You are on page 1of 7

Worth of a garment worker

The story of Moshrefa Mishu who was held in


custody while ill is widely known, as is the death
of the 112 workers in Tazreen Fashion, seven
female workers in Smart Export, and the death
of worker organiser Aminul Islam. The
compensation of one lakh taka for each worker
after the fire expectedly brought an angry
scream from a fellow worker, Is the value of our
life one lakh taka? Farida C Khan writes
THE textbook version of an export promotion
strategy for development sounds like an easy
template. Follow what the Asian Tigers (Hong Kong,
Taiwan, Korea, and Singapore) did. Their
economies all grew manifold beginning in the 1970s
due to their increased export production and most
other countries might also become middle- or highincome nations if they walk (or better yet, jog up)
the same path. This prescription for development
was a mantra for decades, and continues to retain
gravitas in development policy. This is primarily the
case because China, the giant that has dwarfed
everyone else through this same strategy, is now
the second largest economy in the world, after, of
course,
the
United
States.

In Bangladesh, the famous conglomerate Daewoo


Corporation from Korea originally invested in Desh
Garments to offshore its production so that it could
overcome export quotas faced through the MultiFibre Agreement. Since 1979, Bangladesh has
begun to develop its own readymade garments
industry, emerging today as one of the largest
exporters of apparels in the world. Interestingly,
Korea remains the largest investor in Bangladesh,
having moved to construction, engineering, and
various non-export sectors. But Bangladesh has
remained very absorbed in the production of
garments. Garments exports are expected to be
nearly $20 billion in 2013 and almost 80 per cent of
export earnings are from this sector. Along with
remittances from the export of labour, Bangladesh is
able to use these foreign exchange earnings to
meet its import needs and not rely extensively on
donors, unless of course the global price of rice or
oil rises, or there is a natural disaster, causing a
foreign
exchange
crisis.
This description of the garment sector, however,
does not tell us the entire story of transformations
on the ground in Bangladesh. How did Bangladesh
get to be so competitive in this sector? What has
happened in this industry in Bangladesh? Much has
been written on readymade garments and its
evolution. Quality of products has increased,

Bangladesh has moved up the value chain and


while it can do better, we can check the labels at
Wal-Mart or more upscale department stores in the
US and find Made in Bangladesh along with China
and other established producers. Of course,
Bangladeshs larger market is the European Union,
and it has consistently had difficulty capturing
equivalent
market
share
in
the
US.
If we look at the production itself, we find that there
are about 4,000 garment factories in Bangladesh
and over two million workers are employed in the
sector, 90 per cent of them being women. A fellow
economist remarked at a recent seminar that the
supply of labour to the garment industry is
completely elastic, and the pattern resembles the
Lewis Model of Development. Remembering Arthur
Lewiss famous theory, we note that it says that
labour keeps migrating out of the rural areas,
supplying as many people as needed for
manufacturing, without any increase in wages.
Therefore, no matter how much the price of rice
increases, rents go up, or bus fares rise, wages
tend not to follow equally upwards. In foreign-owned
firms, such wages may be marginally higher and
paid on time, but over the years, there have been
many accounts of workers not being paid wages for
several months. These have continued in present
times, leading to anger and violence in many

factories, confrontation with the police, arrests, and


frustration
for
workers.
In the Lewis model, wages ultimately rise as
development occurs. But we have yet to see that in
Bangladesh. In August 2010, garment workers
fought tooth and nail to increase their minimum
wage to 3,000 takas, well below what would be
considered a living wage. With an inflation rate of
about 7 per cent each year, the purchasing power of
what they earn today is far below what their
counterparts
made
in
the
1990s.
Bangladesh has one of the lowest wages in the
apparel sector of any country in the world. The
women, most of whom stitch shirts, pants, and
jackets from dawn to dusk, come for various
reasons. They may prefer garments to the
oppression of captive domestic work for the
nouveau riche, of sex work, or even simply choose
to work to earn extra income for their families. They
may have come because of some sort of distressful
situation in their family; and over time, they come
because others in their village are also coming.
These women constitute the spirited and colorful
proletariat in Bangladesh. They walk in large groups
so as to keep safe from hecklers, buy consumption
items that their mothers never knew, and have
paved the path for other women to come out into
the public without being considered out of place.

Most garment workers travel by foot, walking over 5


kilometers
each
day.
The discomfort in which they work is notable. First,
they are rarely given written contracts so that they
do not know if they will be paid or retained at work.
The repetitive nature of factory work compared to
the multitude of tasks that village life allowed is a
strain on the health and many women complain
about headaches. Once in the factory setting, they
often do not have food canteens and many women
suffer from gastric illnesses. This is exacerbated by
the unhygienic living conditions in the crowded
slums that they must reside in. In the early days
in fact all the way up to the 1970s many
industries in Bangladesh provided living quarters for
workers. While these were basic, they seem
luxurious in comparison to any absence of
consideration for worker housing today. Lets take
that into account the next time we say we have
made progress. The issue of overtime is another
problem very few workers know what their
overtime rate is, and how their overtime hours or
pay
are
calculated.
Finally, harassment at work, on the way, often within
their communities when they return, are all part of
the vagaries of their lives. These are all well
documented in the narration of many authors. The
story of Moshrefa Mishu who was held in custody

while ill is widely known, as is the death of the 112


workers in Tazreen Fashion, seven female workers
in Smart Export, and the death of worker organiser
Aminul Islam. The compensation of one lakh taka
for each worker after the fire expectedly brought an
angry scream from a fellow worker, Is the value of
our
life
one
lakh
taka?
Stripping people of what is certain in their lives,
confining them into rooms that may explode into
flames and smoke, expecting them to build social
capital with unknown workers from villages far away
are tall orders for anyone, even if they are in
Bangladesh, where lives are many and the
devaluation of life appears to be widespread. The
government and donors hold the garment industry
as the champion of the nation. Export incentives
continue to be given to fulfil the dream of
industrialisation and the practicality of earning
foreign
exchange.
It has been said that import-substitution industries
are not necessarily an efficient choice, export
industries are. The clout of labour in often publiclyowned import substitution industries had to be
quelled in order to make the country globally
competitive. Infant industry protection given to
import substitution had to be removed because
many of these industries were geriatric. On the
other hand, the flexible new export industries earn

revenue for the country and for owners. But, are


workers not part of this industry? Particularly
hardworking young females whose lives are given
over to these factories? How long will it take to
establish acceptable working conditions and pay in
garments factories? Are labour safety and
compensation not worthy of the governments
attention? Bangladesh is able to spend millions of
dollars on defence, on bridges that will allow the
exports to be shipped faster, and entrepreneurs are
able to spend millions of dollars on each home they
buy. Why is it that, when it comes to those whose
blood and sweat our earnings are based on, we are
frugal and we say, Patience, as growth occurs,
inequality
will
one
day
fade
away.
Farida C Khan is professor of economics, University
of Wisconsin-Parkside, USA

You might also like