Femnet e.V.

13 December 2023 Between factory visits and wage negotiations: Travel report from Bangladesh

Regular trips by FEMNET employees to our partners in the Southeast Asian production countries ensure that our projects have a local impact. The direct exchange with representatives of trade unions and organisations on the ground gives us important insights and assessments into the developments of the sector, and project projects can be launched according to jointly planned goals. The visit of foreign coordinator Daniela Wawrzyniak and Aika-Maresa Fischbeck, consultant for foreign projects and campaign work, to Dhaka at the end of October 2023 became a reality check: The trip took both of them right into the middle of the current wage negotiations in the textile industry.

Diary of a Journey by Aika-Maresa Fischbeck

Early morning landing in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka: During our first taxi ride on the newly built highway over the city, we have no idea how many hours we will spend in traffic jams on the dusty and noisy streets of Dhaka in the next two weeks. The focus is on our intensive work agenda with numerous partner meetings, factory visits and visits to seamstresses.

Overtime for our laundry

On the second day we visit a production plant. Due to a tight schedule, we only reach the multi-storey building in Ashulia after 6 p.m., where mainly underwear for the western clothing market is sewn. The manager tells us that a large part of the workforce has just left the factory. Disappointed about not being able to meet workers at work because of the delay, we are led into production. Already from the stairwell we can hear the rattling of the sewing machines – because on one of the floors dozens of seamstresses are still working on a job that urgently needs to be completed. We walk through the rows, the women are colorfully dressed and some of them look up curiously, some smile at us. We're talking to Mim. She worked as a seamstress before being promoted. Now, as a supervisor, she is responsible for a number of production activities. We ask her if she is satisfied with her job, she affirms. As a supervisor, she no longer has to sit at the sewing machine for 8 hours and the payment is better.

Brand purchasing practices put pressure on factory owners

When talking to management, we talk, among other things, about the purchasing practices of international fashion brands. If an order is not completed on time, some brands remain open to withholding up to 20% of the agreed price. For fear that the goods will not be taken off, the manufacturers bow to the conditions of the brands. The focus of the talks is on the new minimum wage. The factory owners make it clear that the higher wages must be reflected in the purchase prices of the international brands. The financial situation of the factories is bad, because the industry has not been able to recover from the crises of recent years: The order volume in the factories is still below the pre-COVID-19 level, as are the prices. Due to increased fixed costs, e.g. for electricity, the ability of the factories to act is deteriorating.

Riots in wage struggles

On 22 October, three days after our arrival, the representative of the employers' associations in the Wage Committee announced his proposal for a new minimum wage: 10,400 Taka. We can feel the general mood shifting. Our partners express concern that there may be riots in the coming weeks. Already in the following days, reports of police violence in protests reach us. Every day, our partners write to us about the regions in which they are protesting. By the day of our departure, two garment workers will have already died in the protests, followed by two more deaths in the coming weeks. The protests continue until our departure and beyond, but the voices of the workers are not heard: At the end of November, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina set the minimum wage at 12,500 Taka. A meager increase that in no way reflects the impact of inflation.

The salary of the seamstresses is not enough to live

Shortly before the end of our journey, we set off for Gazipur. In the meantime, we have become accustomed to the orderly chaos on the busy streets. The buses are rusty, but colorfully painted, the tuk-tuks meander their way through the rickshaws and fully loaded trucks. The ride is accompanied by a steady soundscape of horns and loud shouts. Arriving at the seamstresses, we can see the impact of the far too low wages in the clothing sector on the housing situation of the people. We are led through narrow passages, in the doors are children who follow us curiously. On the left and right we can cast glimpses into the dark apartments. The seamstresses live in corrugated iron huts in a confined space with their family members, because their livelihood is not enough for more. Much of the wage must cover the rental costs, there is little left for food, medical care and the education of the children. None of the seamstresses we interview have reserves. Women are also exposed to the double burden of wage and care work. Even on the day off in the week, the women have no time for themselves, because the day is used, for example, to do the laundry.

The Trade Unions' Efforts to Improve Working Conditions

The trade unions are working tirelessly to improve the situation of workers in the clothing sector. Through collective agreements with the factory management, they want to enforce piecemeal improvements. When visiting the NGWF (National Garment Workers Federation) branch office in Ashulia, one worker tells us that the association enforced a 7% annual increase in wages (instead of the statutory 5%) in his factory. Other frequently emerging trade union issues include access to drinking water or lack of canteens.

We return with shared feelings: We are happy about the good cooperation with our reliable partners and we were able to launch new projects. But we are very concerned about the current developments in Bangladesh. The sobering wage development and the suppression of trade union work are a sign of the country's increasingly repressive policies. Our partners also express concerns when they think about the future of the garment sector in Bangladesh. This makes our work and the support of the trade unions all the more important to us. They are the ones who continue to fight relentlessly and give the workers a voice.