SPEAKING
FREELY Textile workers' rage rocks
Bangladesh By Farid Bakht
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DHAKA - The fearsome
black-clad, bandanna-wearing soldiers of the Rapid
Action Battalion were out on the streets of
industrial towns near the Bangladeshi capital
lobbing tear gas and struggling to bring a rapidly
escalating situation under control. They joined
the police in trying to quell this week's
industrial unrest, now being called the most
serious in the history of Bangladesh.
Major highways were blocked, scores of
factories torched, and hundreds vandalized. Dozens
of cars were set on fire, including
one in
Dhaka's wealthy diplomatic zone of Gulshan.
Initial losses have been estimated at US$77
million, and this figure could easily double if
many factories are not reopened soon and therefore
miss their deadlines for time-sensitive orders.
The human toll is worse. Apart from at
least one death and many injuries in the riots,
the future of thousands of families remains in
doubt. Several hundred factories have suffered
extensive damage and many have temporarily closed
their doors.
The stakes for the
Bangladeshi economy could hardly be higher:
ready-made garments are the No 1 industry in the
country, accounting for 75% of its exports. More
than 4,000 factories employ 1.2 million workers.
The sector is irreplaceable.
As
Bangladesh's public sector was emasculated over
the past two decades, the slack was taken up by
small private outfits engaged in small-scale
textile production. Such units provide a $6.4
billion export lifeline. Even taking into account
the associated import bill, the net
foreign-exchange impact comes close to $2.6
billion annually. This dwarfs any other sector.
Moreover, the banking, insurance, shipping and
urban-property sectors have all piggybacked on the
entrepreneurship of the small-time owners, some of
whom have expanded into Western markets and become
millionaires. Whenever the country is slammed for
its high level of corruption and squabbling - even
criminal - politicians, the garment industry is
held up as a success story.
The rag
trade's dark side But it does not take much
effort to discover that there are deep-seated
problems in the industry that have been brushed
aside for too long. In April 2005, an entire
building, housing hundreds of mainly female
workers in the outskirts of Dhaka, collapsed.
Sixty-four laborers, at work on their machines,
were crushed to death, and 84 injured. With
unremitting regularity, factories become death
traps where workers are locked in and unable to
escape fires, or find that fire escapes are
non-existent or inadequate.
Incidents like
these have had a kind of drip-drip effect on
worker morale, and it is not as if there has been
no warning of the rising anger. International
labor leaders visiting the country left
businessmen and politicians in no doubt about the
consequences of inaction. Neil Kearney, general
secretary of the International Textile, Garment
and Leather Workers' Federation, explained that if
meaningful steps were not taken to make factories
secure, big foreign buyers would eventually shift
their orders elsewhere.
The businessmen
combine together to clamor for support and
benefits, while not acknowledging the gross
unfairness of a system where workers in numerous
factories are regularly paid two months late.
Overtime is imposed and in some cases not
rewarded. The real wage has plummeted in an era of
rising prices for essential items, such as rice
and other basic foodstuffs. Workers pay dearly for
rent and electricity in the mushrooming slums. By
and large, they are still grateful for the chance
to earn a living and prefer to be an industrial
worker rather than a domestic maid; their demands
have never been unreasonable. But ostentatious
consumption by the business elite can be seen
everywhere as luxury cars drive to shopping
centers and restaurants.
Meanwhile, a
group of 100 factory owners marched to the prime
minister's office to demand action. Unfortunately,
she was otherwise occupied and declined to meet
them. At a press conference, the acting president
of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and
Exporters Association, a Mr Murshedi, went on the
offensive: "A neighboring country wants to grab
Bangladesh's share in the competitive
international market by creating an unstable
situation at factories here."
Now,
"neighboring country" was a curious choice of
words. Did the statement perhaps refer to Myanmar,
Bangladesh's neighbor to the east? Of course not:
the president was referring to India, but so great
is the fear of offending the so-called rising
superpower that even when it is accused of the
worst crimes, it cannot be named. When a reporter
boldly asked whether the real issue might not be
wages and working conditions, an imperious reply
came back that the workers are "well paid" (at
princely wages of $20 a month) and that
"outsiders" were responsible. Other well-known
business magnates are calling for an investigation
by the intelligence agencies. Even
non-governmental organizations are under
suspicion.
Such is the atmosphere of
unreality in which the political and business
classes exist in Bangladesh. The issue is a
question of weak leadership in the garments
industry, which has gone easy on violators of
labor standards and soft-pedaled moves to clean up
the sector. For years, a sizable minority have
been flouting basic rules, even though there were
admittedly many others who provided a fair working
environment and paid their employees on time (in
the context of a competitive and cutthroat
industry). While it is unlikely that the industry
will fold any time soon, the writing is on the
wall.
After the end of the Multi-Fiber
Agreement at the beginning of 2005 and the
changeover to the new World Trade Organization
regime, it was widely anticipated that
Bangladesh's booming textile industry would fold.
The conventional wisdom had it that Bangladesh was
dependent on MFA quotas and that India and China
would dominate the new, post-WTO landscape.
In fact, this did not happen; instead, the
industry continued to surge, posting 20% annual
growth rates this year alone. This led to a great
deal of self-congratulation in Bangladesh that now
appears sadly premature. The reality is that the
rosy numbers owed a great deal more to China's
hands being tied by Western protectionism than to
ingenuity in Dhaka or Chittagong. The Chinese
cannot be held back after 2008, which means
vulnerable countries such as Bangladesh and
Cambodia have to prepare for a ferocious
challenge.
Chaos compounded by
political instability Political uncertainty
is compounding matters. Bangladesh is facing
months of crisis as the current regime hands over
power in October, before going to the polls in
January. Electricity blackouts are running at
record levels. Ordinary protesters have been shot
dead, their only demand a regular supply of
electricity. Diesel prices are rising. Gasoline
pumps are struggling to cope with demand.
Inflation is hitting people hard and the two major
political parties engage in tiresome tirades about
how to conduct elections. The signs are not good.
Looking back a few years, garment
factories came close to collapse during
unremitting political clashes and shutdowns, after
a farcical election in February 1996. The
then-Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government
lost the subsequent elections that year, letting
the Awami League into power.
Ten years on,
a more grassroots and localized opposition
demanding basic services is shaking the tree. The
BNP regime today is reeling. The political
opposition of the Awami League does not look as if
it is orchestrating the campaign. It is not in
command - not yet anyway - and it is running out
of time. The consequences of street violence are
therefore becoming more unpredictable by the day.
Farid Bakht is a columnist and
entrepreneur, based in Dhaka and London. He can be
reached at faridbakht@yahoo.com.
(Copyright 2006 Farid Bakht. Used by
permission.)
Speaking Freely is an
Asia Times Online feature that allows guest
writers to have their say. Please click hereif you are interested in
contributing.
