SPEAKING
FREELY
Textile workers'
rage rocks Bangladesh
By Farid Bakht
Speaking
Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have their
say. Please click here if you are interested in
contributing.
DHAKA - The fearsome black-clad, bandanna-wearing
soldiers of the Rapid Action Battalion were out on the streets of industrial
towns near the Bangladeshi capital lobbing tear gas and struggling to bring a
rapidly escalating situation under control. They joined the police in trying to
quell this week's industrial unrest, now being called the most serious in the
history of Bangladesh.
Major highways were blocked, scores of factories
torched, and hundreds vandalized. Dozens of cars were set on fire,
including one
in Dhaka's wealthy diplomatic zone of Gulshan. Initial losses have been
estimated at US$77 million, and this figure could easily double if many
factories are not reopened soon and therefore miss their deadlines for
time-sensitive orders.
The human toll is worse. Apart from at least one
death and many injuries in the riots, the future of thousands of families
remains in doubt. Several hundred factories have suffered extensive damage and
many have temporarily closed their doors.
The stakes for the Bangladeshi
economy could hardly be higher: ready-made garments are the No 1 industry in the
country, accounting for 75% of its exports. More than 4,000 factories employ 1.2
million workers. The sector is irreplaceable.
As Bangladesh's public
sector was emasculated over the past two decades, the slack was taken up by
small private outfits engaged in small-scale textile production. Such units
provide a $6.4 billion export lifeline. Even taking into account the associated
import bill, the net foreign-exchange impact comes close to $2.6 billion
annually. This dwarfs any other sector. Moreover, the banking, insurance,
shipping and urban-property sectors have all piggybacked on the entrepreneurship
of the small-time owners, some of whom have expanded into Western markets and
become millionaires. Whenever the country is slammed for its high level of
corruption and squabbling - even criminal - politicians, the garment industry is
held up as a success story.
The rag trade's dark side
But it
does not take much effort to discover that there are deep-seated problems in the
industry that have been brushed aside for too long. In April 2005, an entire
building, housing hundreds of mainly female workers in the outskirts of Dhaka,
collapsed. Sixty-four laborers, at work on their machines, were crushed to
death, and 84 injured. With unremitting regularity, factories become death traps
where workers are locked in and unable to escape fires, or find that fire
escapes are non-existent or inadequate.
Incidents like these have had a
kind of drip-drip effect on worker morale, and it is not as if there has been no
warning of the rising anger. International labor leaders visiting the country
left businessmen and politicians in no doubt about the consequences of inaction.
Neil Kearney, general secretary of the International Textile, Garment and
Leather Workers' Federation, explained that if meaningful steps were not taken
to make factories secure, big foreign buyers would eventually shift their orders
elsewhere.
The businessmen combine together to clamor for support and
benefits, while not acknowledging the gross unfairness of a system where workers
in numerous factories are regularly paid two months late. Overtime is imposed
and in some cases not rewarded. The real wage has plummeted in an era of rising
prices for essential items, such as rice and other basic foodstuffs. Workers pay
dearly for rent and electricity in the mushrooming slums. By and large, they are
still grateful for the chance to earn a living and prefer to be an industrial
worker rather than a domestic maid; their demands have never been unreasonable.
But ostentatious consumption by the business elite can be seen everywhere as
luxury cars drive to shopping centers and restaurants.
Meanwhile, a
group of 100 factory owners marched to the prime minister's office to demand
action. Unfortunately, she was otherwise occupied and declined to meet them. At
a press conference, the acting president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers
and Exporters Association, a Mr Murshedi, went on the offensive: "A neighboring
country wants to grab Bangladesh's share in the competitive international market
by creating an unstable situation at factories here."
Now, "neighboring
country" was a curious choice of words. Did the statement perhaps refer to
Myanmar, Bangladesh's neighbor to the east? Of course not: the president was
referring to India, but so great is the fear of offending the so-called rising
superpower that even when it is accused of the worst crimes, it cannot be named.
When a reporter boldly asked whether the real issue might not be wages and
working conditions, an imperious reply came back that the workers are "well
paid" (at princely wages of $20 a month) and that "outsiders" were responsible.
Other well-known business magnates are calling for an investigation by the
intelligence agencies. Even non-governmental organizations are under suspicion.
Such is the atmosphere of unreality in which the political and business
classes exist in Bangladesh. The issue is a question of weak leadership in the
garments industry, which has gone easy on violators of labor standards and
soft-pedaled moves to clean up the sector. For years, a sizable minority have
been flouting basic rules, even though there were admittedly many others who
provided a fair working environment and paid their employees on time (in the
context of a competitive and cutthroat industry). While it is unlikely that the
industry will fold any time soon, the writing is on the wall.
After the
end of the Multi-Fiber Agreement at the beginning of 2005 and the changeover to
the new World Trade Organization regime, it was widely anticipated that
Bangladesh's booming textile industry would fold. The conventional wisdom had it
that Bangladesh was dependent on MFA quotas and that India and China would
dominate the new, post-WTO landscape.
In fact, this did not happen;
instead, the industry continued to surge, posting 20% annual growth rates this
year alone. This led to a great deal of self-congratulation in Bangladesh that
now appears sadly premature. The reality is that the rosy numbers owed a great
deal more to China's hands being tied by Western protectionism than to ingenuity
in Dhaka or Chittagong. The Chinese cannot be held back after 2008, which means
vulnerable countries such as Bangladesh and Cambodia have to prepare for a
ferocious challenge.
Chaos compounded by political
instability
Political uncertainty is compounding matters. Bangladesh is
facing months of crisis as the current regime hands over power in October,
before going to the polls in January. Electricity blackouts are running at
record levels. Ordinary protesters have been shot dead, their only demand a
regular supply of electricity. Diesel prices are rising. Gasoline pumps are
struggling to cope with demand. Inflation is hitting people hard and the two
major political parties engage in tiresome tirades about how to conduct
elections. The signs are not good.
Looking back a few years, garment
factories came close to collapse during unremitting political clashes and
shutdowns, after a farcical election in February 1996. The then-Bangladesh
Nationalist Party (BNP) government lost the subsequent elections that year,
letting the Awami League into power.
Ten years on, a more grassroots and
localized opposition demanding basic services is shaking the tree. The BNP
regime today is reeling. The political opposition of the Awami League does not
look as if it is orchestrating the campaign. It is not in command - not yet
anyway - and it is running out of time. The consequences of street violence are
therefore becoming more unpredictable by the day.
Farid Bakht
is a columnist and entrepreneur, based in Dhaka and London. He can be reached
at faridbakht@yahoo.com.
(Copyright 2006 Farid Bakht. Used by
permission.)
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that
allows guest writers to have their say. Please click here if you are interested in
contributing. |
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