Last November, thousands of garment workers staged a historic strike in Bangladesh. Affected by inflation, they are paid below the poverty line. But their demands for better working conditions were violently repressed. As the legislative elections approach, scheduled for January 7, pressure persists on the small hands of the world’s second largest textile industry, who have returned to the factories without having obtained satisfaction.
With her back hunched over her sewing machine, a woman sees her spool of thread running out as one pair of pants comes after another. In a nearby factory in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, a man tirelessly applies rhinestones to t-shirts using tweezers. Another sews shirts on an assembly line for major Western brands, who will sell the piece at a price equal to his monthly salary.
In total, Bangladesh’s approximately 4,000 garment factories employ nearly 4 million workers to supply the clothing sector, which accounts for 85% of its $55 billion in annual exports. However, if the country is the second largest exporter of clothing in the world after China, it is also one of those which pays its workers the least.
In November 2023, tens of thousands of workers in the Bangladeshi textile industry took to the streets to demand an increase in the monthly minimum wage. “ They faced an unprecedented level of repression “, laments Bogu Gojdź, spokesperson for the Clean Clothes Campaign, an organization based in the Netherlands which campaigns for the rights of textile workers.
A ” perpetual debt » to make ends meet
From the age of eleven to nineteen, Nazma Akter worked as a worker in a Dhaka factory. Lulled by the incessant mechanical noise of the sewing machines, she remembers having to work up to fourteen hours a day, without a single day off. “ When you’re poor, a poverty wage is always better than nothing », says the woman who now chairs the Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation, which represents more than 100,000 workers in the garment sector in Bangladesh.
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Like others, Nazma had to sacrifice her education and work in the same factory as her mother to survive. “ Workers are often forced to take their children out of school to put them to work, or to dig through trash cans for foodconfirms Bogu Gojdź. Many Bangladeshi workers find themselves in massive debt, with loans at predatory rates, just to make ends meet. » Thus, overtime is becoming commonplace to cope with galloping inflation, which is around 10%, and to hope to achieve a decent salary. According to the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC)this would amount to around 20,000 takas, or 166 euros per month, working two to four hours of overtime per day.
Still, according to a report ofe Bangladesh Institute of Labor Studies (BILS) published in January 2023, all of the workers surveyed do not have sufficient income to allow them to feed themselves properly. Two thirds of them suffer from a “ perpetual debt » which amounts on average to 70,000 takas, or around 580 euros. In this industry made up of 60 to 80% women, “ the workers tell us about work rhythms, completely unrealistic profitability objectives, and almost non-existent social rights. We also talk about toxic chemicals, dangerous machines and people who are forced to work on their feet all day », breathes Salma Lamqaddam, in charge of advocating women’s rights at work and in the textile industry for the NGO ActionAid.
20,000 workers face prosecution
On the occasion of the revision of the Bangladeshi minimum wage, which occurs only once every five years, workers in the sector campaigned hoping to increase its amount of 8,300 takas (70 euros), set in 2018 by the government, at 23,000 takas (190 euros). “ The stakes were really high for garment workers, because this revision of the minimum wage was the only opportunity for five years to obtain a decent salary that would be legally binding, hence the intensity of the protests. », explains Bogu Gojdź.
The protests, during which nearly 300 factories closed and at least four workers lost their lives, brought to a halt this key sector of the Bangladeshi economy, which supplies fashion giants such as H&M, Levi’s, Zara and Gap. After several negotiations, the minimum wage was increased to 12,500 takas (104 euros) on November 7, an increase of 56%. An amount considered insufficient for the unions and which remains below the poverty threshold set at 23,000 takas monthly by the BILS. “ This is only a 14% increase when accounting for inflation », specifies Bogu Gojdź.
As the Bangladeshi legislative elections approach, which will take place on January 7, “ workers still face retaliation », Recalls the spokesperson for Clean Clothes Campaign. “ If they take to the streets to protest at the instigation of someone, they will lose their job, their job and will have to return to their village », Threatened Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, who is preparing to run for her fourth term. If Clean Clothes Campaign is struggling to identify all the workers concerned, the organization nevertheless reports at least 3,000 to 4,000 workers dismissed following the demonstrations, 20,000 who are the subject of prosecution and risk being arrested as well as at least 131 who are still under arrest.
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For their part, the unions, forced to put an end to the mobilization after the violent police repression, warn that it will resume if the demands are not met. “ For now, we are focusing on helping workers who have lost their jobs and are detained, but we are also regaining strength to continue our fight », Says Nazma Akter, while denouncing the surveillance and intimidation that the union has suffered since.
The brands, order givers »
Beyond pointing the finger at the Bangladeshi government which wishes to maintain competitive salaries, the organizations are also calling for awareness on the part of Western brands. “ We call them “order givers” “, complains Salma Lamqaddam. “ The subcontractors tell us that they cannot go beyond the 12,500 takas that have been recorded, because they are tied hand and foot by the buyers, and therefore the brands. They are the ones who dictate, while remaining in the shadows, the prices of the industry. »
While more than 75% of Bangladeshi clothing exports were destined for Europe or the United States in 2019, Clean Clothes Campaign criticizes the lack of position taken by these multinationals for which textile workers are actively working. “ Nothing stops H&M or Puma, for example, from raising wages, publicly denouncing the repression workers face, or investigating their supply chain and letting their suppliers know that threatening workers with Arrest, dismissal or police brutality will not be tolerated », explains Bogu Gojdź.
While several international fashion brands, including Abercrombie & Fitch, Adidas and Puma, have called on the government to ensure that there are no reprisals against workers who demand fair wages, the organizations denounce a “ hypocrisy “. “ All they are doing is securing a good deal: the cost of labor will continue to fall while the cost of living in Bangladesh rises and workers will be kept in this cycle of poverty for five more years », insists Bogu Gojdź. According to the WRC estimatesif inflation in Bangladesh continues at the current rate, the current wage increase will see its value completely eroded by 2026. By that time, workers will earn, in real terms, less than they currently receive.
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