Let us be realistic about RMG

The present situation in the garment sector is that some of the owners are setting up new factories on a large scale. They do not care or do not have adequate knowledge about the terms and conditions on which factories should run in the global world.

A factory, ideally, should have skilled operators to run the show. They must ensure regular payment of salary, wages, bank loan installments, and must take care of other recurring expenses.

Due to paucity of skilled labourers, this fastest-growing industry is yet to strike a balance between the rate and the quality of production. On the other hand, the workforce saw a sharp raise in their salary which led them to believe that the owners are capable of giving them any amount of salary they demand.

The growth of factories, therefore, has got to be restricted. Otherwise, the factories will suffer in terms of quality production as well as experience untoward encounters with their workers.

The workers of the garment sector in Bangladesh are the most responsible class of workers. It is the responsibility of the owners and the government to guide them and help them to move in the right direction so that some interested or vested quarters do not exploit them.

During the tenure of Mr. Annisul Haque as the president of BGMEA, there was a sit-in demonstration by the owners of sick garment factories in front of BGMEA office. They had a lot of demands. But the fact of the matter was that they failed to run the factories and had to seek BGMEA's help. Because of the rules and regulations of the customs and the banking sector these efforts did not meet with much success.

Very often we see workers demonstrating at different factories demanding payment of their wages and overtime. In the recent past, on more than one occasion we saw such street demonstrations by workers. They are indicative of the failure of the garment factory owners as far as their commitment to their workers is concerned. But how can we expect the sick factories to pay their workforce extra wages and benefits?

Yes, there are a few factories who are doing very well and earning handsome profits. Since these factories are only few in number, a general increase in salary structure will push the other not-so-successful factories into a corner, ultimately making the list of sick factories even longer.

I think we may fix the minimum wage of Tk.1350 only for confirmed workers and introduce different grades in the salary structure. But the factory owners should not be forced to place the workers in an upper grade so they can draw more salaries, because then most of the factories will have to close down due to financial constraints. Since there will be only few factories surviving, the per capita salary is bound to come down. Meanwhile the closed factories will lose the capacity to reopen and workers will remain unemployed.

I mentioned in my last article in this newspaper that, the wages of the workers go up or down due to the natural economic reasons. For example, the highest salary as per the last recommendations of the Minimum Wages Board is Tk. 2,100 for an operator, but in my factory I pay Tk. 2,700 and the wage-structure is going up very fast for reasons already stated above. I pay because I am not getting adequate number of skilled operators to run my factory without paying that kind of wage. The position of many other factories is similar. This is a natural economic system.

Again, let us see the things from a different perspective. The worker is asking the minimum basic wage of Tk.3,000 per month, but the question is: for what kind of commitment towards production? You have got to specify it because factories usually pay you out of what you earn.

Say, you are asking for a minimum gross salary of Tk.4,000 which I will be glad to pay against production of 300 pc. of shirts per line per hour using 35 machines.

Yes, paying Tk.4,000 of minimum wage is as impossible as producing 300 pc. of garments per line per hour. Alternatively, I would like to ask the people who are supporting the workers' demand, to arrange for me shirts worth of US$16 per dozen and the workers producing 100 pieces on the same condition. Again, not possible.

The developed countries like South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong had to close down their garment factories due to increase in the per capita income of the people of those countries from alternative employments. The garment industry is not a sector where pay is very high . Moreover, we still produce mostly the low cost items from which we get the lowest rate of making charges. The productivity of the workers also is very low.

I would like to suggest that the concerned authority make a separate law governing the service of the employees of garment factories. The bond of responsibilities between the owners and employees should be respected, the health and safety conditions in the factories should be guaranteed in compliance with different Acts and Rules. A different body should be set up just to administer these things.

For example, workers usually do not give notice before leaving the job, but still the owners, for many reasons, have to pay them for all the days they had been present in the factory. The employers can also sack the worker instantly. Even if we legalize the system in practice in most of the factories, I do not think the workers have anything to lose since they get a better job the next hour. But if the owner has got to sack a worker following the existing law of the country, then workers too must follow the law. Obligation to the law must be bilateral.

This industry, which certainly is the backbone of the country, must be saved under any circumstances, and necessary measures must be taken by the appropriate authority to make the agitators stop asking minimum basic salary of Tk.3,000 per month. If the 98% of the general workers also start dreaming of a salary of that kind, it will be the end of this industry in Bangladesh, making two million direct workers and about another one million indirect workers unemployed overnight.

Considering the gravity of the situation the authorities must take immediate corrective action to rectify the situation before it goes out of control.

The writer is Managing Director of Niponika Garments Limited.