Its easy to propose trade union rights
A powerful lobby comprising foreign and local interest groups are powerfully pressurizing the government of Bangladesh to provide full fledged trade union rights to workers in the export-oriented readymade garments (RMG) industries. Government has already amended labour laws by giving in considerably to these pressures. The amendments, however, have failed to satisfy the demands of this lobby. But more concessions from the government in the near future is likely and this is the reason for worry.
Even the US ambassador in Dhaka was noted for advocating the giving of such trade union rights to workers in RMG industries. However, when a high ranking official of the Obama administration visited Dhaka sometime ago, she categorically stated that the US wants improvements of workers conditions and compensations received by them for their work but not at the cost of the industry.
This later part of her observation is significant because it is a recognition that offering trade union rights suddenly into this sector could lead it to worse troubles than what it is facing now. As it happened, workers widespread unruly activities in the recent past had shaken buyers confidence in our garments sector. Reportedly, many large scale buyers of our garments products either did not show up to place their annual procurement orders or showed less interest in the matter creating real fear among RMG industry owners about shrinking business opportunities when even at the end of last year optimism was expressed over Bangladeshs RMG sector to experience a further boom.
Notably, salaries and other benefits of RMG workers have been increased several times after tripartite consultations between workers, owners and the government. But the pacifying effects of the same on workers were short-lived. The sort of violent vandalism in which they engaged sometime ago in a considerable number of RMG industries to press for overnight declaration of pay hikes and acceptance of other demands were completely unmindful of the capacity of the owners to meet them.
Thus, the questions cannot but reasonably arise whether it is prudent at this juncture to open the flood-gate of trade unionism in this sector when it is already burdened so much by highly irresponsible workers behavior in many cases which could only turn worse or worst the moment the workers are strengthened by greater trade union rights.
It could be suicidal for the industry to grant them these rights till they have matured to the extent to realize that there must be a mutuality in the exercise of such rights and that both should play.
