Factory Closures Spark Upheaval in Bangladesh
Garment factory workers, management and police have clashed in the past week after facility closures around the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka left salaries in limbo.
The Pride group factories—Fashion Knit Ltd. and H.R. Textile Mills Limited, which is listed with the Dhaka and Chittagong Stock Exchange and targets exports to Europe, Asia and Canada—announced they’re closure until the end of August, according to workers at the production facilities in Savar near Dhaka. A notice posted Saturday on the gate stated that the facility would re-open Aug. 31, and management would settle worker pay issues before operations resumed, they said.
More from Sourcing Journal
Rafiqul Islam Sujon, president of the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation, a workers’ rights group, told Sourcing Journal that although the 2,100 workers at the factory were paid in July, dues for the 400-odd management team had not been paid for the past few months. Workers ringed the factory on Thursday in a show of support.
Factory management asked workers to return the next day to receive some of their pay. However, July salaries weren’t disbursed, and workers returned Saturday to find the gates locked.
During a protest, police reportedly pushed and beat a woman worker, angry workers told Sujon said.
As tensions flared, garment workers who said they were beaten back with tear shells and rubber bullets demanded the removal of officer Altaf Hossain with the Ashulia Industrial police.
Police officials refuted these claims, saying that they were merely stopping workers from blocking the highway, and from attacking law enforcement with brick bats. “We fired several rounds of tear shells to disperse them,” the police said, adding that the factories would remain closed during the unrest.
However, Sujon added that workers saw raw materials being moved behind the locked factory gates. “Thinking that the factory was being completely shut down, started protesting, thinking they would not even get severance. Many of the workers have been working at the factory for more than 20 years,” he said.
Talks between the union leaders and factory management have been productive despite the disruption. When asked about the closure, factory reps said they were “suffering from the present economic conditions and a lack of orders, the raw materials were only being moved to expedite and look at other possible orders.” They stressed that the factory wasn’t looking at shutting down altogether, Sujon pointed out.
“While earlier plans were to open the factory at the end of the month, they have said they will open the factory this week itself and all worker dues will be settled,” he said.
Factory closures appear to be a problem facing smaller owners battling rising raw materials prices and an ongoing energy crisis.
Factory owners are especially worried about falling orders, according to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and exporters Association (BGMEA).
While the exports figures in general have been going up—Bangladesh apparel exports were up 10 percent in the financial year ending June 30, 2023, at $47 billion, accounting for more than 80 percent of the country’s exports, many manufacturers have been complaining that their exports were down by 20-30 percent.
July figures from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) also indicate otherwise. Apparel exports last month showed a 17.43 percent increase over the previous year, accounting for $3.96 billion in revenue. Apparel contributed 86 percent of total merchandise exports in July. According to EPB figures, exports of knitwear—a Pride group specialty—were up by 22 percent, and wovens rose 11.54 percent.
