Tens of thousands of garment workers have headed back to their factories in the Adamze Export Processing Zone, where machines are abuzz and the remnants of burned tires and vandalized vehicles have been cleared away from the busy adjacent highway.
It’s difficult to imagine that this area of Naryanganj district, around 20 kms outside Dhaka, was nothing short of a war zone on Sunday as workers clashed with police following rumors that two of their colleagues had been killed.
Protesters stormed a police post and vandalized six vehicles, five of which belonged to police. This was the worst rioting since June, when workers demanding a pay rise took to the streets and hundreds of factory owners closed their doors in protests that lasted more than a week.
The June riots, in turn, followed the killing in March of labor leader Aminul Islam, allegedly by intelligence agents.
Police responded to Sunday’s riot by firing rubber bullets and tear gas. About 50 people including police and journalists were injured.
“We had heard that our colleague Shahin was stabbed to death by muggers and that police did not take proper action. Later, we found he was not dead and we backtracked on the protest,” said Agun Rahman, a worker from the Epic Garments factory, where Sunday’s protests began.
Rahman said that factory workers endure long shifts from 10 to 16 hours a day, and are often targeted by muggers on their way home at night.
Shariful Islam, a factory worker from the Adamze zone where clothes for global brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Gap, Calvin Klein and H&M are manufactured, says life for workers is insecure.
“I’ve lost a mobile phone to muggers, and police didn’t take any steps. This time we came out and protested,” he said.
Industrial police official Mahbub Alam said workers should inform police of criminal complaints and should not take to the streets. He added that police would file cases against rioters.
“No one can take the law into their own hands,” he said. “We will prosecute thousands of laborers for blocking roads, attacking police and vandalizing vehicles.”
Thriving on the availability of cheap labor and increased foreign investment, Bangladesh has become the second largest exporter of clothing in the world – second only to China. Last year, it recorded about US$19 billion worth of exports.
The garment sector employs 5.5 million people, 60 percent of them women. Garment work is a socially acceptable form of employment for women in this conservative Muslim country.
Violence and protests are nothing new for the sector, whose workers earn a paltry US$37 a month.
Unrest is often ignited by stories of workers’ sufferings over low pay, unpaid wages, lack of adequate facilities, abusive work environments and sudden termination of employment.
On Friday several hundred workers formed a human chain outside the National Press Club in Dhaka to protest against unjust termination and the physical abuse of workers by factory owners.
Jubeda Khatun, 27, said she felt fortunate to earn 5,000 taka (US$61) a month, until she was fired without cause.
She said the factory owner fired her after a group of fellow workers staged a protest over their own termination. In total, 185 workers were fired without cause, she said.
Sagar Sheikh, another worker, says he lost his job after taking sick leave.
Other workers say that while the factory owners and the government earn billions of dollars annually, workers see few benefits as the cost of living increases and the government remains adamant against raising the minimum wage of $37 per month.
“We have no option except protest,” said worker Ashik Islam. “House rents have risen three times this year and price hikes have hit every daily essential. We struggle to maintain a family, let alone save for the future.”
Islam Hossain, managing director at Sharmin Fashion Ltd., says he ensures the rights of the workers according to government rules and that if any workers feel that these are inadequate, they should find careers in another profession.
Most workers have reportedly returned to their factories, though some have left the city to their villages to escape violent protests that saw tens of thousands of workers demonstrate for higher wages.
Protesters blocked streets, clashed with police and burned vehicles and shops last week, prompting a warning from the United States ambassador to the country that the US would curb its imports if the dispute was not resolved peacefully.
More than a hundred people, including police officers, were injured in the violence.
Workers have argued that the minimum wage, set at 3,000 taka (US$37) per month, was not sufficient to meet their daily needs, while factory owners said that any salary rise would affect their profitability.
Trade union leaders said a pay rise was urgent to keep pace with rampant inflation.
The garment and textile sectors employ about 5.5 million people and earn more than US$14 billion in annual revenues for outlets that include Tesco, Wal-Mart and Tommy Hilfiger.
Bangladesh’s garments and textile export market might collapse if the recent murder of a labor leader goes unsolved, the US ambassador told the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association (BGMEA) at a meeting yesterday.
“I believe the changing perception of Bangladesh among American RMG [ready-made garments] buyers potentially threatens the economic well-being of this country,” Dan Mozena said.
American companies buy more than a quarter of the country’s garment and textile exports, and labor leader Aminul Islam worked for a group that is affiliated with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. His death enraged trade unions around the world, driving some American lawmakers to lodge complaints with the US State Department.
Reported violations of labor rights and unrest send a negative message to organizations in the US and Europe, Mozena said.
The US$18 billion garment and textile sector is the highest-earning export from Bangladesh. Its 5.5 million workers make it the second-largest employer in the largely agricultural country.
But exports have seen a 7 percent decline from the last fiscal year, due largely to the economic recession in the US and Europe.
“There might be some impact over the murder of Aminul [Islam] and law-enforcing agencies can be questioned on why justice is not yet done,” said BGMEA leader Rafiqul Islam, after the meeting. “We can’t take the blame for it,” he said.
The factory owner said the ambassador’s statements were personal opinion.
“He alleged that workers are paid poorly,” Rafiqul Islam said. “We pay an entry-level worker gross 4,000 taka [US$49], and I admit it is not enough to cope with the rising cost of living. Meanwhile, a full-time worker is supposed to get 5,000 taka, but often through bargaining with owners they claim 9,000-10,000 taka.”
But a labor leader said today the concerns of the US ambassador are legitimate.
“We have fought for our lawful rights all these years and also recently demanded justice for the heinous murder of our colleague Aminul,” said Babul Akter, president of Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation.
“Factory owners often have a tendency of getting maximum service from workers by paying the minimum. When we protest we are vilified and tortured.”