Global retailers warn as garment protests enter fourth day
In the wake of labour unrest over pay hike, a notice on the gate of an Ashulia garment factory announces closure.
Global clothing retailers warned of dire impact if unrest continues and production remains shut for long, as labour protests entered a fourth day yesterday after overnight negotiations failed to calm a dispute over low wages.
A halt in production means delayed or costly shipment, or cancellation of work orders, a senior official of a Spanish retailer said.
“We are observing the situation. Production suspension is an ominous sign when the sector was turning around after some deadly disasters,” the official said, asking not to be named.
Production at hundreds of garment factories in Dhaka and on its outskirts had been on hold for three days until Monday due to the unrest that stemmed from the demand for a minimum wage of Tk 8,000.
Workers demanding a rise in their minimum monthly salary to Tk 8,000 block the Dhaka-Narayanganj link road in Fatullah industrial area.
However, the situation improved a bit yesterday after Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan met factory owners and labour leaders Monday night and assured workers of a pay rise by November.
At least 70 people, including four policemen, were injured in clashes between factory workers and law enforcers in Dhaka, Ashulia, Savar, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Tangail yesterday morning.
The workers vandalised at least 10 vehicles and eight factories in Savar and Gazipur. At least 16 factories were forced to shut down and workers remained absent in more than 10 factories.
“The biggest loss will be to the image of Bangladesh as western customers have now started gaining confidence after the Tazreen Fashions fire and Rana Plaza building collapse,” the official of the Spanish retailer said.
He said Bangladesh has already been witnessing political unrest for the last 9/10 months. Now, if the labour unrest flares up and continues for a long time, the international buyers will not come up with new orders, he added.
“Orders will go to other countries if the unrest prolongs,” said an official of a German retailer.
The fall of the Indian rupee and the continuous labour unrest will erode competitiveness of Bangladeshi garments in the global market, he said, requesting anonymity.
H&M, Europe’s second-biggest clothing retailer, joined the IndustriALL Global Union in backing the workers’ demand for increased wages.
“We strongly support the workers’ demand,” H&M spokeswoman Andrea Roos said by e-mail.
“We have on various occasions urged the government to raise minimum wages and revise wages annually,” Bloomberg reported quoting Roos.
However, Roy Ramesh Chandra, general secretary of IndustriALL Bangladesh Council, said the impact of production suspension will not be very intense as the unrest will not last long.
DHAKA
Around 2,500 workers of at least five garment factories blocked Kuril Biswa Road and Airport Road in the capital from 9am to 10:15am, halting vehicular movement and causing immense sufferings to commuters, said Jewel Miah, a sub-inspector of Khilkhet police station.
Workers of many garment factories in the Tejgaon industrial area stopped working after the lunch break, according to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
ASHULIA
At least 10 factories were forced to shut and three were vandalised in the Ashulia industrial belt. More than 20 workers were injured during sporadic clashes with law enforcers.
More than 4,000 workers of six garment factories of Ashulia, including Mascot Garments, Macsuoka Apparel and Reliance Garments, went on work abstention in the morning and staged demonstrations in front of their factories, our Savar correspondent reports.
Earlier, the workers of Mascot Garments tried to block a link road between Dhaka-Aricha and Dhaka-Tangail highway, by putting barricade at Bishmaile around 9:30am, said industrial police in Ashulia.
Abdus Sattar, deputy assistant director of Ashulia industrial police, said the authorities of at least 10 factories could not run production due to workers’ agitation.
GAZIPUR
In Kaliakoir upazila, workers of Apex Textile at first vandalised their factory around 8am and then ransacked adjacent Eye-Moon Tex, Inter-Staff Apparel Ltd and Divine Tex Ltd, reports our Gazipur correspondent.
Later, more than 10,000 workers of the factories blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway and vandalised at least 10 vehicles.
Police dispersed the workers from the highway around 9:30am, said Mosharraf Hossain, assistant superintendent of Gazipur industrial police.
TANGAIL
At least 30 people, including four policemen and a journalist, were injured in clashes between the workers and law enforcers.
The workers of Khan Textile first came out of their factory and blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway around 9am. Later, workers of other factories joined them, reports our Tangail correspondent.
Khan Textile, Comfit Composite, Neotex Fabrics and South East Textile Private in the area were declared shut for an indefinite period, Mirzapur police said.
Source: The Daily Star
While considering the demand of the garment workers, the garment owners have been showing reluctance to go as far as the workers want. Last night in a talk show the hon’ble Minister Mr. S. Khan pointed to a logical question. With the increase in wage the house rent might go up and that’s most likely to off-set the balance. In fact in this country everything has been done without the least forethought or prudence. No planning, no vision, everything has been done upon caprice and ill-intention. For a long time many suggested to shift the garment factories somewhere outside the capital city. There are lots of govt owned lands illegally occupied by pro-govt party men or local influential people. How such illegal occupiers can keep hold on those illegal possession is a matter of shock and surprise unless the vested quarters in the power circle are involved in it. Anyway, those places, and also where there are empty BSCIC plots, the garment factories of the capital city and around it could be shifted within the shortest possible time and adequate dorm facilities provided for the workers which could have solved as much as 75% of the problem. But who cares for the real development of the country and well-being of common people? The politicians are after their own ‘business’ – invest a thousand and harvest a million.
By the way, the wage hike as demanded by the workers is mostly based on the expense on accomodation which eats up two thirds of their wage. It could be tolerable if adequate number of dorm facilities could be provided for the workers around the city or within a radius of 15/20 km with sufficient transport facilities. But though shifting of both garment factories and construction of dorms together is a very, very difficult and time consuming work, construction of dorms may not be that much difficult if a concerted and determined effort from the garment owners is made. But will they go for it?