Present
Status of Garments Industry in Bangladesh (Positive Perspectives):
Most Asian LICs are expected to
record positive growth in 2009 and should see a further strengthening of
activity in 2010 as global conditions continue to improve.
IMF forecasts suggest Asia will
grow by 5.75 per cent in 2010–far higher than the 1.25 per cent predicted for
the G-7 economies but well short of the 6.67 per cent average recorded for the
region over the past decade. “A strong rebound in exports is unlikely, given
that some of the Asian LICs’ export products including agricultural goods and
garments have low responsiveness to global demand changes.”
At present there
are about 3500 garment industries in the country and 75 percent of them are in
Dhaka. The rest are in Chittagong and Khulna. These Industries
have employed fifty lacks of people and 85 percent of them are illiterate rural
women. About 76 percent of our export earning comes from this sector.
The prime reason
why garment industries have come out to be the champion in the field of export
is obviously the cheap labor. Labor is not as cheap anywhere in
the world as it is in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh exports its RMG
products mainly to the United States of America and the European Union. These
two destinations account for more than a 90 percent share of the country’s
total earnings from garment exports. The country has achieved some product
diversification in both the United States and the European Union.
Recently, the country has
achieved some level of product upgrading in the European Union, but not to a
significant extent in the United States. Bangladesh is less competitive
compared with China or India in the United States and it is somewhat competitive
in the European Union.
Present Status of
Garments Industry in Bangladesh (Negative Perspectives):
In a recent survey, it is
realized that a large portion of population are working in the RMG sector. A
worker (male or female) earns at best (1000-1600) taka per month as basic. But
it is a matter of close observation that a significant percentage of workers
are marrying within RMG. So, both husband and wife are working in garments and
earning at best 3500 taka as basic.
Since freedom is the birth right
of a man, mother’s milk, fathers affection and love are the birth right of a
child. Mother and father are working in garments all the day round and earn
money not enough to live together. So, they are bound keep their child in the
village with their mother, mother in law or sister in law. The child must not
be growing like any other child who lives with their father and mother. As a
result, this child is becoming irrigative. Its mental growth is downward. He or
she is not getting a good environment of education. He is always dejected. The
child is growing up in an unwelcome world. In the long run, this child will not
honor the parents since relationship is not as such. What will happen after 50
years if the children are not grown properly?
From the law of business, we have
seen that if the owner is unable to provide good working environment for the
worker, it is the violation of law. Side by side the workers must get a good
compensation package from the owner. This compensation package must include
salary, medical service, home allowances, transportation, trainings and
education.
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