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What ails the RMG sector?

Md. Asaduliah Khan
***The people believe that if the workers' genuine demands are properly addressed, this sector can retain its competitive edge. Merely talking about invisible enemies trying either to kill or cripple this industry without ever trying to nab them will serve no useful purpose.****
THE simmering discontent brewing over the reported sacking of some workers in the S. Suhi Sweater factory took a volatile turn on June 27 when die Ansars on duty fired at the agitating workers, killing two and injuring twenty-five on the first day of the violence. The clash ensued for three days and the demonstrators, many of them outsiders it is learnt, were inspired by a group of disgruntled jhoot traders who exploited this moment to establish their supremacy in the garments sector.
On the second day, agitated workers and outsiders numbering about 20.000 torched the Ha-Meem group factories. The agitators burned down several vehicles and vandalised 50 other factories on both sides of the Ashulia-Bypile road. According to reports, the maximum damage was done to Ha-Meem group factories and the loss, as the owner of the Ha-Meem group claims, will be to the tune ofTk. 100 crore according to preliminaryestimate.
The garments sector has been the target of attack for many people inimical to the interest of the country. People might recall the damage done to the garments sector by a series of vandalising
acts resorted to in 2006 by a sinister group. The discontent over non-fulfilment of the RMG workers' demand relating mainly to low salaries, overtime allowance, issuance of employment letter and confirmation in jobs, long overlooked by many factory owners, erupted into violence on May 23.2006.
Strangely enough, it was a repetition of the May 2006 vandalism in the garments factories. The statement of the then state minister for home affairs that the administration at that time could not take action because of the dearth of law enforcers and lack of coordination among the forces was an attempt to hide facts and a serious lapse of governance. Reports allege that this time some Jubo League or Chatra League activists now employed in jhoot trade instigated the vandalism because of some conflict with the garments owners.
With the bitter experiences of the past incidents in the garment sector, people cannot agree with what the S.P Dhaka district said, that they had "failed to sense that things could spiral out of control." With the improvement in the information gathering networks, people really committed to the profession should have got the message.
It was so intriguing that when all the
eyes were set on the final day of the budget approval session, violence erupted in other parts of the city. With the appeal for protection by the factory owners falling on the deaf cars of the law enforcers, arsonists, looters and rioters reportedly joined by the jhoot traders made the most of the volatile situation. This only speaks of the brazen ineptitude and amateurish handling by the law enforcement agency.
The blame game and finding a scapegoat for anything going wrong in the country have been the usual practice with the law enforcement agencies. The minister of commerce and industry said that the acts were carried out by groups or agents inimical to the interest of the country. But this excuse, especially when the home ministry seemed to know for certain that such conspiracy was being hatched, could hardly be comforting to the people.
If the grievances of the workers arc not met as committed, then such eruptions might again occur with more debilitating consequences on the RMG sector and especially on the economy of the country, which is showing signs of strain at the moment because global economic recession.
There are a lot of non-compliant factories, and the workers are grumbling for higher wages and other facilities. If these industries have turned out to be sick because of the recessionary effect and workers' demands cannot be met, then the matter has to be sorted by discussions, and not by sacking the agitating workers. The workers, because of long suffering and deprivation, might falter, but the owners must demonstrate their sense of responsibility. There must be a special cell in each factory to handle
grievances.
The fire may have been doused for the time but the groundswell of discontent and deprivation makes these factories a highly inflammable area. Presumably, the violence, might have been orchestrated by seemingly militant forces from outside determined to turn people's attention from the ongoing reforms movement. No sensible person, however agitated or aggrieved he might be, will never cut off the branch of the tree on which he is standing.
IYue, in a country where politics and vendetta go hand in hand, authorities in most cases wash their hands off responsibility through passing the buck. People might recall the grim situation prevailing in the garments sector just five years back, which prompted the general secretary of the International Textile Garments and Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF) to write to the then prime minister pointing to the low wages and inhuman conditions imposed on the workers. In 2005, the government introduced 72-hour work week, which was never adhered to. In hundreds of factories workers can be found working for 18 hours a day.
An ILO survey, made public years back, exposed the grim working conditions in the RMG factories. The survey indicates that when workers did overtime, some employers paid them a fixed sum, which was lower than 100 percent incremental pay for overtime work as provided for in the law. The survey further adds that although in recent time there has been some initiative to bring workers under insurance coverage, non-issuance of appointment letters by employers could actually deprive workers of the benefits
from the scheme.
Starting in the '80s, this industry has made substantial impact on the economy, identifying itself as a vital foreign exchange earner as well as providing jobs to a vast multitude of unemployed youths, especially women. This industry, now numbering about 4500 units, employs about 30 lakh workers, about 80 percent of Whom are women. The absorption of large numbers of unemployed and widowed women from the rural areas has added to the importance of sustaining this industry with care and caution.
Nobody in the country can countenance the fact that an industry that employs 40 percent of our total industrial work force, and has achieved nearly 20 percent growth despite post-MFA (Multi
Fibre Arrangement) apocalyptic predictions, is allowed to be in a state of turmoil every now and then. Responding to the call of the factory owners, the government now needs to post a strong contingent of industrial police with superb intelligence network to foil any outside manipulation or attack by any vested quarters.
The people believe that if the workers' genuine demands are properly addressed, this sector can retain its competitive edge. Merely talking about invisible enemies trying either to kill or cripple this industry without ever trying to nab them will serve no useful purpose.
Md Asaduhah Khan is a former teacher of physics and
Controller of Examinations, SUET
E-mail: aukhanbd@gmaii com