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RMG unions given the third degree

Refayet Uli ah Mirdha
Questions surface over the role of trade unions in the garment industry, as leaders of such unions have no command over workers and no line of communication with the owners and managers of factories.
Trade unions are expected to play a vital role in maintaining a liaison between management and workers to settle any dispute. But in the case of the Bangladesh garment sector, the over-presence of such unions creates chaos instead, industry analysts say.
Every year -- in the post-labour unrest periods - leaders of the 28 registered trade unions in the garment sector merely send press releases to newspaper offices or visit the damaged factories to convey their condolences, according to some union leaders.
But the real role of the trade union leaders in protecting the factories from vandalism, ransacking, arson attacks and assaults on mid-level managers is being overlooked, they say.
On the other hand, the role of factory owners in providing wages that match worker needs and the role of management in dealing with workers should also be considered, the union leaders emphasised.
Industry insiders and trade union leaders feel there is no immediate solution to this paradox and such mudslinging would continue.
Regardless of the ties between these two groups, a fact remains that hundreds of factories have been ransacked over the last few years.
Trade union leaders say every worker yearns to be a leader without focus on any leadership quality. As a result, over the years, 28 registered garment trade unions have emerged in the country. There are many more unregistered unions.
The union leaders say they have no command over the workers, as the owners do not
allow unionism at the factory level and as such, they cannot conduct regular counselling sessions with the workers, which is important to smooth operations.
"Worker counselling by trade union leaders is vital to smooth operations," said Nazma Akter, president of Bangladesh Sammilito Garment Sramik Federation.
Owners rarely call upon the union leaders, as they do not trust the unions and such misunderstandings evoke frequent labour unrest, Nazma said.
It is the government's duty to bring such scattered unionism under one umbrella to strengthen their roles.
Almost all labour unrests in
the recent years have emerged from sweater factories.
Mantu Ghosh, an adviser to Garment Sramik TYade Union Kendra, said the recent unrest in Ashulia could have been resolved through dialogues between the two sides.
The union leaders and owners of trouble-torn factories reached a consensus to give Tk 300,000 in compensation to the dead.
Tn final stages, however, the owners were not found," Ghosh alleged. It all came just a day before the fire at Ha-Meem Sweater Factory, which was just a victim of industrial rioting.
The angry workers had vandalised factories in the area and
burnt down the Ha-Meem factory, which is compliant and gives good pay, Ghosh said.
Ghosh described the incident as a failure of the unions in taming unrest at the factory level.
He also said it is not appropriate to dismiss a worker for the slightest of wrongdoing and it is the duty of management to realise the expected performance.
"The sweater factories are particularly vulnerable to frequent unrest due to the gathering of a good number of illiterate young boys. The majority of them came from the villages and as a result, they face communication problems as well," Ghosh said.
Towhidur Rahman, president
of Bangladesh Apparel Workers' Federation, said factory owners call out to the union leaders when unrest breaks out and when the damage has already been done.
A ban was imposed on trade unionism when a state of emergency was declared last year. However, the government relaxed such embargos from industries, commercial enterprises and ports on September 7.
In line with trade union rules, leaders are obligated to appease workers to realise their rights after negotiations with factory owners.
reefat@thedailystar.net