{"id":40033,"date":"2023-11-15T18:43:18","date_gmt":"2023-11-15T18:43:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/?p=40033"},"modified":"2023-11-15T18:43:25","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T18:43:25","slug":"bangladesh-garment-workers-fighting-for-pay-face-brutal-violence-and-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/2023\/11\/15\/bangladesh-garment-workers-fighting-for-pay-face-brutal-violence-and-threats\/","title":{"rendered":"Bangladesh garment workers fighting for pay face brutal violence and threats"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

W<\/strong>hen Masuma Akhtar arrived at the garment factory where she works on the outskirts of Dhaka on 31 October, she was expecting a normal shift. Instead, she was met with brute violence. \u201cThe moment I walked through the factory gates, a group of armed men began beating me with wooden sticks,\u201d says Akhtar. \u201cI fell down on to the ground. Even then they wouldn\u2019t stop beating me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akhtar, 22, is a seamstress at Dekko Knitwears in Mirpur, where she spends long days churning out clothes for western fashion brands, including Marks & Spencer, C&A and PVH Corp, which owns Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bangladesh is one of the world\u2019s biggest producers of fast fashion, pumping out millions of tonnes of clothing every year to meet the demands of the world\u2019s most popular clothing brands, which are drawn to this small South Asian country where orders \u2013 and the labour needed to fulfil them \u2013 come cheap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although most fast fashion brands that source from Bangladesh claim to support a living wage, they are only required to pay the workers who make their clothes the legal monthly minimum wage, which is one of the lowest in the world and has remained set at 8,000 taka (\u00a3\u00a358) since 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Negotiations over a new minimum wage for garment workers in Bangladesh have sparked mass demonstrations on streets across the capital. The protests have escalated since the government announced a minimum wage increase for the workers, from 1 December, to 12,500 taka (\u00a390), far below the 23,000 taka a month workers say they need to keep their families from starvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Factory owners and police have responded to workers\u2019 protests with threats and violence. The beatings she received by armed men at Dekko Knitwears left Akhtar with a broken arm. \u201cThey hit my back, my thighs and my arms repeatedly,\u201d she says. Now, without use of one of her arms, she is unable to work. \u201cI don\u2019t know how I will survive the rest of the month,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Masuma Akhtar\u2019s arm was broken when she was beaten by armed man at Dekko Knitwears in Mirpur. Photograph: Sazzad Hossain<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other workers at Dekko Knitwears say that the men beating them concentrated on their hands and arms. \u201cThey started hitting us mercilessly,\u201d says Bushra Begum, 25, another worker. \u201cMy livelihood depends on my hands, and they targeted them viciously.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her colleague Rita Anwar, 26, tried to run away but was chased down the road by three men. \u201cI am covered in blood clots,\u201d she says, pulling up her sleeve to reveal her injuries. \u201cMy back is black with bruises. The pain is so much that I can barely walk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before they left, the men issued a warning: the workers were not to take part in any more protests \u2013 or they would face consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

They can threaten and beat us but if we accept their ridiculous wage proposal, we will starve to death anyway<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Naima Islam<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As protests in Dhaka turned increasingly violent, two garment workers have been killed, allegedly after being shot by police in the first wave of protests. And last Wednesday, another woman died after being shot in the head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Factory owners also threatened to shut down production and withhold wages by applying a \u201cno work, no pay\u201d rule. Over the weekend, more than 150 factories closed \u201cindefinitely\u201d, as police issued blanket charges for 18,000 workers in connection with the demonstrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Workers were warned of dismissal if they continued to protest and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, a trade body, called for all factory recruitment to be paused, making it difficult for protesters to find work elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But despite the violent crackdown on workers, those who have spoken to the Guardian are determined to see the fight through to the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are trying to silence us but we won\u2019t back down,\u201d says Naima Islam, a machine operator at Columbia Garments. \u201cThey can threaten and beat us but what they don\u2019t understand is, we have nothing to lose. If we accept their ridiculous wage proposal, we will starve to death anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Islam, 28, is one of thousands of protesters who have had police reports filed against them, which trade unionists fear may soon lead to mass arrests. Many believe it is an attempt to forcefully suppress the wage increase movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that hasn\u2019t deterred Islam and her co-workers. \u201cWe are not asking for much. This entire industry is built off our backs \u2013 the least we deserve is the bare minimum to survive,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nazma Akter, president of local trade union Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation, condemns the violence against protesting workers. \u201cThe Bangladesh government must ensure workers are able to exercise their rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining without fear of violence, reprisal, or intimidation,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Garment workers block a key intersection during a protest in Dhaka on 12 November. Photograph: Abdul Goni\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement, Marks & Spencer said: \u201cThese are very serious allegations and we are urgently investigating them. We would never tolerate violence or intimidation of workers and set out very clearly in our global sourcing principles that workers must be guaranteed freedom of association and a safe workplace, as well as fair and transparent wages. As a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative, we have supported the tripartite minimum wage negotiations between the unions, Government Wages Board and the Employers\u2019 Association \u2013 and we continue to support cross-sector calls for an increase that provides a decent standard of living for workers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spokesperson for C&A said: \u201cWe are aware of the incident that took place in Bangladesh, and we are in close contact with the supplier to investigate. We condemn all types of violence, and we have a longstanding commitment to ensure the safety and health of all workers in our supply chain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bangladeshi<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PVH did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dekko Knitwears and Columbia Garments were approached for comment but did not respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fashion brands sourcing from Bangladesh have said they support workers\u2019 calls for a higher minimum wage. In a joint letter in September, brands including Asos, Primark and H&M, wrote that they recognised their role in \u201csupporting wage developments\u201d. But rights groups argue that this means little if brands don\u2019t agree to pay their suppliers more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yesterday, Human Rights Watch and Clean Clothes Campaign called on brands to take responsibility for their workers\u2019 wages and pay their suppliers more. Aruna Kashyap, associate director on corporate accountability at Human Rights Watch says: \u201cWage increases have consequences for suppliers\u2019 costs and eat into their profit margins.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBrands themselves are driving low wages with their unfair pricing and purchasing practices,\u201d she adds. \u201cTo preserve their own profits, brands are putting themselves first.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Masuma Akhtar arrived at the garment factory where she works on the outskirts of Dhaka on 31 October, she was expecting a normal shift. Instead, she was met with brute violence. \u201cThe moment I walked through the factory gates, a group of armed men began beating me with wooden sticks,\u201d says Akhtar. \u201cI fell […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":40034,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_post_source_name":"","_post_source_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[11264,5522,7207,6983,6573,10387,11583,7893,9194,7340,11996,7234,10846,5241,6412,12310,12384,11365,6738,7807,8057,4028,2264,2416,342,12634,10840,5661,12773,5910,11525,5699,9515,1828,3874,8821,12309,9683,10845,12287,8000,11973,421,3805,5561,11171,7650,11259,10329,13307,7231,6348,10333,10943,12790,5273,10415,36,594],"class_list":["post-40033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news","tag-allegations","tag-arms","tag-asian","tag-bangladesh","tag-black","tag-campaign","tag-capital","tag-chain","tag-charges","tag-columbia","tag-crackdown","tag-death","tag-dekko-knitwears","tag-died","tag-dismissal","tag-exercise","tag-exporters","tag-factory","tag-families","tag-fashion","tag-fear","tag-freedom","tag-government","tag-h","tag-hm","tag-health","tag-human-rights","tag-human-rights-watch","tag-increase","tag-initiative","tag-injuries","tag-islam","tag-killed","tag-labour","tag-lead","tag-livelihood","tag-men","tag-millions","tag-mirpur","tag-movement","tag-negotiations","tag-one","tag-police","tag-president","tag-protest","tag-protesters","tag-recruitment","tag-shot","tag-trade","tag-trading","tag-union","tag-us","tag-wages","tag-watch","tag-weekend","tag-woman","tag-work","tag-world","tag-who"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40033"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40033\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40035,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40033\/revisions\/40035"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}