News - #SolidarityWorks! © FEMNET The coronavirus pandemic in Bangladesh and India: Figures give further insight into the consequences of the crisis According to estimates by the business association BGMEA, around 400,000 jobs were lost in Bangladesh's textile industry in 2020. Even after resuming production, many factories are still not working at full capacity. Granted financial aid from the EU and Germany for affected seamstresses has not yet flowed completely. In India, too, the situation remains critical. After the lockdown in spring a year ago, which, unlike in Europe, lasted only 2 months, around took place in May. 3,600 export-oriented factories restart their production. At that time, 348 companies had to close down. Until today, due to a lack of orders, the factories only work at half capacity. The EU and the German government have pledged aid to textile workers who have been hit hard by the economic crisis. Last May, for example, it was announced that it would support those affected with around EUR 30 per month over a period of three months – a far too small amount to be able to live on, but at least a first small aid. To date, however, a total of EUR 113 million (of which EUR 93 million from the EU, EUR 20 million from Germany) has still not been fully disbursed. Difficulties include distribution: While the list of beneficiaries was initially drawn up exclusively by the BGMEA, the trade unions resisted with fierce protests. In the meantime, the trade union and the association are to be in exchange. The precarious situation of thousands of seamstresses therefore remains, not only in Bangladesh, but also in India. Here, it is especially the migrant workers who are suffering the effects of the pandemic. Mostly recruited by agents and used mainly in the more than 2000 spinning mills in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, they were left to their own devices after the lockdown. They cannot make claims because there are no employment contracts. back
