When any local or international rights groups advocate for improving working condition in the ready-made garment industries, owners often find conspiracies behind the demand to destabilise Bangladesh’s garments sector. It is true that some people who are advocating might have hidden agendas but the majority are advocating for safe working condition mainly for a sustainable RMG industry. Many owners fail to understand that safe workplace is important for the owners themselves. Let’s consider the case of Tazreen fire. The factory owner had to serve some days in prison and his business is in a dire state. It will be difficult for him to revive his business soon. So eventually, along with the workers, the owners also have to suffer if the factory catches fire or meet with disasters. If Tazreen Fashion had good workplace safety, the owners could have earned crores of taka by producing garments over the last three years. The problem is, most of the owners want to make profit overnight. They lack foresightedness. This is not only the RMG problem but all other sectors in this country have the same problem. It might not be an exaggeration to say that Bangladeshis have serious “sustainability” problem. Most people here want success overnight. And after getting success in the primary stage, they become impatient and want to make profit faster. In this way, the country has lost potential in a number of industries in the near past. Jute sector is a good example. Overseas employment is yet another sector with immense potential. If the ready-made garments owners do not address the workplace issues, this sector will face greater challenges in the near future. Talking about sustainability, the wellbeing of workers should be the first thing for consideration. When workers know that their owners are concerned about their workplace problems, they will love their factories and this will certainly reflect in their works. They will try their best to protect their owners. Most importantly, safe workplace can certainly boost the productivity of any factory. When workers know that they are safe in their factories, they will feel comfortable in working there. And when workers will work with fun, productivity will certainly increase. It might seem that by ignoring the workplace safety issues, owners can save their money but actually this is not true. When owners are investing in their workers’ benefit, they are investing for the future. The workers will give their services for a long time if their problems are addressed. There are some very good owners and compliance factories in Bangladesh. But, some owners have the mindset to deprive their workers and make overnight profit. No one can deny that the RMG sector is an asset. It is the lifeline of the country’s economy. If this sector struggles, the whole economy will struggle. It is also true that this sector has huge potential to further grow. All stakeholders should be careful so that overnight profit making tendencies of some owners do not harm the whole sector. The overriding compulsion is to concentrate on the workplace safety as this is very important for sustainable productivity. After two big disasters, Rana Plaza collapse and Tazreen fire that killed more than 1,200 workers, the RMG sector is suffering from image crisis. No one should do anything to get the image tarnished further. The objective should be to build a sustainable RMG sector.
