Research Update
RAPID RESEARCH RESPONSE TO COVID-19 SERIES: GENDER 09 18 AUGUST 2020
RESEARCHER
IFFAT JAHAN ANTARA RESEARCH ASSOCIATE SAMIA KALIM SYED INTERN
Brac Institute of Governance and Development
Brac University
Photo | Marcel Crozet / ILO
COVID 19 Crisis Impact on
RMG Wages and Employment and Role of Trade Unions
Media Tracking Report
Introduction
The Ready Made Garment (RMG) sector is the largest export industry in Bangladesh and contributes 84.21% of the country’s total export and 20% of the GDP. Exports dropped to 85.252% in April 2020 and 62% in May 2020 compared to the same period last year and GDP is projected to drop by 3% due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The end of the lockdown and
reopening of the factories has brought in its own set of challenges. Some factories have been shut down permanently, leaving thousands of workers jobless. The number of terminated and retrenched workers is increasing gradually, although there is disagreement among multiple parties regarding the actual number. Workers and Trade Union
(TU) leaders have protested by staging physical demonstrations (rallies, human chains and sit-ins) to claim their jobs and livelihoods security while the virus is still at large.
Brac Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) has undertaken a media tracking exercise to understand the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the readymade garments industry and the 4.1 million workers it employs, majority of whom are women.
The study attempts to identify the roles of different actors including trade unions and workers’ rights activists as they navigate the crisis, while dealing with international buyers, RMG owners, and the GoB. The report covers media reports on the current situation of RMG sector during COVID-19. The fifth installment covers the period 17 June – 25 July 2020.
Key Findings
1. Discrepancies in the actual number of garment factory workers that are being retrenched and terminated
2. Call for job security and livelihood protection of workers
3. TUs struggle to secure workers’ wages, health safety and livelihood security continue 4. Women workers’ vulnerability increases 5. Call for long term planning, social protection
and unemployment schemes
6. Uncertainty and indecision about disbursement of EU grant of €113 million while RMG sector is granted another stimulus package
7. A recent study finds that BGMEA/BKMEA factories more likely to remain operational and introduce safety provisions compared to non-member factories
Discussion of Findings
Discrepancies in the actual number of garment factory workers that are being retrenched and terminated
The number of terminated factory workers is being debated by different parties. According to the Industrial Police, within the Dhaka Metropolitan
area, 29,369 workers had lost their jobs until 14 July. Labour leaders reject this figure as they say that the number is higher. In a Facebook discussion, Labour Leader Joly Talukdar informed that her organization, Garment Worker Trade Union Center (GWTUC), had gathered records of 110,000 retrenched workers till 18 July. Nazma Akhter, President, Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation (SGSF) and Amirul Haque Amu President, National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF) alleged that the number of terminated workers is much higher than reported by the Industrial Police. According to them, majority of retrenched workers’ job duration had been less than one year and they were excluded from the stimulus package. Towhidur Rahman, former General Secretary of IndustriAll Bangladesh Council (IBC) has claimed that the number of retrenched workers crossed one lakh.
Call for job security and livelihood protection of workers
Job security within the RMG sector has become a matter of concern. The call to protect workers’ jobs has been made multiple times by the State Minister of the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE), Monnujan Sufian, by the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) and by TU leaders. The State Minister expressed concern about job cuts and requested for no termination at a meeting on 22 June where DIFE presented a list of 24,860 workers who had been terminated.
Senior representatives of BGMEA and BKMEA had boycotted the meeting as they claimed that they were not heard, as reported in Prothom Alo.
Labour leaders speculated that the State Minister’s demand would be futile as he had made such calls towards the employers’ association before as well.
Addressing the same issue, State Minister Monnujan requested ILO to put pressure on foreign buyers to avoid cancelling orders at the virtual “ILO Global Summit on COVID-19 and the World of Work” on 9 July.
TU leaders have demanded zero termination, and job and food security of workers, in social media and through online and offline protests. They have alleged that factory owners have accepted the stimulus package provided by the government but have not paid wages to workers, which was the intended purpose of the stimulus package.
According to the Prothom Alo report of 21 July, 1175 factories have not paid June wages till date.
The article also reported that workers were being
forced to resign, with factory authorities forcefully taking their signatures on blank papers. At a webinar organized by Karmojibi Nari on 15 July, Labour Leaders informed that several factories have been terminating a few workers each day, which makes it challenging to keep track of numbers. On the contrary BKMEA has stated that lay-offs have been in accordance with labour laws and that retrenchment of workers is being monitored.
TUs struggle to secure workers’ wages, health safety and livelihood security continues
Workers marched and surrounded the MoLE office (kªg feb) from 21-23 June, demanding due wages.
GWTUC staged a sit-down protest in Chattogram on 15 June against wage cuts and termination of jobs. It accusations factory owners of embezzlement in the protest. In another protest by the GWTUC on 27 June, leaders and workers organized to start in front of the Prime Minister’s office demanding full payment of wages, increased food security and increased job safety and security. During the rally leaders of GWTUC drew attention to the possibility of a brutal movement if factory owners continued their inhumane treatment of workers. Bangladesh Garments Workers Solidarity (BGWS) organized a human chain on 15 July demanding Eid bonus by 20 July and stopping of terminations. They also organized workers’ demonstrations in several places with the same demands.
In a social media discussion on 18 July, GWTUC General Secretary Joly Talukder claimed that their activities had been successful to some extent. She stated that any improvement or well-being initiative of workers’ situation since the lockdown regarding wage or health safety are result of their protests and movements during the pandemic. She also informed that they were successful in negotiating due wages and benefits of 50,000 workers from factories permanently closed due to pandemic. MoLE had set a deadline for bonus and wage payment of workers at the 65th Tripartite meeting on 20 July and DIFE was to inspect the proper implementation of this decision through a newly formed team. However Joly Talukdar admitted that TUs need a stronger movement; currently TUs are not as strong as they should have been due to differences in interests.
Women workers vulnerability increases
The COVID-19 pandemic has put women garment workers in a more vulnerable state than their male counterparts. SGSF reported a significant number of terminations of pregnant workers while others continue to work in fear of losing their jobs. The federation’s President Nazma Akhter told the Guardian on 9 July, “We are seeing a real increase in gender-based violence.” In response to gender- based violence (GBV), SGSF and IndustriAll Global Union joined forces and are using social media to call out the Government for ratifying the ILO Convention C190 against sexual harassment in the workplace.Call for long term planning, social protection and unemployment schemes
The call for unemployment schemes and social protection has heightened as numerous RMG factory workers are being retrenched, as stated by Labour Leaders. Manufacturing sector workers who have lost their jobs have taken up alternative pathways to survive. As reported in New Age, on 13 July, Selim Raihan, Director of South Asian Network on Economic Modelling (SANEM) has urged the government to bring retrenched and jobless workers under a social protection scheme. In a blog published on 2 July by the World Bank, the authors pointed out the imperative need for social protection programs in South Asian nations. Without protection, the most vulnerable are forced to skip meals, cut medical care and sell assets. The ability to build resilience among the people will be pivotal for future recovery.A similar recommendation has been made by BIGD in their study “COVID-19 Impact on RMG Sector and the Financial Stimulus Package: Trade Union Responses” in May 2020.
The issues of workers’ fair payment has been taken up internationally, drawing attention from around the world. The ‘#PayUP’ campaign, initiated by international labour rights groups and individual activists in March 2020, was the umbrella under which local suppliers were able to voice their demands towards international buyers. Under the campaign, names of international brands and buyers were published in social media with the hashtag, demanding that they pay up the dues instead of canceling orders so that workers can get paid on time. Some trade unions have shown solidarity with the campaign. The campaign claimed that it had successfully led to a payment of $1 billion
being cleared till date for Bangladeshi suppliers.
On 1 July, Bangladeshi-American Youtuber Nabela Noor joined the #PayUp campaign through her video message and urged to tag not only buyers or brands, but also Hollywood celebrities who represent those clothing lines. The campaign drew immense criticism towards many famous celebrities, as they were representing clothing brands that were not paying their suppliers, leading to workers not being paid their due wages.
However the effectiveness of such campaigns is contested. Blogger Maine Ahmed points out how the
#PayUP campaign is ineffective and only places the blame on international brands and buyers, shifting the onus of responsibility away from RMG factories and owners associations.
Uncertainty and Indecision about
disbursement of EU grant of
€113 million while RMG sector is granted another stimulus package
There is uncertainty about the European Union’s fund worth €113 million allocated for retrenched workers that had been proposed on 30 March for providing wage support. As reported by Dhaka Tribune on 1 July, there has not been any implementation of the pledged grant since March. The EU wanted the grant to be utilized to compensate retrenched workers for 3 months. However, the GoB wanted to create a welfare fund for workers with the grant.
The MoLE feared that factory owners would use the grant as an excuse to terminate jobs as there are now funds to compensate terminated workers. Due to this indecision no disbursement plan has been made and workers are suffering from cash shortage resulting from job-loss and partial wages. On 17 July, Banik Barta reported that BGMEA requested for another stimulus package from the government to pay workers and Bangladesh Bank responded quickly. On 23 July, Bangladesh Bank confirmed that RMG sector will receive another stimulus package to pay wages for July, August and September.
A Recent Study finds that BGMEA/
BKMEA factories are more likely to remain operational and introduce safety provisions compared to non-member factories
A research brief titled ‘’Status of the Export Orientated RMG Factories in Bangladesh during Covid-19
Pandemic’ by MappedIn Bangladesh, with data from 2,334 factories collected from 15 to 13 June, found that factories that were members of BGMEA/
BKMEA were more likely to remain operational and introduce safety provisions compared to non- member factories.
It found that 79.26% of the factories were operational, while 12.25% was temporarily closed and 8.49%
was permanently closed. In terms of closures, non- member factories constituted the higher rates of temporary closures (17.66%) or permanent closures (9.71%), as opposed to member factories. Of the factories that were open or temporarily closed (2136 factories), 30.57% felt uncertain about resuming regular operations after June 2020. Of the open factories, 92.1% of their workforce was being utilized.
The study also reported that 98.61 % of member factories had taken some safety precaution compared to 71.3% of non-member factories because BGMEA and BKMEA have their own guidelines which are mandatory for members. Similarly, factories with Workers’ Participation Committees or Safety Committees were more likely to have taken safety measures than those without. The top four measures taken by factories were sanitizing workers’ hands on entry, ensuring workers wear face masks, checking body temperature of workers and maintaining at least 1m/3ft distance between workers.
Recommendations
• Public disclosure of information regarding the number and identities of recipient factories and workers, and disbursements made by the Bangladesh Bank and other banks to MoLE and trade association
• Enhance TU role in monitoring and documentation of the implementation of various government provisions, such as the present financial stimulus package.
• Strengthen solidarity and unity among trade unions to address the priority health and livelihood concerns of workers using the urgency of the present COVID crisis.
• Establishment and maintenance of minimum standards for social protection following the International Labour Organization (ILO) standards, including unemployment, employment injury, and medical insurances.
Brac Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Brac University is a globally-recognized centre of excellence in rigorous research on policy and development interventions, with the aim of bringing together academics and practitioners to raise critical questions on development, providing lessons on good practices, and advocating for pro-poor policies.
This brief was produced as a part of the Sustaining Power for Women’s Rights in South Asia (SuPWR) Project with the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) funded by Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), and with support from Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), Bangladesh
This research is a part of the Rapid Research Response to COVID-19 project which aims to generate rapid and actionable research-based insights to policy and program actors, on the socioeconomic impact the COVID-19 pandemic on our lives, focusing on the poor and vulnerable population of Bangladesh.
It should include all stakeholders and be a part of the National Social Security Strategy (NSSS).
• Bangladesh should immediately ratify the Convention 190 on Violence and Harassment to counter the risks of increased sexual harassment and violence against women due to increase vulnerability of jobs.
Methodology
Information sources include major national media sources such as – Daily Star, Prothom Alo, Dhaka Tribune, New Age, Financial Express, The Observer, Kaler Kantho and the Business Standard. We also took information from Facebook pages and Youtube channels.
