Abstract:
The paper relates to the Bangladesh
garments sector. Garments workers are badly exploited by the factory owners in
collaboration with their foreign buyers resulting in a sub-human standard of life
of workers. The occasional agitations for higher wages and better amenities for
workers are alleged to be fanned up to violence by some interested quarters
together with the privileged unorganized labour leaders and certain NGOs. The
recent violence following the declaration of the Wage Structure 2010 is alleged
to be backed by those interested in taking away this industry from Bangladesh. The
paper highlights the major problems faced by the industry and suggests solution
in the light of the teachings of Islam.
I.
Introduction
After the
decline and fall of the jute industry just after liberation – (recent media
reports show a hopeful prospect of this industry) – the garments industry now
plays a vital role in the economy, starting about a decade or so after the
emergence of Bangladesh. Like the jute growers and the jute industrial workers that
were once the driving force of the Bangladesh economy, the same role is being
played today by the garments industry and its workers, and they are the single
largest number of industrial workers in the country. With the toil, sweat and
untiring effort of the garments workers, this industry has achieved immense
expansion. These workers join this industry with a hope of achieving social
security and in search of livelihood. They usually come from the wretched families
of rural Bangladesh. These rural families give their children very elementary
education up to class one or two for making them eligible to work in the urban
based garments industries. It has been shown in different research publications
that about 96% of the male and 76% of the female workers are educated up to
that level, but their attitude towards life is modern. Many young women want to
avoid the curse of immature marriage and try to grow up as the mistress of
their own life by working in this sector (Wasif, 2010, P.13). The enthusiasm of
rural youths, both male and female, forms the huge industrial cheap labour
force of this sector.
Apart from cheap
local labour and subsidized energy such as gas and electricity, the garments
sector of the economy is almost 100% dependent on imported machineries and
other raw materials such as cloths, threads, buttons, furnace oil etcetera, and is almost 100% dependant
on foreign buyers of its commodities, such as knitwear and woven garments. The
local cheap labour do the function of ‘value-added’ only and for that reason we
may say that what we export as garments to the foreign market is only the local
cheap labour, and the foreign buyers and investors are attracted to Bangladesh
solely for this reason. Recently, since the wage rate of the workers of China
are increasing, the Chinese industrialists are thinking of moving their
investment to countries where labour is cheaper. Bangladesh may avail of this
opportunity (Ittefaq Report on Economics,
5 June 2010, P.02). Bangladesh garments industry, like many other industries in
the global economy, is highly sensitive to the ups and downs of the global
market situation. Because of the nature of this particular industry, the
economic lot of its labour class is also connected, ceteris paribus, with the prospect and prosperity of the global
economy.
As this is the single major sector of the Bangladesh
economy employing a huge number of industrial workers, the well being of the
workers should be of prime concern to the entrepreneurs of this sector and the
government of the country for the lasting prosperity of the sector. It is
neither a casual nor a seasonal industrial sector; its importance will prevail
for a long time to come, since so long as civilization lasts people will wear
clothing and import it. Bangladesh
is still a strong competitor in the world apparels market with minor ups and
downs. This paper discusses the various problems and prospects of this sector
with special reference to the plight of the workers who are engaged in this
very important modern sector of the Bangladesh economy.
The article is arranged as follows: Section II
deals with the principles of wage determination for the garments workers,
Section III examines the newly declared wage structure 2010 for the garments workers.
Section IV discusses the workers’ reaction to the new wage structure. Section V
dwels with the owners’ reaction to the new wage structure, while Section VI comments
on the profit motive of the garments owners and the imperialistic capitalists
buyers. Section VII Concludes.
II. Principles
of Wage Determination for the Garments
Workers
As regards wages
of the garments workers, one may be identify at least three different opinions
conformable to Capitalism, Socialism and Islam.
01. Capitalism
Let us first of
all look at the problem from the capitalistic point of view. David Ricardo, one
of the fathers of the modern capitalistic thoughts of economics maintains that
a labour should be given that amount of wage which is barely necessary to
maintain his life and able to sell his labour. From here comes the capitalistic
concept of the “subsistence theory of wages”. This subsistence wage rate
ensures a labour to live like a mere animal.
In this system
the labourer as a person has no value to the capitalists; what concerns the
capitalists is the labour power which they purchase. If the person X dies out
of hunger the person Y will be available to the capitalists to sell labour at
the wage rate at which X died. So it does not matter to the capitalists whether
the “subsistence wage rate” is enough to keep the labourer alive or not.
Capitalism in comparison to Slavery and Feudalism is an improved system in the
sense that it has ensured the labourer freedom of his body; the labourer is
free to work at the “subsistence wage rate” or die out of hunger. While the
freedom to work or die does matter little to the capitalists, it did matter to
the slave owner in Slavery or to the serf owner in Feudalism, since the death
of a slave or a serf was a loss to the slave owner or a feudal lord like the
death of a cattle to the farmer. Unlike the system of Slavery and Feudalism,
Capitalism has given the owner class the advantage of dissociating them from
the responsibility of making arrangement for the labourer to live. Thus the
process of exploitation in capitalism is more inhuman than that of the system of
Slavery and Feudalism; capitalism is a new type of more inhuman exploitative
system, the basis of which is labour-slavery.
Recent
advancement in the determination of wage for the labourer in capitalism is the
calculation of daily calorie intake necessary by the individual labourer to
give the capitalist optimum labour per day. This in other sense is the basis of
scientifically determining the “subsistence wage rate”. On this count, now it
is maintained that the minimum wage rate should be the amount which is
necessary for the reproduction of labour power; even this amount of wage rate
is scarcely given by the owners of mills and factories to the labourers in most
of the developing economies including Bangladesh and the scope of inhuman exploitation
of the labourers by capitalists as explained above remains unaltered.
02. Socialism
The socialists
maintain that the characteristic of human labour force is that it is able, by
being used, to create the value which is more than the value of its production.
The extra value id est. surplus value
thus created is grabbed by the capitalists as their “profit”. This is
capitalist exploitation. The socialists want to ascertain that the labourers
get this surplus value which they produce instead of the capitalists, and thus
the process of labour exploitation will come to an end and the labourers will
get the due share of their produce in the form of wages.
According to the
socialists, the garments workers of Bangladesh are not even given the value of
their labour power which they sell to the garments owners, not to speak of the
“surplus value” which they create in the process of production in this sector.
The workers of this sector are subjected to “super-exploitation” instead of the
normal process of exploitation that usually goes with capitalism (Selim, 12 August 2010, P.9).
03. Islam
Islam, in
ascertaining the wage of labourers, goes beyond the materialistic calculative
methods of determining wages as we have seen above in Capitalism and Socialism.
It appeals to and emphasizes on the responsibility of the employers on behalf
of Allāh to do justice to the workers in giving them their remunerations for
the services they render to the employer so that both the employers and the workers
can afford equal standard of living for their joint salvation and peace here in
this world and the Hereafter. Islam, the religion of peace, gives special
emphasis on and appeals to the brotherly humane character and spiritual gain of
the employers to take into account while determining the wage for the workers
they engage, instead of the material approach followed in Capitalism and
Socialism.
It is a piety to provide the workers with
proper wage rate and remunerations. Hazrat Mohammad (s) says to the
employers that, “They (the employees) are your brothers. Allāh has entrusted
you with their responsibilities. So those on whom such responsibilities have
been entrusted are liable to give them such food as they eat, make arrangement
for them to wear such cloths as they wear, and shall never compel them to do
such works which are painful and beyond their capacity to do, and if they are
to do such works the employees will have to be given necessary assistance to do
that piece of work” (Hadith: Bukhari Sharif – Kitabul Imaan). Hazrat Mohammad
(s) also said that, “the workers will not be compelled to do such work which
will render them incapable and good-for-nothing” (Hadith).
To bring the
nicely and properly determined wage rate to a level of justice, the following
three conditions will have to be fulfilled: Firstly, the whole time wage is necessary to be of that amount
which is capable of meeting the basic needs of the worker; in other words, each
and every worker should be able to meet the general needs of himself and his family
by the wage he receives. Secondly,
after fulfilling the basic necessities, the employee or the worker should enjoy
the opportunity of earning more according to the nature, craftsmanship or
technicalities of the work, efficiency, the quality of his produce and
according to the differences in proportions he makes to the profit made by the
employer, id est. efficient, skilled
and workers engaged in risky economic activities will get more. Thirdly,
the wage will be determined under the above two conditions on the basis of free will and voluntary mutual
understanding of the employer and the employee.
With the purpose
of creation of an environment of brotherly cooperation and for the fulfillment
of the condition of just wages the following duties will have to be performed
by the employer at the level of code of good conduct for piety. A portion of
the product that is produced by the workers will have to be given away to the
workers free of cost or at a nominal price. The residential accommodation, health
care facilities, educational facilities, provision for harmless amusements and
other relevant facilities will have to be provided to the workers. At the time
of distribution of profits, a portion of that as bonus will have to be given to
the workers. There shall have to be arrangements for monetary help from some
special funds for the workers in times of adversity. Working hour should be
specific and the time for rest will have to be ascertained. Workers will have
to be treated with sympathy under all circumstances. As soon as the work under
contract is finished, the worker or the employee must be paid his wage or
salary immediately without delay as the case may be. Hazrat Mohammad (s) says,
“Pay off the wage of workers before the sweat of his tired body is dried up”
(Hadith).
III. Declared
Wage Structure 2010 for the Garments Workers of
Bangladesh
01. Rise of the Garments Sector
If we want to go
back to the origin we shall have to start with Riaz Garments which presented
its product id est. shirts on behalf
of the then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1969 to the three astronauts Neil
Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michel Collins who were invited to this country for
successfully completing the first human Moon mission. Afterwards Riaz Garments
first exported garments in 1978 to Europe.
Since then much water has gone down the river Buriganga, and Riaz
Garments is no more (Rahman, 11 July 2010, P. 13).
It is on record
that in 1983-84, garments 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 garments 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 is about 10%. According to a
survey report of the Department of Textile the total investment in the textile
and garments industry is about Taka 406.00 billion (Rahman, 1 August 2010,
P.13).
At present, in
this labour intensive totally private sector of the Bangladesh economy, around
4 millions workers, which is about 65% of the total workers engaged in the
manufacturing sector of the country, are directly engaged in about 5 thousand
garments industrial units. The number of workers engaged directly and
indirectly in this sector and other related industries will exceed 20 million.
Of the garments workers about 80% are girls. There are about 3 thousand owners
of the 5 thousand garment industrial units (Rahman, 11 July 2010, P.13, 23 and
1 August 2010, P.13). From this point of view this is the most successful
business sector of the present day Bangladesh (excluding the manpower
export sector of the economy). This may be compared with the once prosperous
jute industry of Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakistan of the sixties of the past
century).
As regards the
rights of women to work together with men outside home (here the garments
industry) there is no bar in Islam in doing that so long as they maintain
appropriate Parda conformable to
Islam. About the overall rights of the women Allāh says, “They (women) have
rights similar to those (of men) over them”.2/228 As regards Parda Allāh says, “Tell the believing
men to lower their gaze and be modest. That is purer for them. And tell the
believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to display of their
adornment only that which is apparent, and to draw their veils over their
bosoms, and not to reveal their adornment save to their own husbands or fathers
or husbands’ fathers, or their sons or their husbands’ sons, or their brothers
or brothers’ sons or sisters’ sons, or their women, or their slaves, or male
attendants who lack vigour, or children who know naught of women’s nakedness.
And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their
adornment”.24/30-31 “Verily! Allāh loseth not the wages of the
good.”9/120
The income that
a woman earns is her own and the husband has no ownership on that. Thus the
economic rights of women have been well established in Islam. In respect of
dignity and right of men and women Islam has established equity and justice (Dainandin
Zibane Islam, 2000, P. 438).
02. Wage Structure 2010
The Wage Board
Chairman handed over to the government a draft proposal of Wage Structure for
the Garments Sector of Bangladesh which was declared on 29 July 2010 (Table 1).
The draft proposal says that, before assessing the minimum wage for this
industry, the cost and standard of living of the workers, the productivity of
the workers, the price of the produce, inflation, and business capability etcetera have been taken into
consideration. The Wage Board presented the draft proposal of Wage Structure as
per the order No. 139 of the Bangladesh Labour Law 2006. The last wage
structure in the Garments Sector was declared in 2006. Although according to
the labour law a new wage structure is to be fixed 5 years after the previous fixation
of wage in an industry, the government has declared the new wage structure
right now, the new minimum wage structure will come into effect from 01
November 2010.
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