In Bangladesh, 3.5 million workers in 4,825 garment factories produce
goods for export to the global market, principally Europe and North
America. The Bangladeshi garment industry generates 80% of the country’s
total export revenue. However, the wealth generated by this sector has
led to few improvements in the lives of garment workers, 85% of whom are
women.
The majority of garment workers in Bangladesh earn little more than
the minimum wage, set at 3,000 taka a month (approximately £25), far
below what is considered a living wage, calculated at 5,000 taka a month
(approximately £45), which would be the minimum required to provide a
family with shelter, food and education.
As well as earning a pittance, Bangladeshi factory workers face
appalling conditions. Many are forced to work 14-16 hours a day seven
days a week, with some workers finishing at 3am only to start again the
same morning at 7.30am. On top of this, workers face unsafe, cramped and
hazardous conditions which often lead to work injuries and factory
fires. Since 1990, more than 400 workers have died and several thousand
more have been wounded in 50 major factory fires. Sexual harassment and
discrimination is widespread and many women workers have reported that
the right to maternity leave is not upheld by employers. Factory
management also take steps to prevent the formation of trade unions, a
right protected under the Freedom of Association and Collective
Bargaining ILO Conventions, which Bangladesh ratified in 1972.
The National Garment Workers' Federation (NGWF) has been fighting for
the rights of garment workers in Bangladesh since 1984. Based in Dhaka,
the country’s capital, and with 7 branches nationwide, it is the
largest trade union federation in the Bangladeshi garment sector, with
more than 27,000 members. Women workers are at the frontline of the
movement with women making up 18 of the 30 members of the NGWF’s central
executive committee. The NGWF is a founding member of the Bangladesh
Garment Workers Unity Council, an umbrella organisation of 21 garment
worker federations, and is also a member of the arbitration committee, a
body that negotiates labour law and cases of workers’ rights violations
through dialogue between trade unions, government and factory owners.
The NGWF is working hard to strengthen the trade union movement
across Bangladesh by setting up factory-level unions challenging labour
rights abuses within factories. It also promotes workers’ rights through
targeted campaigning and by lobbying the government, factory owners and
multinational corporations for stronger legislation and its
enforcement. Finally the NGWF provides legal advice and carries out
training sessions for workers around labour rights, particularly on
women leadership.
