealed that the regular practice of sexual harassment has reached such depths of the factory management system and the overall workplace environment that the workers, more often than not, do not even realise that they are being harassed.
The report further highlighted that over 72 per cent of the workers in the factories located in Gazipur and Dhaka have not yet been provided with appointment letters while underlining that the conditions in Narayanganj and Chittagong are ‘comparatively better’. This is no good news for the industry which is already under duress from international bodies to revise and formulate its labour policies that they consider are archaic and in need of urgent revamp.
On a positive note, I am happy to note that the industry, after a dismal export performance last year, has made a strong rebound in apparel exports to USA, its biggest export destination. The country secured its place among the top 3 exporters from across the globe with an export growth of 2.45 per cent and a market share of 6.9 per cent of the total US market in January 2018.
And as always, the Government is proactively supporting the industry. Recently, it allotted 500 acres of land inside an Economic Zone in Chittagong’s Mirsarai to give a fresh thrust to the efforts of the industry in reaching the US $ 50 billion target by 2021.The project, when implemented, would considerably reduce pressure on Dhaka. Besides, Mirsarai being closer to the Chittagong Port, would cost less for transportation of the export items and will help the industry in achieving competitiveness in the global market.
