Continued Instability Will Pose Serious Challenges to Garment Sector: CPD
The garment sector will face serious challenges if labour unrest and instability continue. Any disruption undermines buyers’ confidence. Factories that have already shut down due to labour unrest may damage their long-term relationships with buyers if they fail to deliver orders on time.
Dr Nazneen Ahmed, executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at a shadow parliament organised by Debate for Democracy at the Film Development Corporation (FDC) on Friday.
The debate was held on the topic, “Ensuring a Safe Working Environment and Social Protection Is More Important Than Wage Increases for Stability in the Garment Sector.” The programme was chaired by Hasan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiran, chairman of Debate for Democracy. Bangladesh University of Business and Technology (BUBT) won the competition, defeating Dhaka College. Trophies, crests and certificates were presented to the participating teams at the end of the competition.
Dr Nazneen Ahmed said increasing wages alone could not ensure the protection of garment workers. Alongside fair wages, factories must ensure a safe working environment, workers’ rights, maternity leave, respectful treatment and a proper workplace structure.
She said wages should be determined through discussions among owners, workers and the government. Forming a wage board earlier might have helped prevent the current instability. She added that the cost of living, workers’ living standards and employers’ financial capacity should all be considered when determining wages.
She said any unrest undermined the confidence of foreign buyers. Factories that had already closed due to labour unrest could damage their long-term relationships with buyers if they failed to deliver their existing orders on time.
She stressed that violence could never ensure fair wages or better working conditions. If any party was instigating instability, all stakeholders, including factory owners, workers, law enforcement agencies and the government, should take coordinated action to address the situation.
In his concluding remarks, Hasan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiran said the situation had improved somewhat following protests, clashes, road blockades and vandalism by garment workers over five demands, including wage increases. However, stability had yet to return fully.
He said the situation was damaging Bangladesh’s image in the international market and increasing the risk of losing the confidence of foreign buyers. This could lead to a decline in exports. If the instability continued, the garment sector would face serious challenges.
He stressed that a reasonable wage structure, a safe working environment and social protection were all necessary to ensure stability in the sector. Kiran also described the government’s plan to build 100-bed hospitals in each of six industrial zones to ensure healthcare services for workers as a positive and worker-friendly initiative.
He said questions had emerged over whether the ongoing protests by garment workers were entirely spontaneous, raising concerns among the government, law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders. Allegations had also emerged that a third party was instigating the ongoing movement to create sabotage and instability in the garment sector.
He said authorities must closely monitor whether any vested group was attempting to destabilise the garment industry to put the government in a difficult position. He added that anyone attempting to carry out sabotage while posing as a worker for political gain should face strict action.
