We are deeply concerned about a media report that several hundred garment factories shut down over the last one year, rendering more than one lakh people jobless. Closure of so many factories in just one year is alarming for the country so far as its social and economic impact is concerned. The country is already experiencing a rise in unemployment rate and as a result, the number of jobless people is increasing every year, sending the economy of the country into a tailspin.
A news item the headlined “258 factories shut in a year leaving one lakh people jobless” was published in Sunday’s issue of the Bangladesh Post, portraying a dismal picture of the country’s garment sector and its resultant impact on the economy. Amrin Hossain Annie, Gender Officer of Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha, presented the findings at a dialogue titled “Actions Needed amid Technological Transition, Climate Change and Existing Labour Conditions.”
Experts are of the view that the combined impact of technological transformation, climate change and fragile labour conditions has pushed the garment sector into a more complex and uncertain reality. They stressed the need for a coordinated roadmap integrating technology, climate resilience and labour rights to overcome the ongoing crisis.
A clear disparity between the total profits generated by the garment industry and the wages received by workers is the reason behind the sorry picture of the RMG sector. Despite the country’s critical position in the global supply chain, workers’ wages are yet to reach a living standard. Production costs and international competition are often shifted onto workers, hindering improvement in their quality of life.
Currently, nearly four million workers are employed in the garment sector, more than 60 percent of them women. While women’s participation in the workforce is a major achievement for economic development, their access to safe employment, gender-sensitive workplaces and decision-making processes still remains limited. Political instability, declining buyer confidence, export market competition, power and energy shortage and the global economic slowdown have further deepened uncertainty in the sector.
Economist Professor MM Akash laid emphasis on coordinated action, including declaration of national minimum wage for the workers, to resolve the ongoing crisis facing the country’s garment sector. No worker’s wage should be below the poverty line, he said, calling for introducing rationing systems, setting up training centres and allowing the workers to form trade unions across all sectors.
Taking into account of the country’s dismal economic situation, we hope the government and the organisations concerned with the garment industry will find a solution to the ongoing crisis in the garment sector and take necessary steps to reopen the closed garment factories.
