The readymade garment (RMG) workers are facing severe harassments including anti-union tactics by the management at garment factories on a regular basis. The garment owners and authorities have been rejecting the applications for forming the union at the factories after the Rana Plaza tragedy. The rejection rate was 19 percent in 2013 and 31 percent in 2014. Now the alarming rate has jumped to 65 percent at the first quarter of this year. This has become a matter of concern for the RMG workers of our country at the moment. One of the international rights groups, Human Right Watch (HRW), shared this information at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU) on Wednesday about the garment workers living and anti-union tactics by employers including assaults on union organisers.Several efforts have been taken to make the factories of Bangladesh safer after the catastrophic Rana Plaza collapse. The fatal accident took place on April 24 in 2013 claiming over 1100 workers’ life, the New York-based rights organisation said.According to the HRW, The government and western retailers should come forward to enforce and maintain international labour standards to ensure workers’ rights including rights to form unions.Deputy Director of HRW Asia Phil Robertson said, “If Bangladesh wants to avoid further disasters like Rana Plaza it needs to enforce a standard labour law and ensure the rights of garment workers.””The RMG workers should enjoy the right to raise their voice against any injustice. Moreover, safety measures and friendly working conditions should be settled for the workers so that they can work without fear of retaliation or dismissal,” he added.”If Bangladesh government does not take any actions against the factory managers who attack workers and deny the right to form unions, then it will be an example of perpetuate practices which may cost the lives of many workers,” Robertson said.The spokespersons of HRW mentioned the cruelty of the garment authority to the workers. They criticized the managers’ role in recent major accidents in RMG sector. At Rana Plaza, factory managers compelled reluctant workers to enter the building despite major cracks in the complex’s walls. At the Tazreen Fashion’s factory, managers refused to let workers escape even after the fire alarms went off. Earlier on November 24 in 2012, a devastating fire broke out at Tazreen Fashion and killed at least 112 workers, they added.
Source: https://www.observerbd.com/2015/04/23/85115.php
