A Partnership Approach to Improving Labour Relations and Working Conditions in the Bangladesh Garment Industry - Bangladesh

Source: ILO

January 2001 - January 2004

Accounting for more than three quarters' of the country's export earnings, the garment industry plays a vital part in the Bangladeshi economy. As well as the much-needed foreign currency earnings, the industry provides some 1.6 million jobs. Some 85 per cent of these workers are women, many from rural areas. In a country with a tiny formal sector, and where low-return agriculture employs more than half the population, the garment sector offers highly sought after wage work.

And yet, there are significant challenges. The industry faces pressure to perform in a globalized economy, and at the same time, to respect fundamental principles and rights at work. Building competitive enterprises based on cooperation and respect for rights is a pressing task. The ILO and its partners are tackling this together, drawing on valuable experience gained combating child labour in garment manufacturing in the 1990s.

Following widely publicized reports of children working in factories, the ILO joined forces with the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and UNICEF to formulate a project. Starting in 1995, the project has monitored participating factories, withdrew children from work and placed them in schools, while at the same time helping families to lift themselves out of grinding poverty. Over time, the proportion of factories identified as employing children decreased from 43 per cent to less than one per cent. Encouraged by the success of the first venture, BGMEA asked the ILO to address other issues, including the application of rights in the workplace.

Building a sound and sustainable garment industry, based on respect for fundamental rights at work, is the project's central aim. It is working towards this goal in cooperation with government, employers and workers.

Communication in the workplace is essential for today's competitive business environment and calls for innovation, production improvements and high performance. Manufacturers in Bangladesh have also recognized that international buyers are scrutinizing more than ever working conditions and compliance with labour regulations.

The project works in close cooperation with the BGMEA through the provision of training and redissemination of information to factory owners, managers and workers. Regular factory visits are undertaken by four-person teams, comprised of one monitor from the BGMEA, a government labour inspector or officer and two project monitors. To ensure gender balance, at least one project monitor in every team is a woman. Ten of the teams are based in Dhaka, and two in Chittagong.

The project helps participating factories develop workplace improvement plans including that address working conditions, human resource management and labour-management cooperation. In factories where workers' welfare councils existed, members were involved in developing, implementing and monitoring the plans. On-going visits by project personnel, monitors, and officials from the Ministry of Labour and Employment are helping to assess progress.

Pilot work with an initial group of factories was used to guide the project¿s approach. Sharing these experiences allowed the project to demonstrate the effectiveness of its strategies, and show that the theories worked. A baseline survey was also carried out at the project's inception, setting benchmarks that offered a guide to existing employment and working conditions, occupational safety and health, productivity, human resource management and labour relations.

To make the changes more effective, as well as sustainable, training is vital. The project has developed curriculum materials to train its trainers. The initial courses focused on a group drawn from the BGMEA, quality controllers and factory inspectors. Direct outreach to factory owners and managers includes training on their responsibilities under the relevant Bangladeshi laws - in particular, employment and working conditions, occupational safety and health and workers' compensation. Courses also address human resource management skills and global changes and developments in the garment industry.