Bangladesh Workers Protest Over Low Wages

· It’s the Second Largest Garment Exporter in the World after China

Protests over low wages had erupted at dozens of garment factories in Bangladesh, one of the top suppliers of clothing for global brands like H&M and Gap.

At least 14 labor activists and workers have been detained since the unrest began in December, according to arrest records. The demonstrations disrupted work at factories that supply clothing to global fashion companies like Inditex of Spain, owner of the Zara brand, and PVH, which owns the Tommy Hilfiger brand. The police say the unrest has led to the suspension or firing of roughly 1,500 workers, many of whom took part in the protests.

But labor rights groups say the government is trying to scare workers into silence by detaining innocent people. They say the detentions, and the looming risk of more arrests, are the biggest setback for workers since the collapse of Rana Plaza, a building that housed garment factories, where more than 1,100 people died in 2013.

That tragedy, one of the worst industrial disasters in history, exposed major safety hazards at factories in Bangladesh, which churns out a steady stream of low-cost goods. And it prompted some of the world’s biggest brands to push for better conditions for the workers who make their clothes.

In letters to Bangladesh’s prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, and other officials, retailers urged the government to take action to protect workers, including addressing wage issues that had led to the protests. The minimum wage in Bangladesh is 32 cents an hour.

Gap, in a separate letter, said it was troubled by the recent events, and urged officials to ensure that no one was targeted “solely because of any association with a trade union or other group.”

The prime minister’s office did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Bangladesh exports billions of dollars’ worth of clothes each year, making it the world’s second-largest exporter of ready-made garments after China. But its factories are efficient for some of the same reasons that they have been deadly: overcrowded buildings, limited oversight and a government that has historically repressed workers’ efforts to organize and fight for better conditions.

In the wake of the Rana Plaza collapse, retailers formed two coalitions dedicated to improving the lives of workers: the accord, led by H&M, and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, which includes Gap and Walmart.

Workers were frustrated by stagnant wages in a country whose cost of living had risen over the past few years. Wages have risen only twice in the past decade, even as inflation has risen as much as 10 percent a year, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Workers expected their pay to be reviewed last year by a government wage board that can meet every three years. When that did not happen, they started protesting.

Siddiqur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, a trade association that represents factory owners, said factories, too, had come under pressure: Costs have risen 17.5 percent annually for the last two years, he said, even as global clothing prices have decreased.

Both Gap and H&M said that they supported a regular wage review mechanism to ensure stability in the future, and that they were monitoring the situation closely.

Labor advocates, though, say the global companies should be doing more, since billion-dollar brands like H&M have a lot of leverage with local factories and the government.

A spokesman for H&M, Patrick Shaner, said in an email that the company had no plans to change its sourcing arrangements.