·
Political Problem:
Due to political problem in the past
two years around 4000 factories in Dhaka have been on wildcat strike, 16
factories were burnt down by strikers and hundreds more ransacked and looted,
pitched battles were fought with cops and private security forces in
workplaces. These events have ignited a wave of fierce class struggle in the
garment industry up and down the country. These revolts are spreading beyond
the workplace and are absorbing the wider working class community.
Garments industries often pay
dearly for political unrest, hartal and terrorism etc. The international market
has withdrawn quota advantage over garments export form Bangladesh since December 2005.
The allegations of planned and
rumour-fed violence against the garments industry should be duly investigated.
If the allegations prove to have any basis, the authorities need to find out
who are investigating the violence from time to time and why. The Chairmen of
BGMEA and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association
(BKMEA) alleged time and again, that the incidents, instigated from outside,
were deliberate attempts to foment unrest in the garments industry. Some
unknown quarters, they say, are out to destroy the vibrant garments industry of
Bangladesh
to promote their hidden agenda.
No aggrieved worker can do what the
unknown elements are doing to damage the industry, they say. Only outsiders,
without any sense of belonging to the industry can be as unruly as they are.
Such elements smash and loot anything in the factories without any hesitation.
In the process 400 garments factories were damaged in recent years. Some of the
incidents, according to allegations, were prompted by non-government organizations
(NGOs).
A separate ministry can obviously pay
the needed attention to all these concerns. The government needs to give up its
indifference to create a separate ministry as suggested by BGMEA.
·
Social Problem:
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. Many workers have the potentialities to do something better. If they
are provided training, they can go in higher ranks and lead a good life. This
opportunity also motivates them to work spontaneously.
The recommended minimum average wages (which include Traveling
Allowance, House Rent, Medical Allowance, Maternity Benefit, Festival Bonus and
Overtime Benefit) in the units within the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones
(BEPZ) are given about 40% lower than outside the BEPZ. These discriminations
mental strength to the unrest situation, which creates social problems.
·
Environmental Problem:
Photo: Industrial waste indiscriminately dumped in
water body to the peril of the localities around.
Environmental problems of today
are of complex character as industrialization has been diversified in quality
and by regions. Environmental pollution depends on various factors like type of
industry, raw materials, production technologies, location of industries, etc.
For a particular type of industry, change in energy source e.g. shifting from
coal to petrol/diesel, and raw materials as well, caused significant change in
types of diseases as well as magnitude of damages.
Even before becoming industrial
powers, the industrialized nations caused a variety of environmental problems.
They are still confronting with serious environmental issues of water, food and
air pollution. Some of them have been solved by the application of engineering
techniques or by imposing legal constraints, while others still remain
untouched or unresolved. They are now thinking of striking a balance between
industrial development and environmental problems.
Till 1962 the
number of industries in Dhaka was about 100, most of them of small to medium
scale and located mostly in present old Dhaka area.
The important industries in the country are textile & dyeing, leather,
paper and pulp, fertilizer, sugar, steel, oil refining, chemical and
pharmaceuticals and other small scale agro-based and agro-allied industries and
of course the readymade garments.
In 1986, DoE identified
903 industries as most polluting that swelled to 1176 in 1997. Currently the
list of polluting industries is expected to be much longer. Many industries are
located on the banks of natural streams or rivers while many others in the
residential areas causing air and water pollution through smoke emission and
dumping of untreated effluent. Monitoring results by the Department of
Environment (DoE) and other research organizations indicated alarming level of
the localised air and water pollution by those industries. The condition of
Buriganga, Balu, Turag, Shitalakshya, Karnafuli, Bhairab rivers is a glaring
example of deteriorating environment.
Rapid and unplanned
urbanization, commercial development along with very high population pressure
have made Dhaka an environmentally polluted
city in the world. The number of tanneries has increased to over 200 from 26 in
1975. Nearly 2000 garments industries have been established all over the city
since the early 1980s. Rapid and unplanned establishment of industries in
different places of the city is responsible for localized pollution effects. As
a result, water of those surrounding rivers and lakes has already exceeded the
national standard limit in pollution.
The concern about
environmental issues, however, has been reflected in different policy
initiatives taken by the government of Bangladesh . The major policy
initiatives, strategies and plans emphasized environment and natural resources
management to achieve sustainable development. The National Environment Policy
1992, National Forest Policy 1994, National Water Policy 1999, National
Agriculture Policy 1999, National Land Use Policy, 2001 all aimed to ensure
development in harmony with the natural environment. The Wetland Policy (Draft)
puts special emphasis on the conservation of wetlands.
Government along
with industry owners should come forward to minimize this problem and people
from all sectors should be concern not to pollute the environment any more.
·
Financial Problem:
Though financial prospects are
more in case of RMG industry than financial problem, there have some financial
problem.
Sometimes due to political unrest
situation like inter-factory strike, hartal & many other causes delay or
missing of garments order delivery. These things causes serious hamper in
industry finance & in overall export & earnings too.
On the other hand, these
industries are causes massive environmental pollutions. And financial losses
due to these pollutions are now measuring by money. A strategic cost/benefit
analysis indicates that, with continuing increase in the urban population and
ongoing deterioration of the environment of Dhaka
city consequent, losses would mount from year to year. Without any action, the
total estimated minimum financial loss (cost to the economy of Dhaka and Bangladesh
as a whole) would be US$ 51.1 billion over the next 20 years. Contrarily, if
appropriate measures are taken to clean up Dhaka ,
estimated net economic benefit would be more than US$ 50.0 billion. Results of
environmental protection will be realized through increased agricultural and
industrial productivity, improved human health, increased biodiversity, etc.
·
Technological Problem:
For pattern & marker making
Computer Aided Design (CAD) & Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) are using.
In Sewing Section, which is the
largest part of the garments industry using Special type of sewing machines
like Button hole machine, Button attaching machine, Bartak machine, Blind
stitch machine etc. are using. High speed Lock stitch machine (SPM: 1500-5500),
Chain stitch machine (Stitch length: 1.5-4.5mm), Over lock machine (SPM:
6500-8500), Flat lock machine (SPM: 6000) etc. are used in most of the modern
factories.
Maximum 9 needle sewing machines
are using too.
And for final Finishing, High
quality washing machines with Stone wash, Normal wash are using in individual
Washing Plants.
After-all the aim is to produce
Economic production by ensuring high quality.
·
Problem with Women in
Garments:
From the Table-5
of page no.-12 we see the actual percentages of women employment in RMG
industry is around 88% on average. After being the greatest part of this
industry they still discrimination in comparison with international standard of
wage or salary.
Table-6: Average
Hourly Wages in RMG Industry (Where 88% of total is women):
Ref: Journal of Textile & Apparel Technology &
Management
Volume-6, Issue-2, Fall-2009.
Even they
discriminate in comparison to men workers in the RMG factories. More on, the
participation of women in administration is very rare.
Beside this, they
also faced problem in work place due to environment of work, attitude towards
them, mental & even physical harassments too. Due to over-night duty they
have to face social problems too.
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