Union leaders for wage board as RMG industry lacks living wages

Readymade garment (RMG) trade union leaders have asked for a wage board for workers in the sector, pointing out that the living costs have gone up significantly due to the rising pressure of inflation.

They made the call at an open discussion in Dhaka’s Brac Centre on Wednesday, after the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) published a study titled “Debate on Recent Export Growth and Decent Employment in RMG Industry: A UNGP’s Perspective.”

According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, Bangladesh’s apparel exports grew by 35.47 per cent to $42.61 billion in the last FY. Meanwhile, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data shows that the country witnessed 7.48 per cent inflation in July.

The CPD, and a number of other organisations, have claimed that the actual inflation rate could be at double digit, but the RMG workers’ pay structure has not kept up with the rising inflation.

At the event, CPD Research Director Khandaker Golam Moazzem said, “The monthly income of RMG workers increased by 1.7 per cent in March 2022, but at the same time, their family expenditure increased by 9.5 per cent.”

Apparel workers are getting far less than living wage, while their family expenditure is increasing every day, trade union leaders said at the discussion.

Montu Gosh, president of Bangladesh Garment Workers Trade Union Centre, said, “Workers are failing to meet their daily needs, as essential commodity prices are now beyond their reach.

“I am requesting the government to form a new wage commission to rationalise workers’ wages, otherwise it might create a big economic challenge for workers.”

Montu added, “The ongoing crisis is not only affecting the RMG sector but many other industries as well. The business leaders can influence the government because many lawmakers own businesses.  The government formulates policies only to cater to a certain group.”

Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity (BCWS) Executive Director Kalpona Akhter said, “The living wage for workers should be at least Tk 32,000 to Tk 40,000 per month.”

‘Trade unions are important’

Addressing the discussion, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said, “The RMG sector has shown excellent growth, but whether the growth will be sustainable or not is unconfirmed. The growth trend has already declined.”

He further said, “Trade unions are important and we want it. But the union leaders have to understand that their responsibility is to protect worker rights. It is the leaders’ responsibility to ensure that factories can survive.”

CPD survey findings

CPD Research Director Khondoker Golam Moazzam and Research Assistance Tamim Ahmed prepared the survey. Christian Aid and CPD jointly organised Wednesday’s programme, and CPD Executive Director Fahmida Khatun presided over the event.

During the programme, CPD Chairman Professor Rehman Sobhan said, “The government should focus on workers’ skill development. I suggest taking proper initiatives to take advantage of the US-China conflict, as due to the crisis, many US buyers are shifting from China.

“I also recommend launching initiatives to get GSP+ facilities in the European Union (EU) market after LDC graduation.”

According to the CPD survey, though the RMG sector’s average work hour, volume of clothes and price has increased, workers’ income did not. Despite the rising inflation, many RMG workers’ wages remain below the living wage.

Forced work and harassment also increased significantly during this high export growth period.

The CPD said that on average a worker was paid Tk 11,993 per month excluding overtime in March 2022, which was 12.5 per cent higher than the same month of previous year. The gross monthly income of a worker was around Tk 15,633 in that month.

But the growth of a worker’s family income is much lower than growth of family expenditure, CPD claimed.

The survey mentions that due to the US-China conflict, a significant number of work orders got shifted to Bangladesh. When compared year-on-year, a factory experienced 16.2 per cent export volume growth and 4.3 per cent price growth in March.

To ensure shipment on time, factories needed more workers, but they failed to recruit adequate manpower. During this time around six male and six female workers quit their jobs in each RMG factory.

For this reason, workers were forced to work for 10.14 hours from 8.84 hours during the Covid-19 crisis and 10.31 hours in the pre-pandemic period. Besides, 18.1 per cent workers told the CPD that they suffered from forced work in their factory.

Even their average break time was reduced to 1.08 hours in a day which was 1.12 hours.

CPD finds allegations of bribery

In the survey, CPD found bribery allegations against Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) officials.

The survey found that 29.3 per cent of the surveyed factories had to pay additional money to the inspector to be eligible as complaint factories, which is illegal, mentions the report.  

Despite being in operation for several years, the awareness regarding the DIFE helpline service is significantly low. Only 25.7 per cent of workers are aware of the existence of a helpline where workers can directly submit their complaints on labour rights issues.

Besides, the number of special and follow-up inspections decreased drastically in FY22 compared to FY21. However, DIFE claimed that shortage of human resources is the main reason for less inspection, according to the CPD survey.