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Readymade garment industries are playing an important role in our national economic life. Although Bangladesh is not developed in industry, it has been enriched in Garment industries in the recent past years. In the field of Industrialization, garment industry is a promising step. It has given the opportunity of employment to millions of unemployed, especially innumerable uneducated women of the country. It is making significant contribution in the field of our export income. Once upon a time the cloth of Bangladesh achieved worldwide fame. Muslin and Jamdani clothes of our country were used as the luxurious dress of the royal figures in Europe and other countries.
In the sixties when Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan, the domestic market for ready-to-wear garment began developing, particularly in the then West Pakistan. A number of small family firms produced basic shirts for domestic markets. At that time domestic market for RMG in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) was much smaller than what was in West Pakistan. The growth and development of RMG industry in Bangladesh have a distinctive feature. In most countries, particularly in the developed, including UK and other European countries, and USA, Canada, and Japan, not only textile but also apparel industry was developed in response to domestic demand. But in case of Bangladesh, domestic demand was too little to attract large scale investment. It was the external force, the urge of the high-wage countries to relocate production facilities in the low wage countries that created an environment congenial to the growth and development of RMG industry in Bangladesh. It was primarily due to the migratory nature of the RMG industry, moving from high-wage to low wage countries, that the industry saw its development in Bangladesh. The industry is highly globalizing (Siddiqi, 2003:63).
Now–a–days Readymade Garment (RMG) is the leading sector of Bangladesh in terms of employment, production and foreign exchange earnings. Readymade Garment (RMG) alone earned about 78% of the yearly foreign exchange earning of the country. About 3.5 million people are employed in the garment-manufacturing sector. The growth rate of RMG export was 20% over the last two decades.
Growth of the industry and Employment
Source: BGMEA, October 02, 2010
It is on record that in 1983-84, garment export was worth $31.57 million which was 3.89% of the total export of Bangladesh. Because of the coming forward of private sector banks; the garment industry started growing rapidly. In 1986-87 garments export was worth $298.67 million, which was 27.74% of the then total export; and in the past financial year 2009-10 garments export was worth $12.35 billion (in Bangladeshi currency Taka 864.50 billion) which is 79.33% of total export. In the financial year 2008-09 the GDP of Bangladesh was Taka 6149.43 billion of which the contribution of the garments industry was about 10%. According to a survey report of the Department of Textile the total investment in the textile and garments industry was about Taka 406.00 billion (Rahman, 1 August 2010:13).
Dhaka EPZ Investments and Export
Years / Investment (Million US$) / Export(Million US$)2001-02 / 32.01 / 466.76
2002-03 / 59.14 / 554.79
2003-04 / 49.36 / 667.60
2004-05 / 51.35 / 757.73
2005-06 / 61.57 / 918.30
2006-07 / 87.46 / 1033.03
2007-08 / 110.34 / 1146.50
2008-09 / 30.39 / 1190.36
2009-10 / 64.38 / 1216.49
Source: BEPZA, April, 2010
Bangladesh exports their RMG product in more than 20 countries such as USA, UK, Japan, Canada, Belgium, France and Middle-East etc. RMG are main sector in our economy. It creates a big opportunity of our women worker to involve themselves in economic activities. Approximately 160 million people are directly and indirectly related to the garment industry. About 90% women are involved in this sector.
The employment of women in industry has indubitably opened up new vistas of participation for women, shifting their erstwhile predominant concern with household and family. Wage employment in the industry has made them economically independent and their monetary contribution is a substantial addition to household earnings (Devi, 1998:9).
Bangladesh has experienced an extremely rapid growth in urban population. Much of the urban growth is due to migration of the rural poor to the urban areas and it is because of rural poor, the economic problem of mounting unemployment, imbalance capital structures, natural disaster and the hope of happy and luxury livelihood. So they can only asses to the lower class jobs which pay them small amount of salary. Due to small income they are deprived of civil amenities and take shelter in the slums and squatters and lead a misery life.
The employment of women has been given special emphasis due to the widespread poverty prevailing in the country. Moreover, principle has been adopted to integrate women in the main stream of economic development of the country. As a result both GO and NGO employed and engaged them in economic gainful activities. In urban areas a significant development has been growing entry of women in formal industries. The garment industry has provided employment of 69 percent of the women employed in this sector. But still their participation in labour force is far behind than that of men. Besides, they are employed in risky and low wage profession activity (Nahar, 2002).
The employment opportunities created by the RMG industry have saved many families from starvation. The industry employs mostly women/girls. The women/girls working in this industry are individually better off economically; they support their parents and other family members. The RMG industry has substantially contributed to the alleviation of poverty of the group concerned. The members of these families can now buy better food, better clothing, and better medical services and enjoy better life. Before such employment, these girls/women were below the internationally recognized poverty line. Now most of them are perhaps above that line. Participation in gainful employment has empowered some 1.2 million working girls/women economically. Since these working girls are now financially somewhat empowered, they support their families financially; some of them even send their little brothers and sisters to schools. By spending their small income, they create demand for other products that creates multiplier effects on employment and income (Siddiqi, 2003:64)
The garment industry in Bangladesh, as elsewhere, is predominately made up of young women working in the lower tier of employment as helpers and operators. A smaller percentage of workers are males, typically supervisors and quality controllers. Estimates for Bangladesh suggest that between 85% (Kabeer, 1991) and 90% (Rhee, 1990) of the garment industry is comprised of women. The relatively young age structure of the garment industry workforce is also found in this study, where 78% of workers were 24 years old and under. This is further illustrated by the fact that a third of all women entered garment work prior to age 14, while only a quarter entered past age 18. However, despite the perception that garment industry predominantly relies on the very young for its labour force, only a small percentage of garment workers in this study (3%) are below age 14 and nearly two thirds are age 18 above (Majumder,2000:5).
The female workers in the garment sector represent the first wave of mass integration of unskilled women into the formal labour force in Bangladesh. In 2000-2001, 1.8 million workers 90% of them women were employed in 3,480 garment factories. The hard labour of the millions of female workers has also contributed to the foreign earnings and accumulation of wealth in the country. However, the working conditions of the garment workers are one of the worst (Mahtab, 2003:32).
The export oriented garment industry has seemed to create a labour market for women encouraging them to come out from their house, to come out of the evils of poverty. The most remarkable success of the garment industry is the revolutionary change it has brought in the lives of thousands of poor women across the country. Women whose only source of earning was confined to the drudgery of being a domestic help, suddenly found a new way of earning and becoming independent (Mahtab, 2003:33).
In traditionally conservative particular societies like Bangladesh, women have always been neglected in planning policies since their role was decided to be the home only. Although the garment industry has given an economic identity to numerous female workers, but the wage of the female workers is low compared to their male workers. They have to work under fear of being sexually abused by the supervisor. On the other hand they suffer from both physical and psychological stress, tension, anxiety and mental agony (Mahtab, 2003:22).
In July 24, 2010 the garment worker Beauty Akhter, 19, of Vertex Garment Ltd was found dead on the road in front of the eight story factory building at Kalwala para. A number of protesting workers alleged Jharna Begum, line in charge of the factory, was one of the five employees who killed Beauty following a quarrel between Jharna and the girl (The Daily Star, 2010:1).
The present Govt. of Bangladesh said garment factory owners don’t want to give wages to workers as per their requirements but her government is mediating to ensure minimum wage for the workers. The Govt. said the wages the owners of the readymade garment units pay their workers are not only “insufficient” but also “inhumane” and It is simply impossible for them even to live from hand to mouth in the capital with the wages they are given (The Daily Star, 2010:1).
Before mid 2010 the wage structure of the workers was not sufficient for their livelihood. At the same time they usually used to be deprived from their actual salary. Moreover their jobs were of temporary nature as because no appointment letter was given to them. Under this circumstance they used to make demands. As a result of this in 2010 there was a serious outburst of the workers for the increase of salary and settlement of their uncertain employment situation. This gave rise to industrial riot. Responding to this episode when the law enforces agencies responded to this riot some casualties of the workers side occurred.
Under this circumstance the government of the Bangladesh took the responsibility of mediating between the employers and the workers.
The PM of the country also said, “The owners earn a lot of money through this business. Therefore they should pay a portion of the profits to the poor workers so that they could maintain their families (The Daily Star, 2010:1).
According to the settlement of the new wage scale the minimum wage at the entry level has been fixed TK. 3000 from the Previous scale TK. 1662.
But unfortunately galloping rise of essential commodities of livelihood mostly cancelled the benefits. That might have been obtained due to this salary rise.
Year Wise Wage Structure
years / Wage (per month)TK.1969 / 125
1973-74 / 155
1994 / 930
2006 / 1662
2010 / 3000
Source: Selim, July 22, 2010
In our country women act as key factors in economic system but our planning as we see so far failed to recognize and integrate women’s contribution on the development process. So their vital need for a new approach to development programs that will create avenues for systematically integrating women in all aspects of economic activity. Women represent half of our population, but existing statistics show that women are still lying at the bottom of the ladder in terms of income, status and particularly in employment.
This study aims at finding on the impact of the living condition of the workers due to significant gap between salary rise, job conditions on one hand and increase of the price of the commodity on the other hand.
1.2Rationale of the study
“Labour is not a commodity but most of the valuable instrument for production” (punckar, 1978:63)
In the globalized world economic, women are playing roles in international, national, local, and household economics, but compared to men they still have a disadvantaged economic position. Women are in the more vulnerable position in the present economic position. They face gender discrimination and unequal rights in the family, religious, and economic life. Since the 1970’s the most notable feature of economic development in many Asian counties has been the employment of young women have in the industrial sector. (Dannecker, 2002).In Bangladesh, women have recently been linked to the global economy. (Mahtab, 2003:19)
At present, large number of women is working in the industrial sector of garment. In Bangladesh, the garment factories alone absorb 3million workers of which 90% are women constituting 70% of the total employment in the manufacturing sector. The garments sector in Bangladesh has provided women with access to wage employment and thus helped to create a new group of industrial workers in the country.
In our country, women are engaged themselves in the sector because of extreme poverty, male unemployment and crisis of the livelihoods. As a result the number of women worker entry into to enhance the economic situation of their family. The pay of the woman was expended: food, rent and the repayment of pressing loans incurred by the household. Many of the women indicated that their money would be spent to educate family members, or to set them up in business, send them abroad, or get them married.
In analyzing the statistics it is seen that the number of working women was 0.8 million in the pre-liberation period which is at present 2.4 million. Due to poor academic qualification and low skill most of them are employed in lower quality jobs, which compel them to be slum dwellers. All most all the women worker, living in the slum areas, is the victims of various obstacles to their working sectors. Their working places are not so problems less like the male. Women worker are the victims of discrimination on all work of their lives. Less wage, insecurity prolonged working hours and harassment is the supreme deterrence in their working place.
As a result the worker sometimes comes forward to the street demanding minimum wage, security and other amenities of lives. In 2010, many unrest situations have taken place in the RMG sector because of low level wage. The wages the owners of the RMG pay their workers are not only insufficient but also inhuman. On the other hand the price of life expenditure is increased day by day. So in this wage worker cannot manage their livelihood. An example is given below;
Garment worker parvin said “we were forced to take the street as the owners exploited us right under the government’s nose. I have to spend TK, 1000 for food and TK, 1500 for house rent. How will I maintain other things with this wage?”
“Moreover, the factory owners want to deprive us of the increased Eid bonus by trying to implement the wage structure from November she added.” (The Daily Star, 2010:15)
In July28, 2010 the government announced a new pay scale for the garment sector. According to the New Wage Structure, the minimum wage at the entry level has been fixed at TK, 3000, up from the present TK, 1662.
This study attempts to know the socio-economic condition of the women worker such as their family structure, condition of living place, environment of working place and security system, what kinds of problem they are facing working place and how they can manage their daily life expenditure in new pay scale etc. Because women worker are play important role in our national income. So we should know their socio-economic condition in the present situation.
Women worker in the garment sector in Dhaka city are the integral segment of our total labour force and they are contributing much in our national income. So keeping them out of consideration it is not possible for the whole country o be developed. It is expected that the present study will contribute a lot to find out the real condition of the women worker after announced the new labour law in the garment sector and to adopt programmers necessary for the welfare of them. In fine this research findings can play a significant role later on to perform any of such kind of operation.
1.3 Objectives of the study
The main objective: This study attempts to identify the impact of government policy on changing socio-economic condition of the women worker in the readymade garments industry in Dhaka city.
General objectives
1.To know the demographic condition of the women worker in the RMG
2.To know the nature of the work , working hours and salary level
3.To assess the problem they are facing in their working place
4.To know the impact of new wage structure in the RMG worker
5.To know about the safety arrangement and other facilities of given to the RMG industries.
1.4 Definition of key concepts used in the study
The study involves some key concepts as every social research does. It includes readymade garments industry, women worker, and socio-economic condition. These key concepts have been explained below:
Readymade garments industry: In this study readymade garment mean those garments directly export their product in foreign countries.