RMG workers to work or not to work

Following the week-long demonstration by RMG workers for a wage hike, on 14 January the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Siddiqur Rahman asked the agitating workers to return to work the very next day.

“If you don’t join work tomorrow, you won’t be paid and your factories will be shut down indefinitely,” the chief of the top RMG trade body warned.

Who would benefit if the readymade garments (RMG) factories remain shut? The answer is neither the owners nor the workers. Why did the BGMEA president threaten the workers then?

One reason could be: The garment factory owners will not be affected to an extreme degree as they have already earned enough to lead a comfortable life for themselves and for their next generation.

However, eventually any such suicidal move will not be beneficial for them when the country and people are affected to a great degree. They are part of the community, no matter if they stay in Dhaka or any other city in the world.

For the workers, on the other hand, there is no alternative but to join work to earn a living. There are no multiple job opportunities in this country of a burgeoning labour force.

Despite various hurdles, the poor segment of the society engages in the RMG sector. Around 4.4 million workers, mostly poverty-stricken women from the rural areas, work in the sector. These workers work hard for mere survival and contribute to the economy.

Apparel items alone fetched $17.08 billion, accounting for 83.34 per cent of total export earnings during the July- December period of 2018, according to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data. The sector attained a growth rate of 15.65 per cent.

Arguing that the RMG industry has not expanded to the expected level, some owners acknowledge their factories have increased productivity over the years. That means the workers attained high efficiency contributing to increasing production per unit.

However, as per the new structure, an entry level worker will get Tk 8,000 a month as minimum wage for survival of his or her along with family. Usually, as observed from time to time, the government and the owners hardly take any initiative to raise the wages of the workers.

Whenever the issue of wage hike comes to the fore, the owners claim the factories will not survive and they will have to shut down their factories.

And the workers take to the streets, protest against the lower pay and demand higher pay. Recently several thousand workers of garments factories in Ashulia and Savar, outskirts of the capital, demonstrated and demanded a pay hike. A worker also laid down his life during the demonstration.

According to workers and union leaders, they cannot meet basic needs with the wages offered. On 25 November 2018, the government published a gazette notification fixing Tk 8,000 as the minimum wage for garment workers.

In context of prices of daily necessaries and house rent, the amount is still low. Some owners argue, the workers are paid higher wages once they acquire skills. Informally some RMG owners say some of them cannot handle the situation, particularly the issue of wage, carefully and efficiently, creating resentment among the workers.

Also, it is observed that the factories that pay better wages have higher productivity, sound working atmosphere and better reputation. So, the argument that increase in wages may lead to loss of competitiveness is not tenable.

In fact, for the sake of the industry and the country and of course for the welfare of the workers, the government, the owners and the rights leaders should closely look into the problems of the workers and resolve those.

Since the RMG is now a national industry, any loss will be a collective loss that would affect jobs, foreign exchange earnings and economic well-being of many.

* Rabiul Islam is a journalist. He can be contacted at [email protected]