Bangladesh
can truly be called today, the garment capital of the world.
Bangladesh exports $18 Billion worth of ready-to-wear garments to
developed world, which also works out to about 80% of the country’s
overseas exports. Every major brand in the western world like H&M,
WalMart, Gap, Next and Marks and Spencer today purchases garments
from this country. In the process, Bangladesh has become world’s
second largest exporter of ready to wear garments only after China.
With increasing labour costs, rising inflation and a strengthening
currency, China is fast losing its foothold as the world’s lowest
cost manufacturer of ready to wear garments and countries like
Indonesia and Bangladesh are the biggest winners. It would be no
wonder, that in few year’s time, Bangladesh takes over the top
position held by China today.
One
specialty of the Bangladesh garment industry is the garments made
from blue Denim cloth such as Jeans. Since 1990, a new type of denim
finish became very popular in western world denim users. It is called
distressed or already worn look. The new garments with this look,
appear as if they have been used for years. Such a finish is created
by actually sandblasting the denim garment with sand. This is done by
mixing fine sand with compressed air with the help of an air
compressor, with which suspended sand particles in air are blasted
on the garment by means of a hose fitted with a nozzle.
Behind
this rosy picture of increasing exports are the hidden long hours of
painful labour, low wages and unhygienic conditions, suffered by the
textile workers of Bangladesh. There are more than 4000 garment
factories in Bangladesh and many of these operate in dingy little
places with poor ventilation and lighting. The workers are paid poor
wages, yet they are forced to work because of the general poverty and
lack of jobs in general. Work shifts, as long as 11 hours at a
stretch and wages equivalent to US$ 70 a month are very common. The
situation in the factories making distressed jeans is even more
horrific. The air within the factory would be thick with silica
particles and each and every person working in the factory would keep
on breathing this air for long periods up to 11 hours.
The
immediate effect of this is watery and painful eyes and extreme
tiredness due to lack of fresh air. The long term effect is known as
Silicosis, where small silica particle get deposited in the lungs. It
causes shortness of breath, coughing, weakness and weight loss. If
affected person continues to work under such environment, it could
turn fatal for him. There is no known cure for Silicosis.
Many
of the garment factories are built illegally and safety
considerations are largely ignored. During last decade savaral major
disasters have struck Bangladesh garment industry, In April 2005,
Spectrum Sweater and Knitting Industries factory collapsed killing
scores of people. It was found out that the factory was built on a
swamp three years ago, and though immediate cause of the disaster was
found to be an explosion in a boiler, factory's poor construction
also was a contributory factor behind the collapse.
On
24th
November of 2012, a fire broke out at 'Tazreen Fashion factory' in
the Ashulia district on the outskirts of Dhaka. At least 117 people
were confirmed dead in the fire. The factory, opened just 3 years
back employed more than 1600 workers and supplied garments to many
western consumer chains including Walmart. It was found that its fire
worthiness certificate had expired in June, 2012 but was not
renewed. It was obvious that safety norms were not followed in the
factory.
This
week, or on 24th
April 2013, Rana Plaza building in Savar, some 30km (20 miles)
outside Dhaka, collapsed suddenly in the morning. Eyewitness
described the collapse like that of a pancake. There were some 2,000
people were inside the building. As reported on 25th
April 2013, as many as 187 bodies were recovered by rescuers. The
building was an eight-story building that housed mostly garment
factories and ninth floor was under construction at this time.
This
building is actually located very near the site of Spectrum Sweater
and Knitting Industries factory that had collapsed in 2005. According
to the home minister of Bangladesh Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir, it
appears that the building owner had illegally added three extra
stories to the building and had violated construction codes. The
owners have been reported to be gone in hiding.
It
should be obvious that behind the glowing facade of rising export
Dollars earned by Bangladesh garment manufacturers, something is very
wrong. There is a reality that is absolutely rotten. The workers are
being exploited and are being made to work in unsafe conditions and
buildings. There are very few chances for this system to improve
unless the western buyers insist upon buying goods from garment
factories, where child labour is not employed, work environment
adheres to safety standards and lastly the factory buildings
themselves are constructed according to the laws of the land. If they
do not do that, they would have to be considered equally responsible
for this sad state of affairs.
26
April 2013
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