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Last Wednesday (30th Jan) two workers in World Dresses Ltd, Mirapur, Dhaka, were attacked and beaten by management staff at the end of an evening shift. Khokon and Malek were apparently almost the last of the workforce on the premises at 8pm, as they were washing themselves before leaving. Five officials appeared and accused them of loitering with intent to rob the company. They then beat the workers severely:

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"‘We repeatedly told them we had gone to the washroom, but they beat us saying that we had stayed back to steal things,’ said Malek, the injured worker, in Dhaka Orthopaedics Hospital.
‘They broke my hands and legs and hit Khokon in the head, chest and abdomen until he fell unconscious,’ Malek said."

As their condition deteriorated, the management staff eventually took them to hospital; Khokon died at 3am, while Malek is still hospitalised with broken limbs. A manager and security guard have been arrested, while police say they are looking for three others. The company has promised compensation to Malek and to Khokon's family.

Fearing unrest and attempting to hide the incident, management closed the factory on Thursday, falsely claiming a failure of power supply. When knowledge of the attack reached the company's workers, hundreds demonstrated outside the factory on Friday morning and blocked the main road for two and a half hours. When police baton-charged the crowd they responded with stones and bricks. Ten workers were injured. As the para-military Rapid Action Battalion arrived in the area, workers dispersed.

They regrouped for a meeting with officials from the BGMEA (garment bosses' federation) where the officials promised compensation for the victims and payment of all workers' wages for that day. 1800 of the 2000 then returned to work.

Some garment sector bosses remain as brutal and arrogant as ever, but the wider ruling class is nervous and worried; of the threat of growing worker unrest, of stiff competition in the global marketplace, particularly from Vietnam, India and China - and now a US recession will hit their main export markets hard. Interest rates of 17% (compared to 3 and 4% in China and India) also handicap Bangladeshi garment bosses. "Bangladesh apparel exports to USA amounted to $1354 million in the first five months (July-November) of the current fiscal year which was $27 million less than that earned during the corresponding period of the previous year". Tighter profit margins means bosses have to try to sweat the workers even harder to remain competitive. As well as expressing a routine bosses' contempt for their labour force, this recent murder is probably a symptom of these fears. The Cambodian experience may be a warning to Bangladeshi bosses;

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Does Bangladesh face downturn in garment exports like Cambodia due to economic recession in the United States and continuing labour disputes at home?

This question has become relevant as Cambodian readymade garment exports plummeted by 46 per cent during the last quarter of 2007 due to these two factors, chairman of the Cambodian Garment Manufacturers Association Van Sou Ieng was quoted by AFP as saying.

President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Anwarul Alam Chowdhury Parvez said, "Country's RMG export was on the right track until January. The ongoing labour unrest is yet to show any adverse effect. But then it will hit hard the industry if it continues."
He said the US economic recession will continue for the next 6/7 years. If Bangladesh fails to handle the labour issues it will fail to get advantage of the New Partnership Development Bill. And this may result in a fall in export to the US.

"Labour issue is one of the main concerns in the US," he said.
Parvez said the ongoing labour unrest is hampering production in the factories, increasing the cost of goods and also casting negative impacts on the country's image.

"The industry leaders, government and also the media have to tactfully handle the labour issue to keep the sector alive."

żródło: libcom.org