Two major industrial accidents — the Rana Plaza collapse and the Tazreen Fashions fire —have brought about some notable changes in the country’s readymade garment (RMG) sector, particularly in areas of factory safety. Global concern, coupled with pressure coming from various quarters at home, has made this possible. The rate of wage in the industry, though still at one of the lowest levels among major apparel exporting countries, was also raised in 2013, notwithstanding its inconsequential effects, to a large extent, in terms of sustained as well as sustainable impact on improvement in the overall conditions of living for most of the RMG workers. However, there has been no eruption of any major trouble in the sector over timely payment of wages and overtime bills in the recent period as most owners now appear to be more attentive than before, to ensuring the payment of the same in due time. Yet workers of one or two factories are occasionally seen barricading roads or taking part in fast-unto-death programmes in support of demand for payment of their arrear wages and allowances. However, this has happened mostly in the case of apparel units facing closure for either exogenous or endogenous reasons. But troubles over non-payment of wages and festival allowances by a number of apparel units, particularly on the eve of two Eid festivals, do still occur in quite a good number of units in the country’s apparel sector. In this context, the possibility of the same recurring on the eve of the coming Eid cannot be ruled out at this stage. Two government agencies—the Dhaka Metropolitan Police and the ministry of commerce, according to a report published recently in this paper — have already handed over the lists of more than 350 apparel units to the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), while cautioning this trade body about the chances of troubles erupting there over payment of wages ahead of the festival. But the BGMEA, as the developments indicate, is not that much concerned over the issue on the ground that the number of problematic apparel units, according to it, would not be as high as the two government agencies have reported. The association has its own monitoring mechanism. It has also its plans to sit with the government to discuss the issue. But why the payment of wages and festival allowance to the workers on the eve of two most important religious festivals that are legally mandatory requirements on the part of the entrepreneurs to meet, should be made unnecessarily a subject of discussion, merits a critical review and serious examination by the owners of apparel units themselves. Timely payment of wages and other legal dues is no favour done to workers by the owners of apparel factories. So also is the case with mandatory festival allowances. One or two apparel units might be facing financial difficulties. But failure of many units to meet their financial obligations to their workforce is utterly unfair and gross violations of laws. The export performance by the country’s apparel sector during the outgoing fiscal year (FY) has been quite on track, if not spectacularly impressive, in the midst of fears of uncertainties of diverse sorts, at both global and domestic levels. So, there is hardly any reason for the owners to be so miserly towards the workers at their enterprises. Fairness demands that the RMG owners initiate, at their own, immediate steps for settling the genuine and rightful claims of their workers and employees. The environment concerning this key industrial sector of the country has largely been conducive in recent months. Timely steps by the owners/management at the enterprise-level, being encouraged or facilitated by the concerned trade body, would certainly be considered a heartening move at this stage for sustenance of such a conducive environment.
