Readymade garment (RMG) manufacturers of the country are failing to ensure the rights of their workers, including proper pay and health, as foreign buyers are paying lower prices to Bangladeshi exporters than global competitors.
Industry leaders, lawmakers and foreign envoys made the remarks while speaking at a dissemination event titled “Nutrition of Working Women: Improving the health and nutrition of readymade garment workers in Bangladesh”, held at a hotel in the capital.
Speakers on the occasion said due to the low prices of RMG products, a big number of female workers in the sector are facing severe nutrition crises and anaemia.
If the foreign brands can ensure fair prices, the country’s manufacturers will be able to pay more to the workers, which will subsequently help to improve their lifestyle.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and Nutrition International jointly organised the programme while Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, vice president of BKMEA moderated the event.
Addressing the programme as chief guest, Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury said, “As the largest economic sector, RMG is the government’s top priority. Research showed that a big portion of women in the sector are suffering from anaemia and other health hazards, which have severely impacted their personal lives and productivity”.
“Thanks to the nutrition project, the anaemia rate has been reduced. I suggest to the initiators to spread the area of the project once phase two starts.”
Commerce secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh said workers are the key resource of RMG manufacturing supply chains, and the brands and consumers are getting benefits of that while the workers remain underprivileged”.
“Due to their excessive profit mentality, workers are deprived,” he added.
The commerce secretary said, “Due to the low price of clothes, factory owners failed to ensure workers’ facilities. When the manufacturers ask for fair prices, brands claim competitiveness of the international market.
“They have to ensure fair prices,” he demanded.
Bernd Spanier, chargé d’affaires, EU Delegation to Bangladesh said, “Workers are the lifeline of the RMG industry. Of the total 40 lakh employees working here, 60 per cent are women and aged between 20 and 25 years.
“Most of the RMG workers are suffering from malnutrition. We believe that good health should be the first priority and the EU wants to see Bangladesh’s RMG workers with good health.”
BKMEA former President and Plummy Fashion Managing Director Fazlul Haque said, “Under the nutrition project, there is a dark side too. Many factory owners are telling stories of exporting millions of USD annually of apparel goods. So why should Nutrition International fund projects here?”
“There is no necessity of foreign funds from those brands for workers. If the brands ensure fair prices, manufacturers will be able to ensure workers’ health and facilities.”
The Canada-based organisation Nutrition International’s President and Chief Executive Officer Joel Spicer said when workers are healthy, absence rates will automatically decline.
“We have provided nutrition tablets to the many knitwear factories’ workers so that their absence rate has been reduced. We are ready to support them in the second phase too.”
As the chair of the programme, BKMEA Executive President Mohammad Hatem urged the government and foreign aid providers to keep support for the betterment of the RMG workers.
