In late April of 2013 in the Savar Upazila of Dhaka, Bangladesh, an eight-story commercial building named Rana Plaza, the working place of over 3000 garment workers, collapsed. By the time volunteers and emergency services were able to clear the rubble, the death toll stood at 1,129 with about 2,500 injured. What began as another normal day, soon became a national tragedy that is considered the deadliest garment-factory accident in history.
The industry that was the backbone of economic development in Bangladesh came under international scrutiny as government bodies and factory owners were asked to be accountable for safety and worker conditions. In the process, the labor force that powers some 5000 garment factories which contributed $24.59 billion in exports in 2015, became marginalized as an impoverished and in-empowered working class.
As we draw closer to the 4th anniversary of the Rana Plaza incident, the industry has undergone significant improvement to ensure workplace safety and worker's rights. With support from both the national and international community, the National Action Plan (NAP), Accord and Alliance - have made visible progress to complete inspection of 100% of factories and the NAP will complete 100% factory inspection by this August.
As cheap labor drives growth, Bangladesh is now home to one of the largest denim manufacturing industries in the world, generating over US$ 2 billion export value every year. However, in spite of the accolade that the industry has garnered, the workforce continues to be its biggest strength and seems to be missing from the picture being presented to the world today.
Who are these people? What are their backgrounds? Are their jobs at risk of being automated? Will the subsequent generation continue to play a role in this workforce or will Bangladesh face the same issues as China with a semi-skilled workforce in a labor driven economy?
To answer these questions, we have to understand the people behind the numbers and know their stories. One initiative aims to shorten the knowledge gap by bringing those stories to the public platform - Made In Equality. This initiative is supported by C&A Foundation, with a vision to change the way the world perceives garment workers. Here is such a story curated from their website about a young garment worker.
PC: Made In Equality
A curious perception is created about the people involved once you read some of their stories. They are everyday people like you and I, with dreams, aspirations and ambitions. They are not aware of the impact they have on the economy, and frankly, don’t seem to care either - which may be a cause of concern for the RMG industry going forward.
It’s not just tech startups and self driving cars that promise progress to the economy at large. Globalization has connected consumers in America with blue collar workers in Bangladesh, and some might say, even built a dependency for the work they do.
PC: Somakal
That is probably why initiatives like Made in Equality is important. It fundamentally makes us more appreciative of who we are and acknowledges the impact of our work in shaping the global economy.