Garment manufacturers are resorting to trimming staffs to cut cost to pay for upgrading the industry. Around 10,000 jobs are reportedly lost already. According to the World Bank (WB) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) around 10 thousand workers from different levels have lost their jobs. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) sources admitted to the job cuts, saying that WB and ILO’s figure is not totally correct. Around 4-5 thousand workers, including mid-level executives, have lost jobs for automation of the RMG factories and other reasons. Factory owners have invested huge sums in automation-partly under compulsion amid campaigns by western buyers’ lobbies for remediation of factories following some workplace tragedies and partly for building up eco-friendly modern industries. It weighed down on their capability and thus stifled new employment generation in the USD30 billion apparel sector. Since its journey in 1978, the labour-intensive industry that turns out to be Bangladesh’s single- biggest export earner, now employs about 4.4 million workers, mostly women from poor rural stocks. World Bank President Jim Young Kim in a recent statement warned that about two-thirds of jobs in the developing world may be lost thanks to automation of the RMG factories. Similar concern has also been expressed by the ILO, stating that clothing and footwear sectors are at the highest risk of job loss due to automation that replaces man with machine. But both the UN agencies have maintained that job cut is not an ideal solution to reduce the cost which rises due to adopting new technologies, implementation of new wage structure, which came into effect from December last. But job-cut policy is not good for the industry as it drives away skilled and potential mid-level managers as well as workers from the sector. Increasing productivity would be one of the major ideal solutions to the problems arising from cost escalation. An employer has to increase productivity first and then have to think of reducing other operational costs beyond the employees’ wages. To increase the productivity human-resource development should get the top priority. The WB- ILO duo urged the RMG owners to invest in human- resource development for more value addition and expansion of production bases. “In Bangladesh context, the education level of apparel workers is very low, while there is a lack of graduates in relevant fields. These are barriers to making them capable of new technology,” said Mohammad Hasan, Executive Director of Babylon Group. There is lack of proper training in making the manpower capable of adapting to new technology. As such, if the proper training is ensured, there would be no risk of losing jobs, he added. Reports have it that many foreign managerial and technical hands are hired by the industry owners instead of rearing competent local workmen from among myriad young people left jobless. Huge sums of foreign exchange reportedly go out of the country. Additionally, it is suggested that the apparel- makers should increase negotiation skill in getting a better price from the global buyers and retailers, while makers should also think about product diversification to face the current challenges. Currently, unit prices of different apparel products run within the range of USD3-4, which could be higher if the owners developed their negotiating skills. Also is there a suggestion that the government has to play a pivotal role in providing training which can help in making the mid-level managers and staff more capable in catering the present-day needs and tastes on the world market.
