The Japan Times - Bangladesh garment industry rebounds, but workers say little change

EUR -
AED 3.790595
AFN 77.430204
ALL 99.20841
AMD 405.948641
ANG 1.847466
AOA 943.795626
ARS 1087.128762
AUD 1.662815
AWG 1.858952
AZN 1.754363
BAM 1.955553
BBD 2.069738
BDT 125.014184
BGN 1.954683
BHD 0.388998
BIF 3034.316109
BMD 1.032034
BND 1.401223
BOB 7.099102
BRL 6.00572
BSD 1.02508
BTN 89.3147
BWP 14.405595
BYN 3.354776
BYR 20227.87484
BZD 2.059139
CAD 1.490026
CDF 2941.29778
CHF 0.939022
CLF 0.036865
CLP 1016.997864
CNY 7.41878
CNH 7.534548
COP 4295.760755
CRC 522.233929
CUC 1.032034
CUP 27.348912
CVE 110.251051
CZK 25.185563
DJF 182.546905
DKK 7.460411
DOP 63.701941
DZD 140.147257
EGP 51.926709
ERN 15.480516
ETB 131.128381
FJD 2.400151
FKP 0.84997
GBP 0.832398
GEL 2.930585
GGP 0.84997
GHS 15.658019
GIP 0.84997
GMD 74.822717
GNF 8859.879079
GTQ 7.931996
GYD 214.462867
HKD 8.036958
HNL 26.113949
HRK 7.615948
HTG 134.083036
HUF 407.562816
IDR 16847.96208
ILS 3.691845
IMP 0.84997
INR 89.904906
IQD 1342.83011
IRR 43448.649554
ISK 146.796546
JEP 0.84997
JMD 161.569559
JOD 0.732126
JPY 160.331193
KES 133.390518
KGS 90.251596
KHR 4122.478439
KMF 494.189607
KPW 928.831102
KRW 1502.693843
KWD 0.318599
KYD 0.854292
KZT 535.74222
LAK 22297.179039
LBP 91797.28613
LKR 307.081149
LRD 203.991227
LSL 19.385047
LTL 3.047329
LVL 0.624267
LYD 5.033363
MAD 10.347791
MDL 19.20557
MGA 4894.38078
MKD 61.50219
MMK 3352.007573
MNT 3506.853106
MOP 8.229259
MRU 40.952819
MUR 48.505407
MVR 15.892949
MWK 1777.575107
MXN 21.129491
MYR 4.586398
MZN 65.884855
NAD 19.385047
NGN 1539.000309
NIO 37.725227
NOK 11.724056
NPR 142.90392
NZD 1.84149
OMR 0.397326
PAB 1.02507
PEN 3.820917
PGK 4.11348
PHP 60.152148
PKR 286.004387
PLN 4.224325
PYG 8082.97737
QAR 3.737927
RON 4.97688
RSD 117.112136
RUB 102.817466
RWF 1449.016676
SAR 3.871057
SBD 8.746683
SCR 14.792122
SDG 620.252836
SEK 11.41266
SGD 1.400625
SHP 0.84997
SLE 23.678277
SLL 21641.245911
SOS 585.825883
SRD 36.229581
STD 21361.029045
SVC 8.969996
SYP 13418.511652
SZL 19.378736
THB 34.944605
TJS 11.173424
TMT 3.612121
TND 3.309081
TOP 2.417124
TRY 37.11557
TTD 6.950121
TWD 33.962086
TZS 2627.32123
UAH 42.872776
UGX 3770.522967
USD 1.032034
UYU 44.433733
UZS 13311.315899
VES 61.49531
VND 25986.626963
VUV 122.5252
WST 2.89055
XAF 655.874021
XAG 0.03265
XAU 0.000367
XCD 2.789125
XDR 0.786201
XOF 655.874021
XPF 119.331742
YER 256.774905
ZAR 19.374021
ZMK 9289.552181
ZMW 28.779359
ZWL 332.314666
  • RBGPF

    0.2700

    66.27

    +0.41%

  • SCS

    -0.4100

    11.07

    -3.7%

  • RIO

    -0.5600

    59.85

    -0.94%

  • RELX

    -0.0400

    49.85

    -0.08%

  • AZN

    -0.9000

    69.86

    -1.29%

  • BCC

    -1.0200

    125.14

    -0.82%

  • GSK

    -0.3700

    34.9

    -1.06%

  • CMSC

    -0.1200

    23.35

    -0.51%

  • BCE

    0.2400

    24.03

    +1%

  • NGG

    0.6100

    62.01

    +0.98%

  • RYCEF

    -0.1400

    7.35

    -1.9%

  • JRI

    -0.0700

    12.46

    -0.56%

  • CMSD

    -0.0900

    23.75

    -0.38%

  • VOD

    -0.0500

    8.49

    -0.59%

  • BTI

    0.1000

    39.74

    +0.25%

  • BP

    -0.1900

    30.87

    -0.62%

Bangladesh garment industry rebounds, but workers say little change
Bangladesh garment industry rebounds, but workers say little change / Photo: Munir UZ ZAMAN - AFP/File

Bangladesh garment industry rebounds, but workers say little change

In a vast Bangladeshi factory hall thrumming with sewing machines, garment workers churn out seemingly endless pairs of mountain hiking trousers for customers in Europe and North America.

Text size:

Bangladesh's key clothing manufacturing industry supplying global brands was crippled by a revolution that toppled the government last year, in which garment sector protesters played an important role.

While owners say business has bounced back, frustrated workers say hard-won concessions have done little to change their circumstances, and life remains as hard as ever.

"It is the same kind of exploitation," said garment worker Khatun, 24, asking that only her first name be used as speaking out would jeopardise her job.

Production in the world's second-largest garment manufacturer was repeatedly stalled by the months-long violence, before protesters forced long-time autocrat Sheikh Hasina to flee in August.

An interim government, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, took over.

Protests, however, continued in a string of garment factoriesfor better conditions and more pay, with the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) warning in October of $400 million in losses.

Scores of factories closed and tens of thousands lost their jobs.

But after a five percent wage hike was agreed in September, the industry rebounded.

- 'Operating at full swing' -

"We are doing well," said garment producer factory owner S.M. Khaled, who heads the Snowtex company, employing 22,000 workers.

The South Asian nation produces garments for global brands -- ranging from France's Carrefour, Canada's Tire, Japan's Uniqlo, Ireland's Primark, Sweden's H&M and Spain's Zara.

The apparel industry accounts for about 80 percent of Bangladesh's exports, earning $36 billion last year, dropping little despite the unrest from the $38 billion exported the previous year.

"I am working with at least 15 international brands, and our products will be available in 50 countries," Khaled said.

"Almost all garment factories are operating at full swing after waves of unrest. We are on the growth side."

Despite challenges with a cooling of demand, Anwar Hossain, the government-appointed administrator of BGMEA, said the industry was returning to strength.

"The largest contributor to exports was the apparel sector," Hossain said.

The garment industry recorded a 13 percent increase from July-December 2024 -- the period after the revolution -- compared to the same period the year before, he said.

- 'Half my basic wage'

Workers tell a different story.

Khatun welcomed the wage rise but said factory managers then hiked already onerous demands for "nearly unachievable production targets".

Scraping by in the capital Dhaka's gritty industrial suburb of Ashulia, she earns $140 a month including overtime and benefits to support a family of four.

The wage increase of $8.25 a month seems a miserly addition.

Opening her fist, she showed a 500-taka note, just over four dollars, all she had left after paying rent and other expenses.

"We have good facilities inside the factory, like toilets, a canteen, and water fountains," she said. "But we don't get even a 10-minute break while trying to meet the targets".

Many factory owners were close to the former ruling party.

In the immediate days after Hasina was toppled, several factories were damaged in retaliatory attacks.

Some owners were arrested and accused of supporting Hasina, who is herself in exile in India skipping an arrest warrant for "massacres, killings, and crimes against humanity".

Mostfactories are now back in operation, but employees say some offer conditions far worse than before.

"We weren't receiving salaries on time after the owner was arrested," said worker Rana, also asking not to be identified.

"Now, they've offered me half my basic wage, around $60 to $70. I have a six-month-old child, a wife, and elderly parents to support", he added.

Hussain, who lost his job in the unrest, tells a common tale.

While he has since found work packing clothes, the new job means he "doesn't benefit from the increment" deal, while living costs have risen.

"House rents have shot up with the news of the pay rise," he said.

- 'Take more responsibility' -

Taslima Akhter, from the Bangladesh Garment Workers' Solidarity (BGWS) group, a labour rights organisation, said that "workers are struggling to maintain a minimum standard of living".

Akhter said factory bosses must push back against global purchasers wanting to maximise profits at the expense of a living wage.

"Garment (factory) owners need to take more responsibility and learn to negotiate better with international buyers," she said.

"This industry is not new, and problems are not impossible to solve."

Despite the industry's apparent fiscal success, Abdullah Hil Raquib, a former BGMEA director, warned it was on fragile ground.

"The stability in the garment sector we see now is only on the surface," he said.

T.Sasaki--JT