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FESTIVAL

Eid to RMG workers

Sayeda Akter
Eid was a relaxed and uneventful day for garment worker Kanika Begum, 23, ofShaymoli.
As hype over the major religious festival in the country is ebbing away, Kanika prepares to get back to work on Friday.
This year, she received a large sum of money prior to the holidays -- a festival bonus worth Tk 1,300 and her accumulated salary over the last two months -- amounting loatotalofTk 10.700.
On the utilisation of this money, she decided to help her father. Shah Alam Mridha, 50, to pay the instalment over his mortgaged 10 decimal land in Barisal, his lone asset. I Ie had to mortgage his land in 2007 to pay for his daughter's wedding.
"Setting aside a portion for house rent, food, new attires on Eid for her siblings and the launch fare to commute to Barisal, I used the remaining chunk to pay a loan instalment over the mortgage," she said.
"I receive a large sum of money only two times a year. It is vital that I invest cautiously."
Mridha. a security guard in Pallabi, Dhaka, mortgaged his land at Tk 25,000 to a local rich man. Kanika has been paying the instalments on the loan for the past 3 years. She is hoping to pay back the loan by 2010 and then finally, her father would be able to get back the land, where he plans to grow vegetables on commercial basis.
Kanika is one of three million garment workers in the country, for whom Eid comes twice a year as an opportunity to think about bettering their future, as they receive their salaries and bonuses.
The ready-made garments (RMG) sector accounts for more than 80 percent of the country's total export earning in the last two decades.
Presently there are more than three million people, 80 percent of whom are women, working in the 4800 woven, 1700 knitwear and 1300 spinning, dyeing and
sizing factories operating in the country.
In 2006, garment manufacturers and exporters implemented a government order to ensure minimum wages at Tk 1,662.50 for workers under the labour law. At present, most garment factories have ensured compliance with the law.
The average income of a worker ranges between Tk 3,500 and Tk 7,500, with skilled workers drawing higher wages.
With minimum wages standing at poor levels, the poor workers' only hope of making ends meet is overtime. And when it comes to
getting a little extra before Eid, most workers made plans in advance to utilise the money.
Instead of buying new clothes for his family on Eid, Mobinul Alam, another garment worker in Kafrul, used his bonus to send his brother to a driving school.
“I received a bonus worth Tk 4,500 and I used it to enrol my brother in a driving school. If he is able to learn how to drive a car and obtain a driving license, he can get a job as a driver. It will help us overcome many of our miseries."
“Last year, 1 spent my bonus arranging tuition and exam fees for my brother's SSC exam, with
hopes that he would one day get a good job," he added.
However, Alam and Kanika were among the lucky ones.
With many others waiting to be paid their dues, several garment manufacturers and exporters do not pay workers on time.
“The main problem is that factory owners fail to see our urgency and need. We do not use this money to purchase expensive dresses on Eid. Instead, we use the money to make investments on our future," said Kulsum Sultana, another worker from Magura.
The 36-year-old RMG worker bought a pair of gold earrings with
her bonus. “My husband did not buy gold jewellery for me in the past four years of our marriage. So this year, I decided to buy a pair for myself and I can always sell it off in times of need."
RMG workers in the country lead a life of misery and hardships, toiling 12-14 hours a day on average. With no recreation or plans for the future, this segment of the society rarely dreams about improving their condition. If Ei J bonuses and salaries are property paid on time, workers get a chance to take a step into a better future.
sayeda@thedailystar.riet