More than 25000 textile workers defied a ban on protests in emergency-ruled Bangladesh to demand back pay and bonuses in one of the country’s biggest industrial zones. The workers walked off the job in Tejgoan industrial area in capital Dhaka and held protests in the streets, forcing the shutdown of most factories in the area. Police used batons to break up the protests and arrested dozens of workers. 50 workers got injuries from police beatings. The authorities also used the notorious Rapid Action Battalion and army personnel to crush the demonstration. After the police action, the angry workers smashed the windows and gates of nearly 16 garment factories in the area. The workers than went on to one day strike but later put it off after negotiations with authorities.
Slave wages and conditions
The anger is mounting up again in the textile workers, which are facing very low wages and horrific working conditions. While garment exporters are earning billions of dollars every year but workers are getting slave wages. Bangladesh earned $ 9 billion last year from garment exports, which is 75% of country’s total exports. The garment exports are booming and big business is making fortunes out of that, but majority of textile and garment workers are living below the poverty line. Some are even living in absolute poverty with out having basic necessities of life. The average wage of these workers is around 1500 tikkas(16$) per month. There are no proper housing, health and education facilities in the industrial areas. More than half of garment workers are women and there is famous say among these female workers “if you are lucky, you will be a prostitute, but if you are unlucky, you will be a textile worker”. The women workers are not only facing super exploitation, horrific conditions, poverty and low wages but also suffering from sexual harassment. These workers work from 12 to 14 hours a day but still they cannot meat their every day needs.
These conditions and low wages forced the workers to come out on the streets last year. Thousands of workers were involved in strikes and violent protests in which 8 workers were killed. The angry and desperate workers torched 16 factories and vandalized hundreds throughout the country. These demonstrations and strikes were called off when government and employers announced to fix minimum monthly wage of 25$.
Promise not kept
The workers waited almost one year for the implementation of the agreement that was reached between the government, employers and unions. But employers were not interested to implement the agreement. The trade unions issued several warnings to the government and employers for the implementation of the agreement. But union leadership was reluctant to call for protest and strike action because the military-backed government has banned all kinds of protests and rallies under the emergency laws. The government said to the unions that it will not tolerate any unrest in the garment sector. But workers lost the patience and decided to show their anger to the employers and government. According to the Garment Workers unity Forum “We have conducted surveys in the country’s main industrial zones and found that only 20% of the country’s some 4000 factories have implemented the minimum wage”. The unions are saying that the situation is very tense and is deteriorating every day. The recent increases in food and commodity prices have even made the minimum wage meaningless. One leader Mishu, who led the last year’s protests and strikes, said “we no longer can keep the workers calm. The factory owners are inviting trouble which will hurt them badly. The government is not taking the situation seriously. The anger is like volcano which can erupt any time”.
It was the biggest protest since imposition of emergency rule. According to the Dhaka police commissioner “the matter is not over yet, the tension is mounting and we expect more protests and violence in coming days if the demands of the workers are not met. I have told the authorities that repression will not stop the demonstrations once started to take place. This demonstration was a warning and serious one, this movement is building again. Employers should accept and implement the demands if they want to avoid the unwanted situation”.
The textile workers are on the move again and they are the most militant and important section of the working class. Their successful struggle will encourage the other sections to start their struggle. The radicalization in the textile workers will affect the other sections of working class. They have shown again and again in last few years that they want to fight against the horrific conditions and want to improve their living conditions. But some trade union leaders are not willing to conduct the struggle. They have betrayed many courageous struggles of the workers. Bangladeshi textile workers need fighting leadership with democratic unions. The unions and leadership should be independent and free from the influence of any capitalist or pro-capitalist party. Trade unions must organize a general strike to force the government and employers to implement the agreement. All the sections of working class should be involved in this strike.
By Rukhsana Manzoor