Attack on garment factories

As a human rights activist and being involved with the workers' movement since mid 80s I have seen the snail-growth development in the lives and families of the huge number of garment workers. Very rare we see the politicians, government or lawmakers, civil society people expressing concerns about the hard life of the garment workers. Considering the high rise of the prices of the daily commodities and the unrest in every sector in Bangladesh for low salary, including the various government sectors, the garment workers have been too good up to now and too much patient. They are the ones that: (1)created a few thousand owners from millionaires to billionaires; (2) brought huge foreign currencies for the country and contributed to the national economy; (3) brought the country a good name and image for its economic growth when the owners and the government can claim that without this sector, the country would not be where it is now because after the country lost the jute products, the golden fibre of the country, RMG took the place of this lost image; (4) helped the owners to send their children for study outside the country; (5) created an opportunity to these owners to travel often outside the country. These owners have got their association (not as per the labour law of the country), but the workers were always prohibited to have their Union (which is their right as per the country law and also by ILO). Due to cheap labour the workers always accepted all the conditions that owners and their association imposed on them.

On the other hand, the lives of the workers became more miserable. There had been no or very little economic development in their families, their children did not get opportunity to go to good school or may be no school at all. Their houses remained as they were 20 years ago. Most of the garment workers' condition did not change at all. They still live in slums in Dhaka or Chittagong. Every month the prices of daily commodities and the house rent are going high when the workers' salaries are not increased at all. On the contrary the workers don't get their salary on due date (few factories are exceptional where the workers get their salaries on due time and get also the overtime salaries as per the law). How much facilities do these workers get after 10-12 hours of hard work?

These workers are so punctual and so hard working, so faithful to their work that when I compare them with the government employees or bureaucrats, I say, if they could be 50 per cent punctual, hard-working and faithful to their work, the image of our country could be much better and we could have much better development. The government employees and bureaucrats, at the end of the month get their salaries and during the month many of them get opportunities to earn much more than what they get as salary.

But do these huge number of more than 20 lakh garment workers have any extra income? They all have to depend on the salary they get from their owners. Is it human condition for the workers? Who think for them? Owners? Yes, owners think about a worker when she/he is not in the factory. The owners think to get work done on time and do not have any time to see whether the workers are sick or have any problem. In most factories the workers are treated badly. And when it is time to pay the salary to these workers who brought the owners huge money from each shipment, they forget the workers' interest and think of theirs' only. Is this human rights of the workers? Can the owners say that at the end of the month they ever thought about the real condition of the workers?

I feel sad when I think about the unbending minds of the onwers and their association (not all owners are so hard but as members of the association they have to follow the same code, I suppose).

If today the workers have revolted, they are not benefited at all. The owners and also the government should think seriously about the workers' real condition and be a bit compassionate to them.

Rosaline Costa is a human rights advocate.