Editorial
Violence in garment factories
A holistic approach needed urgently
THE situation in the garment sector continues to be cause for deep concern, as labour unrest, which once again turned violent on Tuesday, kept around 350 factories closed in Mirpur area throughout the day. The agitating workers clashed with the law enforcers, obstructed traffic and looters were seen taking advantage of the chaotic situation.
The commerce ministry has formed a committee to investigate the matter against the backdrop of the authorities maintaining that the situation is the handiwork of certain vested quarters and some of the instigators have been identified. If that were true, then a very important part of the government's job has been done. But merely pointing fingers at 'conspiracy' by some political elements or our competitors in international market would not really help unless this is substantiated and the instigators identified in public. Let the 'conspiracy theory' not obscure the fact that the workers have some genuine demands.
What is needed is a sense of urgency to settle the disputes before more damage is done. The latest flare-up had a lot to do with the detention of a workers' representative, who was finally released, but not before the agitation took a violent turn. There is a visible chasm between the workers and the owners, as no mutually acceptable mechanism for reaching any negotiated settlement appears to be in place. In the absence of CBAs some regular channel of communication between employees and employers will have to be established.
The owners are concerned about losing "competitiveness' in the international market but protection of the workers' legitimate rights is also an element of competition having to do with compliance status. Depending on the law enforcers for solving their problems with the workers is certainly not the best option. So, the owners are supposed to demonstrate a better understanding of not only the genuine grievances of the workers, but also their mindset and psychology.
On the other hand, we are very perturbed by the lawlessness, vandalism and destructive behaviour of the workers in a sector on which depends the livelihood of 15-20 lakh garment workers and 70 percent of the country's export earnings.
We are of the view that the situation is too grave for tokenism or ad hoc measures to work. Along with some in-house troubleshooting mechanisms and a standby body to be activated on a short notice to deliver quick solutions, a holistic approach should be taken to come to grips with the whole array of problems that plague the garment sector.
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