Women
make up the majority (85%) of workers in the garment industry in
Bangladesh. They frequently face harassment by male supervisors,
particularly those who are in a trade union. There is a lack of women in
leadership positions in Bangladesh trade unions which makes it more
difficult for women to bargain for their rights at work.
67% of NGWF members (34,037) are female while 17 out of 30 members of
the Central Executive are female including the Vice-President,
Secretary and Treasurer.
NGWF have now completed a series of training sessions which created
awareness amongst new trade union members of the role of unions in
defending their employment rights, how they can play an active role in
the union as organisers and develop confidence amongst female trade
union members to play a more active role in their union.
Twelve one-day training sessions were run for new female members of
NGWF trade unions, training a total of 354 women. This training focussed
on Bangladesh labour law and trade union rights.
Six in depth, three-day training sessions on collective bargaining
and taking on leadership roles in a union were also run for female union
organisers from NGWF unions. A total of 163 female organisers attended
these trainings.
Participants reported that they found the training particularly
useful for giving them skills to mentor other workers, confidence to
take on roles of responsibility in unions and tackling discrimination at
work.
An evaluation will now be conducted to assess the success of the
programme to achieve its aims and consider where future union support
could be useful to develop women leaders in garment unions.
