Abida came to Dhaka from Rangpur to overcome the lack of family. Then he worked in a garment factory in Mirpur. He has been working in the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) member factory for about five years. Now getting a salary of 16 thousand rupees. About 10,000 taka goes for food, clothes and house rent. He has to send the remaining money to the village for his mother.
Jago News spoke to Abida about the great May Day. He said, the birth of the world of lack. I have no regrets about my eating and drinking. It is difficult for the old mother at home. She (mother) is everything to me. Now the salary has increased slightly, which is very little. With this, what I earn from overtime does not cover the household expenses. Because the salary has increased, the cost has increased several times.
In response to the question of how much she had saved in her job so far, Abida smiled and said, “If I had saved, I would have got married.” Haven’t made any savings yet. How will the savings happen as the prices of daily commodities have increased? It is not enough to provide only food for the mother, medicine is also needed.
Not only Abida, the lives of hundreds of young people like her are tied to the shackles of poverty. In the world of lack, in the throes of poverty, he forgets his own needs and pulls the burden of the world.
Talked with another garment worker Bakulnesh. He said, I came to Dhaka with my family from Bhola about 8 years ago. I live in Tongi area of Gazipur. I worked in a garment factory there. After working for seven years, I married a colleague. The family runs on what the husband and wife get together. There is nothing to say about own savings.
Garment workers protesting for wages/File photo
I am currently pregnant. So for two months, I saved several thousand rupees with great difficulty. Physical illness also increased. In these few days, all that I had been saving for doctor’s advice and buying medicine is over. The dream of the poor remains only a dream.
He said with regret that he has to work long hours standing in this condition. Various diseases including back pain have appeared in it. Body feels very weak due to pregnancy. If the owner gives some money along with leave, then maybe I can see the child’s face well, otherwise I don’t know what will happen.
Garment worker Hosneara Begum works in a factory in Malibagh area. Their factory takes over the work of other large export-oriented factories. Hosneara’s salary and bonus depend on money coming from there.
Hosneara Begum said, I only got bonus before Eid. March wages are still half due, which is up to the owners. I paid house rent and daughter’s school fees with half salary money. I run the family by bringing the rest from the shop. I will pay if salary.
Although green factory workers are given extra benefits, they can eat nutritious food. Although they do not save much, they are relatively better than other workers. But the officers or executives are good, they also have savings.
One of the sectors of export income is the ready-made garment industry. Workers are the most important part of this sector. But they are the most neglected. Even though they work with various health risks, they do not get decent wages. This is what came out in the discussion with the leaders of the garment workers.
The labor leaders say that with the investment in the garment industry, the scope of the factory has increased, but the workers have not improved. Rana Plaza was the largest tra JD of the country’s ready-made garments sector. Keeping this accident in front, compliance has been ensured in the factories. The proprietors improved the factory, and prospered themselves. The number of green factories increased to over two hundred, but the workers did not prosper. As a result, the number of workers also decreased.
At the National Press Club on April 23, labor leader and Bangladesh Institute of Labor Studies (BILS) Secretary General Nazrul Islam Khan said that after the Rana Plaza accident, there were trade unions in the country due to various pressures. Training arrangements have been made for workers and labor leaders. In exchange for the blood of the martyred workers, the industry has regained its positive side. But the families of the injured and killed workers in the Rana Plaza incident still do not understand their availability.
He said that due to Accord-Alliance there is no child labor in BGMEA-BKMEA member garment factories. However, there is no dearth of child labor in the factories that exist outside of it. No one wants to take responsibility for it. Rana Plaza injured workers in wheelchairs for 11 years, their sighs are not over. They have to take initiative to stop sighing.
When talking about this, Bangladesh Labor Congress Joint General Secretary Khadija Akhter said, “We now have a reduced number of women workers in the garment industry, and their opportunities have also decreased. Now is the time to look at this. A few days ago, the agitation for minimum wages resulted in the death of four workers. In return, the salary was 12 thousand 500 taka. It has been 11 years since the Rana Plaza accident but still many have not recovered, they have not been rehabilitated. Many of the dead have not yet been identified. We want rationing system to be introduced for injured workers, it will give at least some relief.
Labor leader Abdul Hai said that there are 215 green factories in the country. This means that there has been development on the part of the owners, but where the development of the workers is not. Due to intense heat, the government has issued a heat alert as a warning. But even last week, my labor brothers and sisters in Fatulla had to ignore the heat and stand on the street to demand their salary. But what was seen there instead of salary came down on them with police baton, how can it be accepted.
EAR/MAH/GKS
#scope #factory #increased #worker #progressed