In Bangladesh, one of the world’s top clothing exporters, factories close and protests rage on as garment workers protest a “farcical” minimum wage increase.
On Tuesday, Bangladesh’s wage board countered garment workers’ demand for a $200 minimum monthly wage with an offer of $113 monthly. Even with this wage increase, workers cannot keep up with the rising food costs, rent, schooling, and healthcare costs. Up to 25,000 garment workers vandalized factories and protested in the streets in response.
In the industrial towns of Gazipur and Ashulia near the nation’s capital, Dhaka, over 100 factories closed to curb vandalism. The police responded with violence, using tear gas and batons to drive them into alleys. Three workers have been killed, including a 23-year-old woman who police shot dead, since the protest ensued. Police also arrested at least six Bangladesh Independent Garment Workers Federation (BIGWUF) union leaders, one of whom is top organizer Jewel Miya.
Protests began last weekend in Dhaka and Gazipar, with thousands of garment workers protesting an oppressive monthly minimum wage of 8,300 takas, or $75. Workers on strike looted dozens of factories, and several hundred others closed to prevent vandalism. On Monday, factories began to reopen and protests calmed down, but protests resumed on Wednesday after the board’s $113 offer. BIGWUF called the board’s pay raise “farcical.”
Kalpona Akter, President of BIGWUF, told AFP, “Many of the country’s bigger factories, who make clothing for almost all major Western brands and retailers,” temporarily shut down. According to Akter, these factories included those who make clothes for Gap, Walmart, H&M, Zara, and Primark.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina advised against the protests. She told the Dhaka crowd, “Garment workers should remember that if they damage factories, they may have to return to their villages and live without employment. We are aware of who incited these protests and acts of vandalism, and we know which individuals from B.N.P. are involved.”
Labor is the backbone of the ever-growing fast fashion industry, with Bangladesh being the second largest garment-producing country after China. The country is home to nearly 3,500 garment factories that employ about 4 million workers, mainly of which are women. Garment factories account for about 85% of Bangladesh’s $55 billion annual exports. Factory workers are responsible for over 11% of the country’s GDP and supply many of the world’s top fast fashion brands, but still face intolerable conditions.
Consumers often overlook that garment workers must hand make each piece of apparel as an integral piece of a lengthy supply chain. To increase profit, the fast fashion industry depends on low-cost labor outsourced from countries like Bangladesh.
Even as retailers claim in their reports that they commit to workers’ rights, transparency is still an issue, according to Professor Muhammad Azizul Islam at Aberdeen University. Major fast fashion brands pay Bangladeshi factories less than the cost of producing their clothes, meaning factory workers can hardly afford to pay their workers minimum wage.
“Brands and retailers only care about smooth shipments and profit. They don’t care about the well-being of workers at the bottom of the supply chain or that many are half-starving,” Akter told AFP. Those at the top of the supply chain thrive with disregard for the lives of the millions of garment workers who suffer under their domination.
An Oxfam 2019 report found that 0% of Bangladeshi garment workers earn a living wage. Most of these workers are women who find themselves trapped in a cruel cycle. They do not make enough money to save for alternative employment, and their daughters often start working in factories as young as 10 to supplement their mothers’ inadequate wages. The Oxfam report also found that the cycle exposes women to sexual abuse, as reporting the abuse comes with the risk of losing income. One in four female Bangladeshi garment workers interviewed by Oxfam admitted to experiencing some form of abuse.
The fast fashion industry continues to triumph over the lives of millions of people. Until the government appeals to the workers’ demands, protests are likely to persist. Organizations like the BIGWUF are relentless and sustain advocacy for the rights of these vital workers.
