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An Assignment On
Labour dissatisfaction in ready-made Garments:
way to overcome.

Course Tittle: Health Economics

Course Code: ECO-324

Date of submission : 15.12.2020

Submitted to Submitted by
Laily Akter Kamrul Mozahid
ID: 17122409
Lecturer Department of
Economics Session : 2016-2017

Department of Economics
Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University,
Trishal, Mymensingh.
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“Labour dissatisfaction in ready-made Garments:

Way to overcome.”

 Preface
The objective of this paper is to identify the causes behind labour dissatisfaction in
ready garment’s sector .The situation access to readymade garments sectors, the
life style of labour in RMG sector in Bangladesh, lack of proper education, skill,
labour unrest, lack of facilities in readymade garments sector. Many researchers
have investigated the garments industry in Bangladesh .There is no regular weekly
day off, job security, social security, gratuity or provident fund for the workers.
Absence of reward, lack of training facilities and rare compensation are growing
dissatisfaction among them. Garments workers are not given any fringe benefits,
including accommodation allowance, health care, emergency funds, or
transportation, even though they are legally entitled to some of these benefits, such
as maternity leave. As why, it’s an essential issue in these times to solve this facts.

Keywords:

Labour, Garments sector, Wage, dissatisfaction, industry, violence, Etc.

______________________Column Break________________________
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 Introduction:
The textile or the readymade garment industry of Bangladesh is one the highly
recognised industries in the world. The textile industry relates to the manufacturing
of cloth, yarn and the consequent designs or the distribution and production of
cloth. Like other 3rd world countries Bangladesh is a developing country. Her
economic development depends firstly on agriculture and secondly on industry.
Although Bangladesh is not developed in industry, it has been enriched in Garment
industries in the recent past years. In the field of Industrialization garment industry
is a promising step. It has given the opportunity of employment to millions of
unemployed, especially innumerable uneducated women of the country. It is
making significant contribution in the field of our export income. The RMG
industry has become one of the life lines of Bangladesh economy, sharing a major
part of the country’s export earnings. The industry started its journey in the late
70’s and since then it continued to play a key role in the growth of the economy,
and has emerged as the largest export earning sector of the country. This industry
has contributed in socioeconomic prospects, creating a huge number employment
opportunities mostly for the poor illiterate female workforce of the country. Thus,
the RMG sector has played a vital role in empowering women by providing
employment.

In the perspective of Bangladeshi economy RMG industry is considered as the

back bone of the country’s economy-The main strength of RMG sector in
Bangladesh is poorly paid garment workers. In this study I will try to find the
dissatisfactions of RMG’s workers. It is notable that the living situation of
garments workers may change last couple of years. Nowadays their children also
go to school & they can serve their old parents. Already government fixed the
minimum wages for their better standard of living. But it is not sufficient. Like
other counties in the word, the dissatisfaction of labor in RMG sector is an
essential concern.
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 Literature Review
Many researchers have investigated the working conditions in the Bangladesh
garments industry. In fact, working conditions in the RMG sector are below
standard and do not meet the ILO standards. Labour standards and rights are
commonly ignored in the RMG factories in Bangladesh. Work areas are often over
crowded with limited workspaces, causing occupational hazards such as
musculoskeletal disorders and contagious diseases. Injuries, fatalities, disablement
and death from fire and building collapses are frequent in the RMG sector. The
absence of labour standards monitoring system and ineffective building codes,
poor enforcement and outdated labour laws, and a lack of awareness of labour
rights among workers are the major problems in this sector. In his study in 2012,
Md Nasir Uddin has identified following factors which relate safety issue which
are the important cause of the accident.

Machine layout is often staggered o Lack of signage for escape route.

Adequate doors as well as adequate staircases are not provided to aid quick
exit.

Fire exit or emergency staircase lacks proper maintenance.

Lack of proper exit route to reach the place of safety Parked vehicles, goods
and rubbish on the outside of the building obstruct exits to the open air.

Fire in a Bangladesh factory is likely to spread quickly because the principle

of compartmentalization is practiced.

Md. Nasir studied 101 workers (samples) from 4 garments and found that 34.65%
of the respondents feel their job place is unsafe and insecure for them. They have
anxiety for electrical faults, fire accidents, building collapse, stampede, etc. On the
other hand 65.35% respondents feel their job place safe and secure for them. So it
is clear that garment workers received alarm for accident of Rana plaza tragedy
and Tazrin garment accident in RMG sector in Bangladesh. The of hazards in the
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garments industry of Bangladesh includes crowded conditions, exposed operating

machines, electrical connections are crude and unsafe, a few or no fire
extinguishers inaccessible or malfunctioning, no fire practice is ever performed,
managers and workers are not trained to understand health and safety issues, stairs
and floors used as storage; gates remain closed even in emergency; factory not
designed as commercial facility, narrow aisles for fire fighters to enter and rescue.
This literature review indicates that most garments factories in Bangladesh pay
little attention to labour standards and labour rights, disallow trade union activities,
unsafe working environment, and ineffective laws and discard fair labour practices,
and compliance enforcement is limited and limited role of stakeholders.

Absar (2008) said in her study on "Living Conditions of Women Workers in the
RMG Sector in Bangladesh"that Bangladesh presently exports Ready-Made
Garment (RMG) to about 30 countries around the world. More women, whether
pushed by poverty or pulled by opportunity, work outside home particularly in the
RMG sector. The exodus of women to work in urban areas, leaving homes and
families, is a relatively recent development. Despite the employment opportunities
at the garment factories, women workers in Bangladesh suffer from abject poverty.
Most of them earn less than a dollar (US) a day.

Ali, Begum, Salehin and Farid (2008) made a study on "Livelihood Pattern of
Rural Women Garment Workers at Dhaka City”. The study revealed that 63.33
percent respondent's livelihood pattern has improved after involving in garment
factory. Some diseases like eye trouble, headache, ear ache etc. to be more
prevalent among the women garment workers due to their involvement in garment
factories. Incidence of physical weakness among the garment workers was very
high. Women are exploited easily due to lack of technical knowledge and training.
The employers do not pay any heed to this exploitation.

Literature review shows that no comprehensive work has been done on this topic.
So for fulfilling the research gap the study is conducted.
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 Methodology
This research seeks to analyse and investigate the current status and examine
working conditions in the Bangladesh ready-made garment’s sector. An extensive
literature survey has been undertaken in order to review the historical perspective,
growth and development of the garments industry, working conditions and
environment, labour standards and labour rights issues, as well as this lack of
Social compliance. Therefore, we can find the reasons for labour dissatisfaction.

Sources of data:

The primary source: Primary data have been collected through interview of the
owners of garments factories, workers, labor union leaders and stuff.

The secondary source:

➢ Different books and articles.

➢ Evidence from Newspaper.

For doing the job, we took the help of different websites. We also went a
Readymade garments which locate nearby. We also talk with some readymade
garments workers. Also we get data from different foreign journals.

 Objective of the study:

There are various objectives of report, so some important objectives are as follows:

1. To gather practical experience on the field of RMG sector.

2. To obtain more knowledge about the RMG sector and find out the solutions
about labour dissatisfaction.

3. To find out the ways how readymade garment’s worker’s get their legal
rights and lead a better life.
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 Limitations of the study:

The following limitations were faced during the preparation of this Assignment;

1) Limited access into factories.

2) Difficulties to communicate with factory workers.
3) Time constraint.
4) Unwillingness of Company owner & other respondent to disclose their
identities.

 History of laborer’s Dissatisfaction:

The industrial revolution changed the socioeconomic condition in eighteen
century. But at that time the sorrow of the workers knew no bound. In nineteen
century, the workers demanded the 8-hour work a day. It was very common to
work from 10 to 16 hours. In 1880 the workers agitated for 8-hour workday
without cutting in pay. And they declared the 8- hour workday without the consent
of the employer. The workers carried on their agitation for the 8-hour workday. In
1884, a group of workers agitated against their various demand including the 8-
hour workday. The workers went out on strike to gain the demand. More and more
workers continued to walk off the jobs. On May 3, 1886 violence broke out at the
McCormick Reaper Works between police and strikers. On 4th May, 1886, a riot
broken out between police and worker in Hage market area of Chicago city and
eight workers were killed by police shoot.

We find out that, Bangladesh is earning 78% of its export earnings from the RMG
sector. From the last part of 2014 to till today there has been labor unrest
consecutively in this sector. Almost 4.2 million workers are working in this sector.
Sometimes the workers came out in the streets of Dhaka city and damaged vehicles
and set fire on the garments factories. It is happening so violently that many of the
roads of the city had to be kept close for quite a few hours.
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 The Causes of Labour Dissatisfaction In RMG Sector

(Bangladesh Perspective):
Violence, harassment:
Violence and harassment are major factors for labor dissatisfaction in the country's
readymade garment industry, according to a latest ILO and UN Women joint
report. Workers change jobs within the RMG sector fairly frequently, largely to
access better salaries and working conditions. Men tend to change jobs more than
women workers, it also revealed. Other findings included most of the female
workers in the RMG sector are concentrated in low-paid jobs and the participation
of women in managerial positions has not improved in the sector. The recently
published study 'Understanding the Gender Composition and Experience of Ready-
Made Garment (RMG) Workers in Bangladesh,' was jointly conducted by the
International Labour Organization (ILO) and UN Women.It was commissioned in
2017, while the field data collection was undertaken in 2018.It found that sixty per
cent of both men and women workers surveyed experienced repeated insults and
shouting from their supervisors or line managers.About 25 per cent of the surveyed
workers cited violence, and harassment at the workplaces as main reasons for
leaving jobs in RMG sector.And 26.5 per cent reported work stress, 8.9 percent
attributed workplace injuries/ occupational diseases and 5.1 per cent for
consequences of worker movements.

"The average expected age of RMG worker is 36.4," the report said, adding that
longer working hours, no job security, owners' unwillingness to hire older workers
and negative effects on health are other reasons for leaving the RMG sector before
reaching the regular age of retirement. The report also revealed that the proportion
of women workers in surveyed RMG enterprises declined between 2010 and 2018.

The data collected by the study from 260 enterprises revealed that women
accounted for 60.5 per cent of their workers in 2018, a decline from 63.4 percent in
2010.The report further revealed that most RMG workers are satisfied with their
current employers and jobs. Women workers report higher levels of satisfaction
than men. Factors underlying job satisfaction include the timely payment of
salaries and overtime, particularly among women workers. Other frequently cited
reasons are also financial, including a festival bonus, regular weekly leave, the
payment of minimum wages, and a regular attendance bonus.
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Improper working environment:

Taking the advantages of workers' poverty and ignorance the owners forced them
to work in unsafe and unhealthy work place overcrowded with workers beyond
capacity of the factory floor and improper ventilation. Most of the garment
factories in our country lack the basic amenities where our garment workers sweat
their brows from morning to evening to earn our countries the major portion of our
foreign exchange. Anybody visiting the factory the first impression he or she will
have that these workers are in a roost. Improper ventilation, stuffy situation, filthy
rooms are the characteristics of the majority of our factories. The owners profit are
the first priority and this attitude has gone to such an extent that they do not care
about their lives. The details of work environment in garment industries are
presented in bellows table.

Details of work environment of garment industries

Parameters Range Mea

n

Lighting (lux) 176 – 410

918

Noise (dBA) 74 – 91.7

102

Temperature (0C) 28 – 37 34.8

Humidity (%) 25 – 59 44.5

current threshold level value for eight hour noise exposure is 85 dBA. Hence in the
present study, the noise level in the garment industries was found to be above the
recommended levels. . The temperature in the industries ranged from 280C to
370C with a mean of 34.8 0 C. This high temperature may be due to the climatic
conditions. Workplace heat exposure, in addition to causing heat-related illness
(such as heat stress, heat syncope, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, etc.) has been
found to decrease productivity and to increase job - related accidents.
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Bellows table indicates that one fourth of the workers responded to mechanical
hazards in their workplaces.

Hazards prevalent in garment industries

Particulars Frequency Percentage

(N=514)
Mechanical 1 25.0
hazards 2
9
Physical hazards 1 34.6
7
8
Chemical hazards 60 11.6

Ergonomic 3 67.5
hazards 4
7
Psychosocial 1 32.6
hazards 6
8
Thirty five per cent of the garment workers agreed that they had to experience
physical hazards such as noise, vibration, electricity, temperature and lighting in
their working places. High noise levels are found in some parts of garment
industries. For example, if the factory has associated weaving sheds, these
machines are likely to produce noise levels well in excess of what is considered
safe. Similarly, if many of the sewing machines are old or mounted incorrectly,
they are likely to produce high noise levels. The health effects of noisy
environment and presence of vibration are temporary and permanent hearing
loss and vibration disease called vibration white finger. This condition results
from persistent microscopic damage to nerves and tiny blood vessels in the
hands and fingers as a result of long-term exposure to vibration.
So, there are many difficulties on environmental section in readymade garments
sector in Bangladesh.
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Working hours:
Though the wages are low, the working hours are very long. The RMG factories
claim to operate one eight-hour shift six days a week. Workers are virtually
compelled to work after 8 o‟clock. Sometimes they work until 3 o‟clock in the
morning and report back to start work again five hours later at 8 o‟clock. They are
asked to work whole months at a time the Factory Act, which stipulates that no
employee should work more than ten days consecutively without a break.

While these garments workers’ total monthly take-home pay is not the lowest in
the manufacturing sector, they have to work very long hours for it; overtime is
imposed and in some cases not rewarded, making the hourly returns to their labour
extremely low. Rates of overtime payment are not fixed. Workers are paid very
badly for these long hours, usually only half as much for overtime work as
for normal hours, unless there are high profits from orders, or high demands to fill
new work orders. To use the working hours efficiently, some employers set
production targets for the workers. Workers are given a quota to fulfill. When they
are unable to fulfill their quota during work hours, they have to stay behind and
work without pay. In a field survey undertaken by Bangladesh Institute of Labour
Studies, 72 respondents (60%) stated that payment of overtime was not regular, 28
respondents (23%) complained that overtime was not paid at all, and only sixteen
respondents (13%) showed satisfaction regarding the payment of overtime and the
remaining 4% remained silent on the matter.

According to Mohammad Hasan, executive director of Babylon Group ,workers

press on for 12 hours on an average to earn some extra pay through overtime. He
conducted the study among 7,728 workers of four factories in Savar in March. It
showed that Rangpur and Rajshahi divisions accounted for the two biggest sources
of workers: 40 percent and 17 percent respectively. sometimes, They are asked to
work whole months at a time the Factory Act, which stipulates that no employee
should work more than ten days consecutively without a break.

So, it is clear from above description that working hours are very long in
readymade garments sector in Bangladesh. It is one of the reason why labour
doesn’t satisfy in this sector.
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Safety Problems: maintained here due to inadequate

follow-up. The structure of some
RMG industry is not satisfactory. The
fear of death or fatal injury peeps into
the mind of workers due to building
collapse or fire accident as like as
Rana Plaza, Tazreen Fashion, and
Standard Fashion.

Because of the carelessness of the

factory management and for their
arrogance factory doors used to be
kept locked for security reason
defying act. Safety is needed for the
worker is mandatory to maintain in all
the organization. But without the
facility of this necessary product a lot
of accident is occur incurred every So, At the point of inception of the
year in most of the company. RMG industry, factory buildings were
in an unplanned manner that resulted
Compliance with health and safety
into conversion of common buildings
standards is an important issue.
for factory purpose. As a
Worker safety is very important in
consequence, several disastrous
readymade garment (RMG) industry.
collapses took place such Rana plaza
Especially in Bangladesh, garment
and Tazrin incidents which took away
industry always suffering several
thousands of lives and injured another
devastating accident. Fire is a
thousand. These have brought the
common problem in readymade
safety issue as a priority concern. So,
garment industry. Bangladesh has
it’s clear from above study that
more than 4,500 RMG factories that
workers aren’t feeling safe in their
employed more than four million
working sector.
workers. The reason behind this
readymade industry concentration in
Bangladesh is chief labor cost. But the
worker safety issue is very poorly
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Wages of Workers: (BBS, 1999; Absar and Anand,

2001).According to Dhaka University,
Wage is compensation, usually
the wage should be raised as per the
financial, received by workers in
market commodity price. If a family
exchange for their labour. Maximum
consists of five members they need
worker of RMG sector doing work 10
calorie of Tk.9675 per month. Besides
hours a day, the situation is improve
it he spent for utilities, house rent,
day by day due to pressure of
transportation cost, medicine and
complains, Government &
outfits. So the total amount will be
International customers. The most
Tk. 16210 for a month. Dhaka
important & highlighted issue for
University also thinks each worker
garments worker is their income.
earn Tk.7120. According to
Amidst some of the biggest worker
Bangladesh Institute of Labor Studies
movements and unrest in the history
(BILS) the minimum wage of a single
of Bangladesh in which precious lives
worker should be Tk.5277 and a
have been lost and hundreds injured.
family consists of five members need
Tk. 10565 to lead a standard life.
Wage
No. Country /hour
(US$)
1. Germany 25.00
2. USA 16.00
From above picture labor of garments
3. Turkey 7.3
are not satisfied with their wages.
4. South 5.00
Workers in the Bangladesh RMG
Korea
sector often work long hours for
unusually low pay, regardless of laws 5. Mexico 2.40
mandating overtime pay or a 6. Thailand 1.75
minimum wage. The RMG wage level 7. Poland 1.40
is one of the lowest in the world. Even
8. Vietnam 0.85
by South Asian Standards, it remains
very low with average hourly wage in 9. China 0.5
Bangladesh being 42%, 50% and 33% 10. Sri Lanka 0.45
at those in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka 11. Pakistan 0.41
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12. Indonesia 0.40

Residence difficulty:
13. India 0.35 There are several problems in
14. Nepal 0.30 residence .The main problem is
sharing of a toilet; about 20-30
15. Banglade 0.15 persons now use one toilet which
sh
create not only problem but also
Source: The Financial Express, unhygienic. Maximum workers
Dhaka. want a toilet for every 10 persons.
Water supply is a very big issue,
Above Table illustrates that the now they are very much struggling
wage level in the RMG industry is for clean water supply. About
low compared to other garment 61.1% workers get water but not
producer countries and compares sufficient for their bath &
workers in a similar category in oth washroom as well as workers are
er sectors of the Bangladesh unhappy for pure drinking water.
economy. These low wages are So it is very needed to solve their
caused by a lack of government clean water supply.
interest, poor infrastructure, policy Percentage of Workers as per
makers’ and stakeholders’ Residence Facilities.
ineffective activities. The main
reason for cheap labour is women.
Categories Respond Percentag
Earlier, women were mainly ents e
involved in domestic work and proper 72 80
earned little. But the RMG industry sanitation
has given them the opportunity to proper water 54 61.1
earn money. Initially the private supply
entrepreneurs started the garment Proper gas 84 93.33
industry on a small scale and the supply
role of the government was limited. proper 12 13.33
As a result, the garment owners will electricity
able to fix salaries at a low level Percentage of Workers as per Residence
and did not provide good working Facilities shows in bellows graph:
conditions in spite of large profits.
100
In Bangladesh, only about one 80
60
quarter of the adult population is in 40 Respondents
the workforce. So there is a 20
0 percentage
considerable supply of labor. Column1
As,why labor doesn’t happy with
their small income.
 P a g e | 15

It is a matter of sorrow that maximum Professional legal support is

workers are unhappy with supply of costly:
electricity for daily needs in their
Legal advice and legal support is
residence. Only 13% workers are
always a costly service not only in
covered with good electricity support
Bangladesh but almost anywhere in
. Load shading is a common issue in
the world. Workers income rate are
each & every industrial area. Though
very poor, their social security
they are very tired after their hard
scheme are also weak. Working class
work in factory they want a sound
are always facing serious problem
sleep at night. On the other hand they
when they get some problem on their
cannot manage a generator if the
job. Workers jobs are always on risk.
electricity supply is not sufficient.
The employers have so much power
They live in a very tiny house if they
to terminate the job of workers. To
have no electricity at night they feel
face the legal court cases professional
very bored. Also in summer there is
lawyer's services they need but their
very much problem of humidity and
services are very costly. Workers
temperature. The temperature in
have no ability to pay for that.
summer is almost out of control.
Sometimes it goes about 34 degrees Formulation and implementation of
centigrade. Due to very small proper labor-law reduces the
residence they feel very unhappy in grievances of the labor. On the other
summer during the absence of hand (Itcilo, 2008) refers that
electricity and about 100 percent of avoidance of labor-management and
workers spend their leisure by labor-legislation creates the situation
watching television. in which labor unrest takes place.
A former worker from another factory For these purpose laborers of
told Human Rights Watch: “One of readymade garments sectors didn’t
the main problems I had with the get their own rights overall. As why
factory was that it was very dirty. One they become dissatisfy in working
time I even found leeches in the field and their own life.
drinking water container, and there
was no space [in the factory] to eat so
we had to take our lunches and eat in
the toilet.
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Workers of all grades struggled to meet essential needs:

In examining the expenditure pattern of RMG workers, it was presumed that, the
total household expenditures of upper grade workers would be higher as they earn
more. However, it was interesting to note that, on the contrary, the total standard
deviation between the different grades of workers is BDT 1,208, including BDT 601
for expenditures related to food items, and BDT 1,128 for those related to non-food
items (Table 3). While upper-grade workers, such as those in Grade III, spend the
maximum, those working in some of the lowest grades as in VII, do not necessarily
spend the lowest amount. The relative standard deviation of expenses on food items
(BDT 601), and non-food cost (BDT 1,128) indicates that, consumption patterns of
workers of different grades are almost the same. Such low variation in household
expenditure portrays that workers’ income levels, irrespective of their grades, do not
allow them to spend beyond their bare minimum. Perhaps a large part of these workers
maintain a subsistence level of living, which limits the capacity to spend differently in
accordance with the needs of their families.
Grade wise monthly income:

Grade Total Food Cost Non-food

Living Cost
Cost
Grade III 23127 8053 (34.8) 15074
(65.2)
Grade IV 21367 7535 (35.3) 13832
(64.7)
Grade V 21994 7862 (35.7) 14132
(64.3)
Grade VI 19291 7971 (41.3) 11320
(58.7)
Grade VII 22221 8867 (39.9) 13354
(60.1)
All* 22435 8125 (36.2) 14310
(63.8)
Standard deviation 1208 601 1128
Source: Authors’ calculation based on CPD’s 2018 Survey on RMG Workers’ Livelihood.

For these kinds of reasons, laborers of RMG are mentally depressed.


Labor rights violation and
reprisals against union
organizations:
Almost all of the factories make
garments for well-known retail
companies in North America, Europe,
and Australia. Violations of workers’
rights were a problem in nearly all of
the factories and included practices
contrary to both national Bangladeshi
law and codes of conduct that western
retailers insist, often in production
contracts, that their suppliers follow.
Specific violations documented here
include physical abuse as well as
verbal abuse which is sometimes of a
sexual nature, forced over,failure to
pay wages and bonuses on time or in
full, pressures on workers not to use
the toilet, and provision of dirty
drinking water. In many cases,
workers said that they wanted unions
to help end routine workplace abuses
as well as to address broader safety
concerns. But those attempting to
organize unions in Bangladesh face
potentially serious reprisals.
P a g e | 17
Mistreatment of the workers:
Bangladeshi garment industry
depends on hard working of labor
force. Here workers can be hired at
cheap rate. But the workers are
mistreated by the owners, managers,
officers. The salary, bonus, overtime
bills is not paid in time. The workers
are recruited without recruitment
letter. There is no job contract. They
work long time in congested
environment without rest, nutritious
food, and medicine.
Poor compensation system:
The workers are dissatisfied at
compensation system. In RMG sector,
the workers are under paid and ill-
treated. There is no proper sick leave
facility in maximum factory (on basis
of five factories survey). There is no
payment system and treatment facility
for injured workers. There is limited
maternity leave for the women
workers.
Here, I will try to present the causes
behind workers dissatisfaction in
RMG sector (Bangladesh
Perspective). Now, I will try to find
out the way to outcome of labor
dissatisfaction in bellows section.
 P a g e | 18

 Way to overcome this situation:

• Ensuring implementation of the new wage structure:

Wage structure of RMG sector especially for the women is very lower than that of
other country in the world. Higher wages are positively related to better working
environment and better compliance. Government is monitoring implementation of
new wage structure in the RMG units and requested firms to implement it . The
government may set up a committee, in collaboration with entrepreneurs and
workers, to oversee faithful and appropriate implementation of the new wage
structure on a sustained basis.

• Improving workers’ livelihood:

The workers of RMG sector reside at much neglected places in Bangladesh.

From the country’s development perspective, generation of large number of
employment through garment sector is no longer regarded sufficient for the
development of the poor workers unless better livelihood conditions can be
assured. Workers‟ livelihood can be improved firstly by providing them with
higher level of wages then their shelter and residence. Government may create a
„Workers‟ Livelihood Improvement Fund‟ to support NGOs who are engaged
in providing various kinds of health, nutrition, medical and child care support to
garment workers.

• Assurance of limited working hours:

Hours of work greatly influence production levels. If the hours of work are
unsuitable the workers may be absent or quit. Long working hours or period
without breaks, risks of employees developing fatigue, as well as muscle and soft
tissue injuries, may increase if the work is uncomfortable or repetitive. Working
hours must therefore, so far as is reasonably practicable, be designed and managed
in such a way so as to minimize the impact of working hours on the health, safety
and welfare of employees. It should be noted that working life and personal life are
inter-related, and both can impact on each other.so it should be solved.
 P a g e | 19

• Assurance of Compensation (payment, hourly wages or annual salaries)

and benefits: Compensation (payment, hourly wages or annual salaries) and
benefits (insurance, pensions, vacation, modified workweek, sick days, stock
options, etc.) can be a catch because an employee’s performance can be
influenced by compensation and benefits, and vice versa. In the ideal
situation, employees feel they are paid what they are worth, are rewarded
with sufficient benefits, and receive some intrinsic satisfaction (good work
environment, interesting work and others). Compensation should be legal
and ethical, adequate, motivating, fair and equitable, cost-effective and able
to provide employment security.
• The working environment should be improved:

The working environment is the most important factor for sustaining and
improving the efficiency of the worker. . Unhealthy and unhappy workers doing
their jobs under conditions of physical and mental stress are inefficient
producers, unlike machines, which are relatively indifferent to their
surroundings. The physical working conditions depend on many factors,
temperature, ventilation, lighting and sanitation, nature of the floor and stairs
and equipment installed. So the working environment is not only conducive to
better health and safety but also to worker wellbeing. Ensuring workers’ health
and safety, ergonomics and friendly environment in the workplace not only
meet human rights but also save lives.

• Improving existing laws and regulations:

About one third of sample entrepreneurs are of the opinion that laws and
regulations guiding the operation of RMG industry should be improved.
Bangladesh required more flexible working hours, with provisions for work during
the night shift, recruitment of young workers as apprentices etc. Others mentioned
about enforcement of more strict laws for improvement of worker’s health and
safety standards in the workplace, change in the building codes for improving
working conditions, and for ensuring compliance with factory laws etc. The issues
and concerns as regards various acts of the new Labor Law such as same age
pattern for men and women workers, working hours, punishment for failing to
 P a g e | 20

provide maternity leave, retirement benefit of workers, timely payment of fired

workers etc. need to be reviewed.

If these recommendations’ should follow, I think it could possible to solve the

issue of labour dissatisfaction in RMG sector in Bangladesh.

 Conclusion:
Bangladesh is a developing country with high growth opportunity. It has huge
opportunity in its garment & textile industry. The country is a part of
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) which enabled the country to become
the second largest exporter to the European Union. If the country can overcome
these constraints, it could do much better in the garment industry. Once
Bangladesh can ensure best and high quality products along with better . labor
condition, then it can be the market leader for exporting the RMG in the world.
The key point of this study is that the worker’s life status is improving now but
not the optimum level. If the productivity is increased & ensure strong training
opportunities for these workers then the factory can provide them more
facilities.it is noticeable that Standard working conditions, better wages,
minimum working hours, incentives and respect for equality can change into
better and more satisfied workers and a lower turnover of staff. In the RMG
sector workers constantly feel that they have been largely deprived of the rights
and benefits in the existing labour laws, especially the rights and benefits
related to issue of appointment letters, job security, provident fund, gratuity and
working hours. Also, the level of wages is the most significant source of
dissatisfaction for workers in the RMG industry. RMG owner often deny that
they have the power to improve the wages or conditions of workers. Moreover,
prospects of promotion in the RMG industry of Bangladesh are uncommon. In
most cases, garments workers remain in the same job throughout their working
lives. There is limited opportunity for training facilities in the EPZ sector for
high officials, but in the private sector it is restricted. So, at the end we can say
that workers in RMG sector will be more active when they overcome this
circumstances and productivity in RMG sector also increase.

________________________End_______________________
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