Demands of RMG sector workers deserve a a reasonable and sympathetic response

Alaul Alam :

Amid political tensions across the country, labour unrest in the ready-made garments (RMG) sector has been going on. Since the last couple of days, the workers in RMG sector have been staging protests seeking a hike in their wages.

In Dhaka city and its adjacent industrial areas garments workers are found to get themselves involved in the acts of vandalism intensifying the sense of fear and insecurity among the residents and commuters.

The situation gets worsening with the intervention of the local political leaders working on behalf of the garment owners to pressurize the workers to stop their agitation, disregarding their demand for mitigating survival expenses.

Workers in the RMG sector are subject to facing different form of inequalities. The question of their survival has pushed them to raise their voices against the ill-decision of the garment owners.

Things get out of control when the proposal of the clothing manufacturers has come to light.

According to the agitators, Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has submitted the proposal of monthly salary of TK 10,400 for garment workers as the minimum wage.

But if the current rate of inflation as well as the annual increment of the workers is considered, it must be more than what the association has proposed meanwhile.

However, the involvement of the apparel workers in the clash with law enforcing agencies and local leaders at different points of Dhaka city is deepening the woes of the commuters amid the ongoing blockade of the political parties.

For the last five years the workers in the RMG sector have been maintaining their living expenditures with a monthly minimum wage of Tk 8000. In the last few years their surviving challenge with the minimum salary of Tk 8000 has deepened to a worrying level.

Sources reveal that labour wage in Bangladesh is the lowest among the top garment exporting countries. According to reports from different sources, the workers are demonstrating to increase their minimum wage between TK 23,000 to 25,000 per month.

However, the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) has proposed a monthly wage of TK 17,568 for garment workers although the workers have expressed their discontent to the proposed minimum monthly salary announced by the CDP.

Clashes in the streets are spreading panic among the commuters and the commoners facing untold sufferings due to the disruption of communication along the Dhaka city.

People of different professions including office-goers and students are bearing the most brunt of blockade, violent demonstration of garment workers and the showdown of the political parties.

Roads in Dhaka city have become a death trap amid the growing political tensions as well as the aggressive agitation of garment workers.

Amid the blockade the commoners are risking life to reach their respective working places and for this, theyhave no option but to pay extra fares which is causing their dissatisfaction to the ongoing political crisis.

But why the political parties are trapping the commoners who have the only concern to win their bread and butter to feed their family members? In these days of high inflation the commoners are struggling to purchase their daily essentials.

Obviously, political instability in the country contributes to deepening the economic crisis bringing more frustration to the commoners.

People are being worst affected with the syndicates busy in raising the price of the necessities without any logical ground.

Undeniably, the global inflation is likely to deepen the economic crisis when a country faces political instability inside.

The ongoing turmoil of garment workers is not only interrupting the production of the garment industry but also creating fear over the decrease of the orders from buyers of different countries.

Trade union leaders and garment owners are blaming each other for such a grave situation although the crisis could have been easily averted by proposing a reasonable wage formula.

Trade union leaders claim that over the last five years garment owners have profited significantly but the wages of the workers have remained stagnant even in the time of abnormal food price hike.

The prices of essentials including rice, lentils, flour and eggs have increased many times. It is found that the price of many daily necessities has increased by 100 percent while others by as much as 120 percent.

They question is: how can the garment workers endure their minimum living expenditure with the salary proposed by the owners? How will they continue the job when their salary does not confirm the minimum assurance of mitigating their expenses?

However, it is very urgent to address labour dissatisfaction and unrest in the RMG sector to keep the economic growth of the country smooth.

It is expected that the faster the concerned will take strategic initiatives to address the concerns of the workers the sooner the normality will be restored in this sector.

Finally, to mitigate the ongoing crisis in the RMG sector we hardly see any alternative to a fair and reasonable salary structure for garment workers.

(The writer teaches at Prime University. He is also a research
scholar at the IBS.)