THE RMG sector is our second largest foreign exchange earner. Virtually with no past experience our private sector has been able to prove its dynamism by becoming the fourth largest supplier of readymade garments in the world, even though Bangladesh is heavily dependent on imported fabrics and yarn from other countries. The success it has gained is mainly due to its competitive price, which is due to low wages of garment workers.

The RMG industry started without any direct assistance from the government. It was the brainchild of late Mr. Nurul Quader, a freedom fighter and retired civil servant. Now, RMG has become the number one export item. In fact, due to remittances from our workers abroad and our export earnings we have so far been able to survive the global economic meltdown. Our government is hopeful of economic

growth of 6% this year. Indeed, commendable for a developing country like Bangladesh.

It is unfortunate that though the RMG sector is a key factor in our economic growth and the largest employment sector, successive governments have not been able to contain intermittent labour unrest satisfactorily. It is not clear as to why they failed to handle the problems efficiently and why they did not probe deeper in to the problems when they were fully aware of the importance of RMG sector in our economy.

By arresting some labour leaders, by resorting to police action or seeking advice from BGMEA, or mildly reprimanding the concerned factory owners for their lapses (deliberate or otherwise) we may not be able to find an acceptable solution. The government may have to take more interest in solving the demand for a minimum wage ofTk.5,000 per month.

With the present rate of growth it may not take too long for Bangladesh to become

the 3rd largest readymade garment exporter in the world. We are already receiving big demands from many countries, particularly Japan - one of the largest markets in the world. Apart from this, foreign buyers consider Bangladesh as an attractive destination for global outsourcing because it is capable of manufacturing quality items at a cheaper cost.

Two major problems of RMG lie in productivity and worker turnover, along with workers' unrest. Most workers are migrants from the villages. They live on meagre rations, and paying high rents for living in miserable conditions. An increase in minimum wages a couple years back could bring very little change for the garment workers. Thus, the solution cannot be purely financial.

If the factories are located in rural areas workers can live in their own homes, in their own villages, traveling to the factory daily and spending their day off each week with their families. This would be a much better situation for the workers, with low living costs and increased income to share with their families.

Furthermore, this would help improve the rural economy. It would increase productivity, worker satisfaction and benefits for owners. Such a situation will certainly help in ending the violent unrests that we have seen recently.

There are a couple of barriers to implementing the above. They are:

• Investment, and

• The presumption that factory owners would not want to relocate due to lack of proper schools and other services. In these cases the government may act as a facilitator.

As a poverty reduction strategy RMG may speed up economic growth in Bangladesh. By employing one person in a rural setting we may extend benefits to two or three persons. The problems and solutions to RMG labour unrest are not financial only. We need to look more at key issues and potential solution within the sector.

Labour unrest cannot be reduced only through warnings or police action. The government must not ignore violation of rules and procedures by factory owners. Sudden closure and withholding of pay and other dues of workers are violations of industrial regulations. The government and the BGMEA must pressurise owners to clear all dues before a factory is closed. To involve the concerned parliamentary committee in such matters may be a good idea. Bureaucratic handling of such sensitive matter cannot bring an acceptable solution.

AB.MS. Zahuns a former Joint Secretary