Prof Sobhan slams foreign RMG buyers

Eminent economist Prof. Rehman Sobhan yesterday said that foreign buyers of readymade garments (RMG) were engaging in unethical business using the RMG products made by Bangladeshi workers. After the Rana Plaza tragedy four years ago, the foreign buyers have advised the Bangladeshi garment factory owners to improve their functioning, but at the same time have refused to buy the products at higher prices, observed Prof. Sobhan. “The international community is somehow getting away scot-free. They have put in a few hundred million dollars. They have put in place Alliances and Accord. But none of them have applied their minds on how
to solve the actual problem,” he said.
Prof. Sobhan was speaking at a seminar on ‘Catalyzing Social Dialogue in Bangladesh: RMG Sector’, jointly organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a think-tank, and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) at Gardenia Hall in Gulshan area of the capital.
Prof. Sobhan said the entire RMG business is being operated in a deeply unjust global value chain, where the USD 5 shirt bought from Bangladesh will be marketed at Walmart for USD 25.
“We are concerned about USD 5, but we don’t actually ask where does that USD 20 go? Is this the natural working of the market mechanism or is this a manifestation of the unjust global order of unequal relationships?” he asked.
Prof. Sobhan said the Rana Plaza tragedy would never have happened if the workers were under the institutionalised protection of the union, through which they could have collectively resisted the foreman who insisted that the workers continue to work even though a crack had been spotted on the walls of the building.
“Unless the right to form individual unions in individual enterprises is given, the core issue of the problem will not be addressed,” he said, adding that the unequal relationship between the entrepreneurs and workers was the main evil in the RMG industry.
He said the right to form some sort of union will address the problem because it would ensure that the bargaining power of the workers is equitable in the relationship. “You have to make workers the fundamental stakeholders of the enterprises where they work.”
Prof. Sobhan said one of the main factors in the Rana Plaza tragedy was the weakness in the whole governance system. The weak administration and accountability mechanism in the system enabled the tragedy, he added.
He said he has not noticed any discussion in Parliament about the progress in this matter and the accountability set up after the Rana Plaza incident.
“Unless the top political power in the land and the relevant constitutional bodies have discerned which issue is of national and global importance and which is not, it will be difficult to create a collective consciousness.”
Earlier, presenting the keynote paper at the dialogue, CPD research director Dr Khondoker Golam Moazzem said that most of the Rana Plaza victims have received financial support, but this was not adequate. A good number of these injured workers is still unemployed.
The injured workers have to spend on an average around Tk. 40,000 per year on their medical treatment, but the amount that they have received from the Rana Plaza Injured Workers Fund is very insignificant, he said.
“The aid extended to the injured victims should be more institutionalised. We think that long-term support is still needed for these injured workers, especially for those who are living outside the cities. The government should also expedite the process to set up a universal insurance scheme,” he said.
He also said that Accord and Alliance have severed ties with 195 factories as they did not log considerable progress. “I request the authorities to examine whether those factories are still in operation or not, and which buyers are working with those enterprises.”
“It is also important to find out the main reasons behind the non-compliance of these factories,” he added.
Citing their research, Dr Moazzem said after the Rana Plaza incident, they learnt that over 1,000 factories formed safety committees; later, however, it was discovered that a large percentage of these committees was not functional. “It is important to make these committees functional,” he observed.
Apart from the factories inspected by Accord, Alliance and National Initiative, there are around 1,000 RMG factories that are very small in size and not under any initiatives. These are also not members of any association. “So, what would happen to those factories is an important follow-up question to look into,” he said.
Mikail Shipar, secretary of the ministry of labour and employment, Mahmud Hasan Khan, vice-president of BGMEA, Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, distinguished fellow of the CPD, Amirul Haque Amin, president of the National Garments Workers Federation (NGWF) and Chowdhury Ashiqul Alam, secretary-general of the Bangladesh Trade Union Shangha (BTUS) were also present on the occasion.

 

Prof Sobhan slams foreign RMG buyers

Eminent economist Prof. Rehman Sobhan yesterday said that foreign buyers of readymade garments (RMG) were engaging in unethical business using the RMG products made by Bangladeshi workers. After the Rana Plaza tragedy four years ago, the foreign buyers have advised the Bangladeshi garment factory owners to improve their functioning, but at the same time have refused to buy the products at higher prices, observed Prof. Sobhan. The international community is somehow getting away scot-free. They have put in a few hundred million dollars. They have put in place Alliances and Accord. But none of them have applied their minds on how to solve the actual problem, he said. Prof. Sobhan was speaking at a seminar on Catalyzing Social Dialogue in Bangladesh: RMG Sector, jointly organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a think-tank, and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) at Gardenia Hall in Gulshan area of the capital. Prof. Sobhan said the entire RMG business is being operated in a deeply unjust global value chain, where the USD 5 shirt bought from Bangladesh will be marketed at Walmart for USD 25. We are concerned about USD 5, but we dont actually ask where does that USD 20 go? Is this the natural working of the market mechanism or is this a manifestation of the unjust global order of unequal relationships? he asked. Prof. Sobhan said the Rana Plaza tragedy would never have happened if the workers were under the institutionalised protection of the union, through which they could have collectively resisted the foreman who insisted that the workers continue to work even though a crack had been spotted on the walls of the building. Unless the right to form individual unions in individual enterprises is given, the core issue of the problem will not be addressed, he said, adding that the unequal relationship between the entrepreneurs and workers was the main evil in the RMG industry. He said the right to form some sort of union will address the problem because it would ensure that the bargaining power of the workers is equitable in the relationship. You have to make workers the fundamental stakeholders of the enterprises where they work. Prof. Sobhan said one of the main factors in the Rana Plaza tragedy was the weakness in the whole governance system. The weak administration and accountability mechanism in the system enabled the tragedy, he added. He said he has not noticed any discussion in Parliament about the progress in this matter and the accountability set up after the Rana Plaza incident. Unless the top political power in the land and the relevant constitutional bodies have discerned which issue is of national and global importance and which is not, it will be difficult to create a collective consciousness. Earlier, presenting the keynote paper at the dialogue, CPD research director Dr Khondoker Golam Moazzem said that most of the Rana Plaza victims have received financial support, but this was not adequate. A good number of these injured workers is still unemployed. The injured workers have to spend on an average around Tk. 40,000 per year on their medical treatment, but the amount that they have received from the Rana Plaza Injured Workers Fund is very insignificant, he said. The aid extended to the injured victims should be more institutionalised. We think that long-term support is still needed for these injured workers, especially for those who are living outside the cities. The government should also expedite the process to set up a universal insurance scheme, he said. He also said that Accord and Alliance have severed ties with 195 factories as they did not log considerable progress. I request the authorities to examine whether those factories are still in operation or not, and which buyers are working with those enterprises. It is also important to find out the main reasons behind the non-compliance of these factories, he added. Citing their research, Dr Moazzem said after the Rana Plaza incident, they learnt that over 1,000 factories formed safety committees; later, however, it was discovered that a large percentage of these committees was not functional. It is important to make these committees functional, he observed. Apart from the factories inspected by Accord, Alliance and National Initiative, there are around 1,000 RMG factories that are very small in size and not under any initiatives. These are also not members of any association. So, what would happen to those factories is an important follow-up question to look into, he said. Mikail Shipar, secretary of the ministry of labour and employment, Mahmud Hasan Khan, vice-president of BGMEA, Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, distinguished fellow of the CPD, Amirul Haque Amin, president of the National Garments Workers Federation (NGWF) and Chowdhury Ashiqul Alam, secretary-general of the Bangladesh Trade Union Shangha (BTUS) were also present on the occasion.