Workers continuous protests against factory owners have triggered the Government wage board to set a minimum wage rate for different grades of workers.
This research highlights the power divisions between giant buyers and local manufacturers. The demand for quick shipment and the cheap rates offered by the buyers indeed enhance the rates of labour exploitation by the local manufacturers.
The principal purpose of this research is to showcase the achievements and drawbacks of the wage struggles of women RMG (ready-made garments) workers in Bangladesh.
This research was independently conducted and did not receive funding from outside of the university.
This research was independently conducted and did not receive funding from outside of the university.
This study shows how the so-called ‘timid’ factory workers express their choices and strengths in wage negotiation, how much change they have brought about, and what are their constraints for gaining more desirable outcomes.
Findings of this research convey that the workers have strongly been claiming a fair wage from the beginning of this industry. Over the decades, they have strengthened their leadership capacities by participating in ‘informal’ trade unions and extending networks among national and international labour rights advocates.
Their continuous protests against factory owners have triggered the Government wage board to set a minimum wage rate for different grades of workers.
Simultaneously, while demanding a fair wage, women have represented themselves as ‘peaceful’ protesters having primary concern about their ‘family’ survival. Therefore, a culture of inaction prevails, contributing to the workers’ inertia to collectively fight against the powerful actors.
As a result, the workers fail to achieve broader labour rights, and the global RMG industry benefits by exploiting cheap labour and suppressing workers’ voice and unionised actions.
The insights drawn from this study may assist in ensuring justice for the workers in the RMG sector, raising their productivity and quality of life.
Preliminary ideas for this research emerged from the personal interest that developed over the years, observing several protests of the RMG workers. For gaining an in-depth understanding of their problems, the research was designed following qualitative methodology.
We collected primary data through 20 in-depth interviews with the RMG workers employed in the industry during the field survey. Twelve women workers (six from large compliant and six from small non-compliant factories) were interviewed following the snowball sampling method. In addition, eight Key informant interviews (KII) were conducted.
For relevant secondary data, newspaper reports were reviewed through searching the online archives of three national daily newspapers: The Daily Star (published in English), Prothom Alo (published in Bangla), and The Dhaka Tribune (published in English). In addition, we reviewed scholarly articles, books, and reports on the garment manufacturing industry of Bangladesh.
However, it’s important to remember this was is small-scale exploratory research. The findings mirror the perspectives of a few workers and limited stakeholders. Further research is required to investigate the complex labour rights issue in the RMG industry, including the actors (e.g., global buyers) who operate behind the scene.
Dey, S., & Basak, P. (2017). Out of the shadows: Women and wage struggle in the RMG industry of Bangladesh. Asian Journal of Women’s Studies, 23(2), 163-182.