Women workers in the Bangladeshigarment sector

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01

The continuing exploitation of womenworkers in clothing factories across theworld is a damning indictment of theglobal economic system. In Bangladesh,women workers account for 85% of the total workforce in the garmentindustry. While some have viewed thisas a positive step towards femaleemancipation, the reality is that womenare employed in a highly exploitativecontext. Women workers remain at thebottom of the supply chain, workinglong hours for poverty wages anddenied basic maternity rights.

This report seeks to expose the continuingviolation of women workers’ rights in theBangladeshi garment industry. The reportpresents the findings of a major series ofinterviews conducted over six months with almost 1,000 women workers from 41 garment factories. As such, it stands as an important survey of the reality facingwomen workers across the Bangladeshigarment industry today.

The findings of the report are of directrelevance to British clothes retailers and

their customers, as many high street retailers source their cheapest clothing fromBangladesh. In response to public anger at thecontinuing exploitation of workers in theirsupply chains, these companies claim that theyhave taken action to address the problems. Yet the ‘corporate social responsibility’programmes of British retailers have failed toimprove the situation facing women workersin the garment factories of Bangladesh.

In the final analysis, it is the women workersof Bangladesh who will themselves win theirright to decent jobs and dignity. War on Wantis proud to work in partnership with theNational Garment Workers’ Federation inBangladesh, whose campaigning won a majorvictory in 2010 when the minimum wage forgarment workers was raised for the first timein four years. We will continue to work in solidarity with the women workers ofBangladesh in their struggle for a future free from poverty and exploitation.

John HilaryExecutive Director, War on Want

Preface

FAST FASHION AND THE WOMEN’S INSTITUTE A common thread running throughout the history of the Women’s Institute (WI) has been a strong sense of environmental and social justice, combined with acommitment to build an informed society,ready to take responsibility for its impact. The surge in demand for fast fashion hastremendous implications for both people and the planet. The WI is working hard to raise awareness of this impact and as consumers, WI members have been seeking assurances from their favouritebrands about supply chain conditions.

A survey of 4,700 WI members found that95% thought it was important that peoplemaking the clothes they bought were paid

a living wage in decent working conditions,and 85% were more likely to buy clothingfrom a particular company if they knew theyhad been made by people paid a living wage.

The National Federation of Women’sInstitutes commends the work of War onWant for raising awareness of the reality of working conditions for the womenworkers of Bangladesh, and is pleased to support this report.

Marylyn Haines-EvansPublic Affairs Chair, NFWI

Bangladesh’s garment industry hasbeen at the heart of the country’sexport boom ever since the first factoryopened in 1976. The industry has growndramatically over the past 35 years, andtoday accounts for 80% of Bangladesh’stotal exports. There are now 4,825garment factories in Bangladeshemploying over three million people.Fully 85% of these workers are women.

The expansion of the garment industry inBangladesh was fuelled by the structuraleconomic reforms of the 1980s, whichopened up the Bangladeshi economy toforeign investment, deregulation of marketsand privatisation. The Bangladeshi governmentestablished tax holidays and the developmentof export enclaves enabling businessmen tobuild or rent bonded warehouses in Dhakaand Chittagong cities. This process wasaccompanied by a massive increase of capitalinflows into the country. Foreign directinvestment leapt from a mere $2.4 million in 1986 to more than $1,000 million in 2008.1

Today, one third of foreign direct investmentcomes from European companies, principallyfrom the UK.

Young women are the driving force of theBangladeshi garment sector. Of the 988women workers interviewed for this report,86% were between 18 and 32 years old. It is these young women who provide the hard labour needed to meet the unrealisticproduction targets set by Bangladeshi garmentfactories. Employers claim that older workersperform more poorly and make moremistakes, and that this is why they favouryounger women workers.

As many as 83% of the women workersinterviewed for this report are employed assewing operators, and nearly 10% as ‘helpers’.These are the lowest paid jobs in the industry.Women in both positions undertake manualwork and their level of education is low: ofthe 988 interviewees, just 22% had obtained

their higher secondary certificate. Althoughmen represent just 15% of the workforce in the garment industry, they perform thebetter paid jobs such as general managers,production managers, line managers andsupervisors. This illustrates the gendereddivision of labour within the industry, withwomen only able to access lower paid jobs.

The Constitution of Bangladesh guaranteesequal rights to women and men, and nationallaws are in place to safeguard women’s rights. One example is the 2006 BangladeshLabour Law, which protects the fundamentalrights of women workers, including the right to maternity leave.2 At the internationallevel, Bangladesh has ratified the UNConvention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women(CEDAW), as well as ILO Convention 111 on Discrimination in Employment and Occupation.

The reality is that, despite such legislation,women workers’ rights are ignored. Women workers perform poorly paid jobs,face severe labour rights violations and donot enjoy their legal entitlements. Statutorymaternity rights are rarely provided, overtime is compulsory and excessively longworking days add to the burden of domesticresponsibilities, denying women any restperiods or time with their children.

The growth of Bangladesh’s garment industry has been characterised by lowwages, poor enforcement of labour legislation and the availability of a large pool of unskilled women workers. Whilesome have viewed the ‘feminisation’ of thegarment sector as a positive step towardswomen’s emancipation, this has onlyhappened in a highly exploitative context.This report seeks to expose the continuingviolation of women workers’ rights in the Bangladeshi garment industry, and tohighlight the struggle of the many thousandsof women who have defied oppression to fight for their rights.

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Bangladesh’s garment industry 02

03

The National Garment Workers’Federation (NGWF) was established in 1984 as an independent, democraticand progressive trade union federation.With a central office in Dhaka andregional branches across the country, it has campaigned since its inception for the protection and enforcement ofwomen workers’ rights. The NGWF has successfully organised over 1,000factory committees in differentgarment factories, and has doubled its membership in just seven years. Itplayed a leading role in the most recentcampaign to increase the minimumwage for Bangladeshi garment workers,which resulted in an 80% wage rise forthe lowest paid workers in 2010.

Women workers themselves are on the front line of the struggle for

their rights, but with long working days and domestic responsibilities they are often left with little time to participate in trade union activity. Labour rights training is key to challenging sweatshopexploitation, and the NGWF hasprioritised this training for womenworkers over many years. The NGWFhas also made a priority of promotingwomen leaders in its governancestructures. Today, 17 of the 30 members of the NGWF centralexecutive committee are women.Within the 37 factory-based unions that make up the NGWF, six femaleworkers and four male workers areexecutive members, while at the branch and committee levels there are eight female and five maleexecutive members.

NGWF rally in Dhaka protesting against factory fires, May Day 2010Photo: N

GW

F

NATIONAL GARMENT WORKERS’ FEDERATION

As a result of sustained campaigning by women workers and other tradeunionists in Bangladesh, the minimumwage for garment workers was raised in 2010 for the first time in four years. Receipt of wages in thegarment industry depends on meetingan assigned production target. Ifproduction targets are met, a sewingoperator’s salary now starts at 3,861taka (approximately £32) a month anda helper’s wage at 3,000 taka (£25) a month.

Even with the new increases, however, these wages fall far short of the level which is considered to be a living wage – that is,enough to allow a worker to provide herfamily with basic human necessities such asfood, shelter, clothing, water, health, educationand transport.3 Trade unionists in Bangladeshcalculate the living wage for a single workerto be at least 5,000 taka (£42) a month.According to the women workersinterviewed for this research, the averagemonthly household expenditure for a familyof four is higher still, and far in excess of the new minimum wage levels introducedin 2010:

According to Bangladeshi law, workers are supposed to work an eight-hour shift.However, garment workers are forced to put in extra hours on a daily basis in order to meet unrealistic production targets set by factory owners. The wages of 96% of thegarment workers interviewed for this reportare dependent on meeting production targets.Yet extra hours worked to meet productiontargets are not considered overtime, and aretherefore unpaid.

Employers claim production targets areachievable in an eight-hour shift, but 64% of the women workers interviewed statedthat targets are unrealistic within the legalworking time, while 75% of workersinterviewed themselves fail to meet theirtargets within the time allotted. One in three of those interviewed reported workingan extra 11-20 hours per month in order to meet targets and thereby guarantee their basic salary, while 23% work 21-30hours extra.

In addition to this unpaid overtime, themajority of women need to work further paid overtime in order to meet basic needssuch as housing or rising food costs. Of thewomen workers interviewed for this report,32% work a massive 100-140 hours ofovertime every month, while 30% work 60-100 hours and 14% less than 40 hours. Fully80% of women workers leave their factorybetween 8pm and 10pm each evening afterstarting work at 8am, infringing Bangladeshilabour law, which states that under nocircumstances should daily working hoursexceed 10 hours. Given that the majority ofworkers have a one hour return journey inthe evening, most women arrive home late at night – at which point they have to begintheir daily domestic chores.

To compound this injury, factory owners cut overtime pay whenever they can. Reasons

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Overworked and underpaid 04

1 , 8 2 53 , 9 7 3

3 0 09 5 0

7 1 56 7 54 5 8

8 , 8 9 6

Average monthly household expenditure (in taka):

House rent .............

Food ........................

Transport ...............

Education ...............

Medical ...................

Clothing .................

Refreshment ..........

Total ........................

given for these deductions include lack of punctuality, failure to meet productiontargets, unnecessary conversation with co-workers, absence without leave, makingmistakes at work or protesting managementdecisions. However, there is no provision inthe Labour Law for fining workers for suchreasons. Whatever the pretexts for theovertime deduction, the ultimate goal is to lower workers’ wages.

Our research shows that 243 out of 988workers experienced overtime deductions in the past month alone. Female workers are cheated more often than men, as they are seen as more docile and less ready toprotest. Almost all the women interviewedfor this report have experienced overtimededuction at some time in the past: 447 onthe pretext that they had failed to meetproduction targets, 368 because of ‘mistakes’during work and 314 for arriving to work late.

It should also be noted that only 37% of theworkers interviewed for this report hadreceived letters of appointment, while 68%had factory identity cards. These are legalrequirements that serve as evidence ofemployment and form the legal frameworkenabling workers to claim their basic labourrights such as the right to receive a wage and payment for overtime.

Lastly, garment workers live on credit, andlate payment of wages has a serious impacton their lives. The research conducted for this report showed that on average just 33% of workers receive their wages within a week of the month’s end, which is the legalrequirement for employers. A further 36%receive their wages in the second week afterthe end of the month, and 27% during thethird. With 63% of workers not keeping anyrecord of overtime, factory owners are ableto cheat workers of their rightful earnings.

Photo: Jon Spaull

Photo: War on W

ant

05

THE CASE OF YASMINAYasmina’s mother died when she was young,and she was forced to leave school early inorder to take care of her five brothers andsisters. Her father remarried, and Yasmina was herself married off against her will. Herhusband used to beat her, and made her travelfrom their village to Dhaka to find work. Shegot a job in a garment factory, but was forcedto leave her daughter uncared for in the village,where she later died.

Yasmina’s husband subsequently abandonedher and married again, leaving her on her ownin the capital. She works as a helper, the lowestgrade in the garment industry, and earns theminimum wage – yet her former husband stilldemands money from her. Yasmina joined theNational Garment Workers’ Federation, andhas now seen her monthly wage increase by80% to 3,000 taka (£25) as a result of thecampaign victory in 2010. According toYasmina, this improvement in her prospects is down to the NGWF’s persistent efforts, and has given her the strength to carry on.

As noted above, almost all garmentworkers’ wages are based on meetingproduction targets. These targets are in turn used as a powerful tool bymanagers to keep workers in factoriesbeyond their legal working hours.Workers claim that rapid changes inhigh street fashion trends and the tightproduction deadlines imposed byWestern retailers make productiontargets unrealistic, as workers areforced to learn new and complexdesigns in a very short space of time. By setting unrealistically high targets,factory management force workers to put in hours of unpaid overtime.Moreover, 90% of women workersreported that they were only notifiedabout overtime a few hours before itwas needed, and 82% stated that theycould not refuse overtime for fear of losing their jobs.

Workers are put under particular pressurewhen the date for shipment of an order isclose. To meet demanding shipment deadlines,workers are persuaded by management towork until midnight without a break. At least75% of women workers interviewed for thisreport had carried out night shifts recently,and in the past month 48% of workers had

had to work night shifts on 1-3 days; 21% on4-5 days, 12% on 6-10 days, and 18% for morethan 10 days. Of these, only one in 10 hadagreed to the night shift. In 82% of cases,workers were requested to work a night shifton the evening of the same day, giving themlittle notice to organise child care or makeother personal arrangements.

While night shifts are legal under Bangladeshilabour law, research shows that in realitynight shifts are simply considered to beanother form of overtime, with night shiftsbeing worked by those who have alreadyworked a day shift. Of the 988 womenworkers interviewed for this report, 364were threatened with losing their jobs if theyrefused to work a night shift, and 436 facedsome form of punishment after refusing towork a night shift.

Of those agreeing to undertake night shifts,60% stayed in the factory after the shift wasfinished in order to avoid the dangers oftravelling home after 3am. As many as 70%reported not receiving any food or drinkduring the night shift. Night shifts frequentlyfollow a long working day, makingoccupational accidents more likely due toexhaustion. One in four of those interviewedhad had an accident during a night shift.

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06

All day, and all of the night

HARASSMENT AT WORKWomen workers face many forms of mistreatment in the workplace. Of thetotal 988 workers interviewed for this report, 718 reported being spoken towith obscene language, while 443 had been beaten and 427 hit in the face.Most alarming were reports of sexual harassment in the workplace, with 297women reporting sexual advances and 290 being touched inappropriately. Inaddition to other forms of punishment such as being made to stand on tables,workers reported being subjected to threats. Of those interviewed, 484reported being threatened with losing their jobs, 333 reported threats of being sent to prison and 328 reported threats of being forced to undress.

It should also be noted that a factory withmore than 300 workers must by law havemedical and nursing staff on site during allworking hours. However, 790 of thoseinterviewed stated that no doctor is availableduring their night shifts, meaning they areunable to access medical assistance if anaccident occurs.

Finally, 60% of the workers say that nightshifts cause significant problems in theirfamily lives. Women workers reportedconcerns over long periods of separationfrom their children, particularly for womenwith young children who are breastfeeding.The combination of long working days,excessive production targets, frequent night shifts, paltry wages and a lack of labour law enforcement severely affects the health, family life and reproductive health rights of women garment workers.There are also entrenched cultural normswhich are yet to be overcome: Bangladeshiwomen carry out the burden of unpaiddomestic work done early in the morning or late in the evening, and for womengarment workers this must be completedbefore and after long and gruelling working days.

07

THE CASE OF SULTANASultana was the eldest of three children, whosefather died while she was still at school. As aresult she had to give up her education, as hermother was unable to bear the costs of keepingher brother and sister on her own. Sultanafound work at the lowest level in a clothesfactory, and was forced to work night shifts. Shefell ill after two and a half months and had toleave her job. She then joined another garmentfactory, but again fell sick after five months.

“Whenever I started working in these garmentfactories, I became sick,” says Sultana. “Yet I had no choice but to continue my work as Ihad to bear all the family expenses, includingthe education costs for my brother and sister.When I fell ill at my last factory, I applied forsick leave but I was denied it. I returned to thefactory after four or five days and was deniedmy wages.”

Sultana joined the NGWF section at the localshopping mall, in the hope of increasing herearnings and resuming her education, and in2010 she enrolled in a secondary school. Sultananow has hope for the future: “I always wantedto pass higher secondary education and becomea nurse. Now that I have resumed my studies, I am sure I will be able to reach my goal.”

Shack dwellings for garment workers in Dhaka

Photo: Julio Etchart

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Three in four of the women workersinterviewed for this report are married,although the majority choose toconceal their marital status in theirworkplace due to employers’preference for single workers withoutfamily responsibilities. The 2006Bangladesh Labour Law guarantees allwomen workers a total of 16 weeks'paid maternity leave: eight weeks prior to the birth of the child and eightweeks after delivery. In January 2011,the Prime Minister of Bangladeshannounced that maternity leave wouldbe extended to six months, but itremains unclear whether this will beimplemented outside the civil service.

T h e r e s e a r c h c o n d u c t e df o r t h i s r e p o r t r e v e a l s t h a t w o m e n i n t h e g a r m e n t s e c t o r h av e b e e ns y s t e m a t i c a l l y d e n i e dt h e i r r i g h t s t o m a t e r n i t yl e av e u n d e r B a n g l a d e s h il a b o u r l aw. Variations in maternity leave provision acrossfactories and a lack of awareness of workers’ rights mean that this basicentitlement has long been breached.Furthermore, Bangladeshi labour law statesthat no woman is entitled to maternity leave if she already has two or more surviving children.

Half of the 988 women interviewed for thisreport stated that some form of maternityleave is provided at their workplace. However,

474 had been denied any provision whenpregnant. In addition, two thirds of thewomen interviewed were unaware of the fulllegal entitlement to maternity leave. Only24% answered correctly that they wereentitled to over 100 days’ maternity leave.

Even those workers who are aware of theirrights struggle to understand the complexcalculations necessary to determine whatthey are entitled to, and many of the factoriesthat do pay maternity benefits pay less thanthe statutory entitlement. Many workers alsohave to look for new jobs after giving birth orreturn to the same factory at a lower grade,as they are not aware of their legal rights toreturn to the same grade they held beforetheir maternity leave.

Whilst the majority of women interviewedreported that pregnant women do not haveto work night shifts and generally carry outlight work, 50% said that they still have towork overtime, putting both their own andtheir child’s health at risk. In respect of theirown experience, 282 of the women workersinterviewed said that they had sufferedhumiliating treatment at the hands of theiremployers while they were pregnant, and 242had been denied sick leave during pregnancy.

Ante-natal and post-natal care is rarelyenjoyed unless a woman suffers particularlyserious medical complications. Deliveryusually takes place at home or in publichospitals, where medical facilities are poor.Just 149 of the respondents had gone to aprivate clinic, while almost half had spent2,000-5,000 taka on the delivery, equivalentto a full month’s salary. As many as 573 ofthose interviewed reported that the doctorhad told them their babies were underweight.

One of the greatest concerns facing womenworkers in the garment industry is the large

Maternity rights denied

amount of time they have to spend separatedfrom their children as a result of work. Asmany as 641 workers reported having nochild facilities in their workplace, althoughBangladeshi labour law requires everyestablishment with more than 40 womenemployees to provide a suitable room orrooms for the use of children under the ageof six. The majority of women workers haveno option but to send their children to staywith their parents in rural areas, deprivingthem of the right to breastfeed and of theenjoyment of bringing up their own children.

Women workers are legally entitled to paidmaternity leave under Bangladeshi labour law,but most have little knowledge of their rightsor of the necessary applications to employersor the doctors’ certificates needed in orderto claim those rights. The majority end upbeing fired by their employers when theybecome pregnant, or sent on leave withoutpayment. As a result, many women are forcedto work during the final stages of pregnancyin order to make ends meet, jeopardising thehealth of both mother and child.

A woman garment worker with her son in a shack dwelling in Dhaka

09

THE CASE OF NAZERANazera started working in the garmentindustry at the age of 16. She is one of foursisters, and her husband has spent long periodsunemployed. She was forced to switch from one factory to another over the years beforesettling in her current workplace. Her wage hashad to support her husband as well as the restof her family, although he has now also foundwork in the garment industry.

At the end of her first pregnancy, and in theabsence of any medical facilities, Nazera gavebirth to a stillborn baby. When she becamepregnant again the following year, she appliedfor maternity leave. “I applied to theauthorities according to the law,” explainsNazera, “and the management received myapplication as required. Yet the day I was due to go on leave, I was informed by thecompliance officer that I would not be paid.”

Nazera brought the case to the NGWFtogether with full evidence and proof of herclaim. The NGWF forwarded a grievanceapplication on her behalf, and Nazera has now received all the money due to her.

Photo: Tarif Rahm

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10

Many British companies source their clothesfrom Bangladesh because the country boastslower labour costs than anywhere else in theworld. High street retailers such as Primark,Tesco and Asda have long benefited fromthese cheap prices, in the full knowledge thatworkers in the Bangladeshi garment industryare regularly denied their basic rights. Thehuge profits made by these retailers dependon the exploitation of the women who maketheir clothes.4

When they have been exposed as sourcingtheir clothes from sweatshop labour, manycompanies have pointed to their own‘corporate social responsibility’ initiatives in order to suggest that they are tackling the problem head on. Yet these programmes have failed to improve the situation forwomen workers in the garment factories ofBangladesh. It is only through the struggle ofthe workers themselves and through popularcampaigning in solidarity with them that thereis any hope of real change.

War on Want has popularised the issuesraised in this report through its ‘Love FashionHate Sweatshops’ campaign. Thousands of people have already signed up to thecampaign’s call for action to protect the rights of women workers in the supply chains of British high street retailers. We ask all readers of this report to take thefollowing actions and join the campaign:

1. Call on the UK government to stopcompanies profiting from sweatshop labour. War on Want is calling for the UK government to establish a specialisedCommission on Business, Human Rights and the Environment in order to hold Britishcompanies to account for exploitation in

their supply chains. Such a commission would have the powers to investigatecomplaints from workers whose rights havebeen violated in supply chains serving Britishretailers.5 It would also fulfil the call from theUN special representative on business andhuman rights, John Ruggie, for non-judicialgrievance mechanisms to be established at the national level to complement judicialavenues for redress.6

Please write to Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke QC, Secretary of State for Justice, 102 PettyFrance, London SW1H 9AJ, calling for theintroduction of a Commission on Business,Human Rights and the Environment toprotect the rights of workers in the supplychains of British retailers.

2. Call on your MP to press for an end to the exploitation of workers in supply chainsoverseas. Please write to your local MP asking them:(a) to support the introduction of a

specialised Commission on Business,Human Rights and the Environment

(b) to join the All-Party Parliamentary Groupon International Corporate Responsibility:Business, Human Rights and theEnvironment

If you do not know the name of your MP, you can find it at www.theyworkforyou.com

3. Join War on Want and bring justice forworkers across the world. It is only as aresult of dedicated support from members of the public and trade unionists in the UKthat War on Want can continue its campaignfor workers’ rights around the world. Pleasejoin us by becoming a member of War onWant today – go to www.waronwant.org/joinus or phone us on 020 7324 5046.

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How this research was conducted This report presents the findings of 988 interviews conducted with women workers from 41 Bangladeshi garment factories. The interviewswere conducted between March and August 2010 by War on Want partnersthe National Garment Workers’ Federation and the Alternative Movementfor Resources and Freedom Society.

All names of the women workers mentioned in this report have beenchanged in order to protect their identities.

Notes 1 FDI in Least Developed Countries at a Glance: 2005/2006, United Nations,

New York and Geneva, 2006; World Investment Report 2010: Investing in a low-carboneconomy, United Nations, New York and Geneva, 2010. Foreign direct investmentinto Bangladesh subsequently fell back in 2009 and early 2010 as a result of theeconomic crisis.

2 For more on the 2006 Labour Law, see Ignoring the Law: Labour rights violations in the garment industry in Bangladesh, War on Want, London, July 2009

3 For more on the living wage, see RO Tambunan, ‘A Living Wage for Asian GarmentWorkers’, International Union Rights (2011) vol 18, no 1, pp20-21; also Stitching a Decent Wage Across Borders: The Asia Floor Wage Proposal, Asia Floor Wage Alliance,New Delhi, 2009

4 See Fashion Victims: The true cost of cheap clothes at Primark, Asda and Tesco, War on Want, London, December 2006; and Fashion Victims II: How UK clothingretailers are keeping workers in poverty, War on Want, London, December 2008

5 See The Reality of Rights: Barriers to accessing remedies when business operates beyond borders, Corporate Responsibility (CORE) Coalition and London School of Economics, London, April 2009

6 Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations‘Protect, Respect and Remedy’ Framework, Final report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnationalcorporations and other business enterprises, John Ruggie, UN documentA/HRC/17/31, 21 March 2011

War on WantWar on Want fights poverty in developing countries in partnership and solidarity with people affected byglobalisation. We campaign for human rights, especiallyworkers’ rights, and against the root causes of globalpoverty, inequality and injustice.

Cover picture: Women working in a garment factory in Dhaka Photo: © GMB Akash/Panos Pictures

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This report has been produced with the financialassistance of Irish Aid. The contents of the report arethe sole responsibility of War on Want and can underno circumstances be regarded as reflecting the positionof Irish Aid.

Published: July 2011

Written by Khorshed Alam of theAlternative Movement for Resources and Freedom Society, and by Laia Blanchand Anna Smith of War on Want.

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