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DECENT WORK PROF I L E OFBANGLADESH-

A STUDY ON GARM ENTS SECTOR

S ubmission Date: 15 December, 2014

BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF PROFESSIONALSFaculty of Business Studies

S ubmitted To

Jakir HossainCourse InstructorSocio Economic Studies Of Bangaldesh

Bangladesh University of Professionals

S ubmitted By MD. Ariful Haque SajibID No: EV-1404036Evening MBA-4Bangladesh University of Professionals

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floor and do not go into the observance or otherwise of building codes. There is, in general,

however, large-scale violation of building norms in Bangladesh, and garment factories are no

exception. Meanwhile, the high density of workers in RMG factories means violations of

building regulations are likely to have very high fatality rates, with the Rana Plaza collapse

ranking as one of the largest industrial disasters in the world in terms of deaths. The of

hazards in the garments industry of Bangladesh includes crowded conditions, exposed

operating machines, electrical connections are crude and unsafe, a few or no fire

extinguishers inaccessible or malfunctioning, no fire practice is ever performed, managers

and workers are not trained to understand health and safety issues, stairs and floors used as

storage; gates remain closed even in emergency; factory not designed as commercial facility,

narrow aisles for fire fighters to enter and rescue.

Equal oppor tun ity and treatment in employment - Gender discrimination is common. The

majority of garment factory workers are young women. In the RMG sector female workers

are considered low-skill, low workers . Mostly abundant cheap labour and its low opportunity

cost lead to low wage levels, providing a comparative advantage to female labour in

particular operations in the RMG production sector. Moreover, women are generally

discriminated against in terms of access to higher-paid white colour and management positions. They are generally considered only for helpers, machinists, finishing helpers and

sewing helpers frequently and as line supervisors and quality controllers.

Social dialogue, workers and employers -Although the RMG is a formal sector, there is no

acceptance of the right to organise at the factory level and owners fear trade union. As a

result labour unrest is common in the RMG sector. Since May 2006, large-scale vandalism of

garments factories by the workers had, at times, appeared to threaten the very existence of

this industry (Muhammad A., 2006). In June 24, 2010, some 250 garments industry in

Bangladesh almost closed due to strikes, demonstration and battles with government and

entrepreneurs privat e security forces (28 July, 2010, The Daily Prothom Alo Newspaper).

Workers demonstrated in the streets demanding payments of their wages but they brutally

treated by the law enforcing agencies, hundreds of workers were injured and one female

worker killed. Moreover, the police have lodged cases against hundreds of garments workers

while the factory owners remain untouched (The Daily Prothom Alo Newspaper, 20 June

2010). This leads to hostility between employee and employer. In Cambodia, the government,

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factory association, the labour unions and international institutions have all played an

important role in improving wage rates and labour conditions (Morshed, 2007).

Despite the achievements mentioned above, Bangladesh is still facing many problems in

achieving decent work for all, as called for in Millennium Development Goal Target 1.B:

achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and

young people. The Government recognizes these problems and in its Sixth Five -Year Plan

for 2011-15 adopted policy strategies focusing on the pursuit of economic growth, along with

labour intensive investment, enhanced competitiveness and poverty reduction. However,

these strategies demand a concerted effort on the part of the Government to ensure their

effectiveness by including decent work indicators in appropriate monitoring and evaluation

systems and national plans of action.