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Introduction Origin of the report Health & safety polices are not available in most of the garments manufacturers & exporters in Ready made Garments Industry of Bangladesh. As a requirement of Human Resource Management course, this project is prepared on Health & Safety issues in present Garments Industry of Bangladesh. Because if Heath & Safety policies cannot be established properly, in near future garments sector of Bangladesh will face very tough competition for ensuring it’s competitive survival in the world market. Purpose of the report Present necessity of Heath & Safety policies in work place & invented implementation in developed countries • Analyze the present the Health & Safety situation in workplace of Garments industry comparing to other part of the world • Present guidelines for building proper Health & Safety plan for present garments manufactures & exporters. Scope of the report This report will be very fruitful for any ready garments manufacturer for ensuring proper Health & Safe environment within his organization by establishing a proper Health & Safety plan.
Not only that this report will provide formal guidelines lines for building the HS Policy. On the other hand it will help the manufactures to understand the necessity of the policy because example of developed countries & few goon manufactures are mentioned here. From the past unexpected incidents the garments manufactures can discover that what kind of loss in the previous various garments organizations occurred because of lack of Healthy & Safety policy. Limitations Because of limitation of time this report is prepared based on the collected secondary data form various electronic journals of home & abroad.
More recent news & reasons can be presented if data are collected after building a primary questionnaire for conducting a survey among garments workers of Bangladesh who are now working in very unhealthy & risky environment. Historical Background In Bangladesh there are various sectors. In last few years garments sector become a vital part for the county of Bangladesh. Due to the large number of population garment sector provide an opportunities for employment. Being a developing county garment sector provide a huge number of foreign currency and give a guide line to the people of Bangladesh.
Readymade garments, for the last couple of decades, have been the life- line of Bangladesh’s economy. At the last count, the sector accounted for nearly 80 per cent of export earnings. Consequently, it provides profits for the currently surging consumer class that drives the economy further forward and jobs for hundreds of thousands of semi-skilled workers, mostly women, who in turn provide livelihood for millions. But most of the garments manufacturers & exporters are not concern for ensuring a proper healthy & safe environment for their workers.
Most of the garments workers of Bangladesh have to work in a very unhygienic environment which ultimately creates an impact on their health & life. After lot of articles published about this fact recently few organizations within the garments industry has established HR Department, Health & Safety Department & Compliance Department in their organization. But the number is very few. Every organization should have these departments for ensuring a better business in a better working environment. Sources and methods of data collection Because of lack of time the full report is prepared based on secondary data.
Secondary data are collected from the following resources. • Newspapers-Internet Edition • Electronic Journals • Text Books Definitions Burnout 1. A failure in a device attributable to burning, excessive heat, or friction. 2. Aerospace. a) The termination of rocket or jet-engine operation because of fuel exhaustion or shutoff. b) The point at which this termination occurs. 3. Physical or emotional exhaustion, especially as a result of long-term stress or dissipation. 4. One who is worn out physically or emotionally, as from long-term stress Plan of the report Time and schedule Planned Job |Duration | | | | |Secondary data collection |20th November -6th December | | | | |Prepare the structure of the report |7-9th December | | | |Buildup the body part/ present situation |10-15th December | | | | | |16-18th December | |Analyze the situation | | | | | | |19th December | |Give recommendations. | | | | | |Prepared for the final submission |20th December | Discussion of findings and Analysis Health and safety management Health and safety management means organized efforts and procedures for identifying workplace hazards and reducing accidents and exposure to harmful situations and substances.
It also includes training of personnel in accident prevention, accident response, emergency preparedness, and use of protective clothing and equipment. (http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/health-and-safety-management. html) Occupational Safety and Health Occupational Safety and Hhealth is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. As a secondary effect, it may also protect co-workers, family members, employers, customers, suppliers, nearby communities, and other members of the public who are impacted by the workplace environment. Since 1950, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have shared a common definition of occupational health.
It was adopted by the Joint ILO/WHO Committee on Occupational Health at its first session in 1950 and revised at its twelfth session in 1995. The definition reads: “Occupational health should aim at: the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations; the prevention amongst workers of departures from health caused by their working conditions; the protection of workers in their employment from risks resulting from factors adverse to health; the placing and maintenance of the worker in an occupational environment adapted to his physiological and psychological capabilities; and, to summarize, the adaptation of work to man and of each man to his job. ” Importance of Occupational Safety and Health
The reasons for establishing good occupational safety and health standards are frequently identified as: • Moral – An employee should not have to risk injury at work, nor should others associated with the work environment. • Economic – many governments realize that poor occupational safety and health performance results in cost to the State (e. g. through social security payments to the incapacitated, costs for medical treatment, and the loss of the “employability” of the worker). Employing organisations also sustain costs in the event of an incident at work (such as legal fees, fines, compensatory damages, investigation time, lost production, lost goodwill from the workforce, from customers and from the wider community). Legal – Occupational safety and health requirements may be reinforced in civil law and/or criminal law; it is accepted that without the extra “encouragement” of potential regulatory action or litigation, many organisations would not act upon their implied moral obligation. • Healthy and safe workplaces related with productivity Healthy and safe workplaces are fundamental to achieving Productive Work and High Quality Working Lives for New Zealand. We all need to increase our understanding of why workplace health and safety is important if we are to increase the number of healthy, safe and productive businesses. Workplace health and safety is important as a commitment to our employees, workmates, families and friends.
It is important as an investment in our economy; and it is important as a legal duty. A team from Massey and Auckland Universities carried out an extensive review of New Zealand and overseas literature, and followed this up with local case studies to test how well businesses understand the connection between a healthy and safe workplace and their bottom line. This report summaries the literature review, its key findings and main themes. The report covers: 1. the known costs and causes of injuries and disease in New Zealand and overseas 2. the challenges to finding ways to measure health and safety performance 3. the links between health and safety interventions and increased performance and productivity 4.
The opportunities for businesses to change and further research. Positive links between health, safety and productivity The literature review found compelling evidence of many potential benefits by the links between health, safety and productivity, including: • Fewer injuries that stop people from working • Increased innovation • Improved quality • Enhanced corporate reputation • Lower costs to compensate workers • Improved staff recruitment and retention. Over the past five years, the numbers of studies measuring the effects of health and safety on worker productivity have increased dramatically, as employers strive to understand and control health care costs.
More fundamental, however, is the growing recognition that productivity drives economic growth and profits, and may create a competitive business advantage. Ingredients for success The literature identified a number of common success factors in businesses that demonstrate the links between work quality and productivity including: 1. A high-quality working environment 2. Good levels of co-operation between management and employees 3. Work organization that gives employees challenges, responsibilities and job autonomy 4. The development of new working methods and equipment to improve working postures and decrease the strain of physical work 5.
Allowing creative solutions for specific safety and health problems 6. A thorough analysis of the different production costs that can be directly or indirectly related to health and safety hazards (costs of incidents, loss of productivity and quality, and other production costs due, for example, to the use of inadequate materials). 7. In addition, the literature identified the need for both employers’ attitudes and employees’ behaviors to change in order to reduce injuries, disease and deaths, and increase performance and productivity. Indicators for health, safety and productivity Performance indicators are essential management tools for measuring the successes of prevention and intervention programmes.
Developing effective indicators is vital to clearly establish the link between business profits and a company’s investment in workplace safety and health. Research suggests shifts are emerging away from retrospective ‘negative’ measures of healthy and safety and more towards a ‘basket’ approach of more sophisticated measures. These more sophisticated measures provide information on a range of health and safety activities – both positive and negative. The positive indicators measure pro-active initiatives towards achieving a target (such as audits, which can identify practices to improve), while negative indicators (such as the number of incidents) show whether the target is being reached.
Health & Safety Policy Implications in various parts of the world Prformance as it is recognized this has benefits for both the worker (through maintenance of health) and the enterprise (through improved productivity and quality). In 1996 the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work was founded. Member states of the European Union have all transposed into their national legislation a series of directives that establish minimum standards on occupational safety and health. These directives (of which there are about 20 on a variety of topics) follow a similar structure requiring the employer to assess the workplace risks and put in place preventive measures based on a hierarchy of control. This hierarchy starts with elimination of the hazard and ends with personal protective equipment.
In the UK, health and safety legislation is drawn up and enforced by the Health and Safety Executive and local authorities (the local council) under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Increasingly in the UK the regulatory trend is away from prescriptive rules, and towards risk assessment. Recent major changes to the laws governing asbestos and fire safety management embrace the concept of risk assessment. In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 created both the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA, in the U. S. Department of Labor, is responsible for developing and enforcing workplace safety and health regulations. NIOSH, in the U. S.
Department of Health and Human Services, is focused on research, information, education, and training in occupational safety and health. OSHA has been regulating occupational safety and health since 1971. Occupational safety and health regulation of a limited number of specifically defined industries was in place for several decades before that, and broad regulations by some individual states was in place for many years prior to the establishment of OSHA. In Canada, workers are covered by provincial or federal labour codes depending on the sector in which they work. Workers covered by federal legislation (including those in mining, transportation, and federal employment) are covered by the Canada
Labour Code; all other workers are covered by the health and safety legislation of the province they work in. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), an agency of the Government of Canada, was created in 1978 by an Act of Parliament. The act was based on the belief that all Canadians had “… a fundamental right to a healthy and safe working environment. ” . CCOHS is mandated to promote safe and healthy workplaces to help prevent work-related injuries and illnesses. In Malaysia, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) under the Ministry of Human Resource is responsible to ensure that the safety, health and welfare of workers in both the public and private sector is upheld.
DOSH is responsible to enforce the Factory and Machinery Act 1969 and the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994. Occupational safety and health may involve interaction among many cognate disciplines, including occupational medicine, occupational (or industrial) hygiene, public health, safety engineering, health physics, ergonomics, toxicology, epidemiology, environmental health, industrial relations, public policy, sociology, and occupational health psychology Common Workplace Hazards Harry McShane, age 16, 1908. Pulled into machinery in a factory in Cincinnati. His arm was ripped off at the shoulder and his leg broken. No compensation paid. Photograph by Lewis Hine.
Workplace hazards are often grouped into physical hazards, physical agents, chemical agents, environmental hazards, environmental agents, and psychosocial issues. Physical hazards include: • Collisions • Confined space • Slips and trips • Falls from height • Struck by objects • Workplace transport • Equipment-related injury • Electricity • Heavy metals • Falling on a pointed object . Physical agents include: • Noise • vibration • Lighting • Barotrauma (hypobaric/hyperbaric pressure) Biological hazards include: • Bacteria • Virus Chemical agents include: • Acids • Ionizing radiation • Lead • Solvents Environmental hazards include: • Asphyxiation • Dehydration Environmental agents include: • Cold stress (hypothermia) Heat stress (hyperthermia) • Particulate inhalation Fire hazards: • Explosion • Fumes (noxious gases/vapors) • Highly-reactive chemicals • Petroleum Mechanical hazards include: • Compressed air/high pressure fluids (such as cutting fluid) • Crushing • Cutting • Draw in • Entanglement • Friction and abrasion • Impact • Moving parts • Shearing • Stabbing and puncture Psychosocial issues include: • Work-related stress, whose causal factors include excessive working time and overwork • Violence from outside the organisation • Bullying, which may include emotional, verbal, and sexual harassment • Mobbing Guidelines for a Standard Health & Safety Policy
Any company with more than 5 employees is legally obliged to possess a comprehensive health and safety policy. Professional Health and Safety Consultants can provide your company with a bespoke safety policy; the document is around 100 pages long and any extra sections that you may need in respect of your particular business practice can be written for you at an extra charge. There are many pro-formats that come with the policy that can be photocopied and re-used if needs be and we are always happy to assist you with any enquiry you may have however large or small. Prices vary according to specific needs and are therefore only available on application. Essential format and content of the policy statement
ESSENTIALLY, A POLICY STATEMENT SHOULD CONSIST OF THREE PARTS, AS FOLLOWS: 1. A general statement of intent This should outline in broad terms the organization’s overall philosophy in relation to the management of health and safety, including reference to the broad responsibilities of both management and workforce. 2. Organization (people and their duties) This outlines the chain of command in terms of health and safety management. • Who is responsible to whom and for what? • How is the accountability fixed so as to ensure that delegated responsibilities are undertaken? • How is the policy implementation monitored? Other organizational features should include: individual job descriptions having a safety content; • details of specific safety responsibilities; • the role and function of safety committee(s); • the role and function of safety representatives; • and a management chart clearly showing the lines of responsibility and accountability in terms of health and safety management. 3. Arrangement (systems and procedures) This part of the policy deals with the practical arrangements by which the policy will be effectively implemented. These include: • safety training; • safe systems of work; • environmental control; • safe place of work; • machine/area guarding; • housekeeping; • safe plant and equipment; • noise control; radiation safety; • dust control; • use of toxic materials; • internal communication/participation; • utilization of safety committee(s) and safety representatives; • fire safety and prevention; • medical facilities and welfare; • maintenance of records; • accident reporting and investigation; • emergency procedures; • and workplace monitoring. Basic objectives of a Health & Safety Policy Health and safety policy statements should state their main objectives, e. g. : (a) Commit to operating the business in accordance with the Health and Safety at Work Act and all applicable regulations made under the Act, ‘so far as reasonably practicable’; b) Specify that health and safety are management responsibilities ranking equally with responsibilities for production, sales, costs, and similar matters; (c) Indicate that it is the duty of management to see that everything reasonably practicable is done to prevent personal injury in the processes of production, and in the design, construction, and operation of all plant, machinery and equipment, and to maintain a safe and healthy place of work; (d) Indicate that it is the duty of all employees to act responsibly, and to do everything they can to prevent injury to themselves and fellow workers. Although the implementation of policy is a management responsibility, it will rely heavily on the co-operation of those who actually produce the goods and take the risks; e) Identify the main board director or managing board director (or directors) who have prime responsibility for health and safety, in order to make the commitment of the board precise, and provide points of reference for any manager who is faced with a conflict between the demands of safety and the demands of production; (f) Be dated so as to ensure that it is periodically revised in the light of current conditions, and be signed by the chairman, managing director, chief executive, or whoever speaks for the organization at the highest level and with the most authority on all matters of general concern; and (g) Clearly state how and by whom its operation is to be monitored. Delegation of authority among employees in the Health & Safety policy Organization (people and their duties) Suitable policies will demonstrate – both in written and diagrammatic form (where appropriate) – the following features: a) The unbroken and logical delegation of duties through line management and supervisors who operate where the hazards arise and the majority of the accidents occur. (b) The identification of key personnel (by name and/or job title) who are accountable to top management for ensuring that detailed arrangements for safe working are drawn up, implemented and maintained. (c) The definition of the roles of both line and functional management. Specific job descriptions should be formulated. (d) The provision of adequate support for line management via relevant functional management such as safety advisers, engineers, medical advisers, designers, hygienists, chemists, agronomists, etc. e) The nomination of persons with the competence and authority to measure and monitor safety performance. (f) The responsibilities of all employees. (g) The arrangements for employee representation on health and safety matters (i. e. whether by trade union safety representatives, employee elected safety representatives or by direct consultation with each employee (see joint consultation, safety representatives and safety committees). (h) The involvement of the safety adviser and relevant line/functional management at the planning/design stage. (j) The provision of the means to deal with failures in order to meet job requirements. k) The fixing of accountability for the management of health and safety in a similar manner to other management functions Responsibilities of Employees of an Organization Manager(s) and Supervisors THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF MANAGER(S) AND SUPERVISORS WITHIN THE COMPANY SHALL BE: • To read and understand the company’s safety policy and to ensure that its provisions are being effectively carried out. • To bring the provisions of this policy, in so far as they affect the personnel, to the attention of the employees under the control of particular managers/supervisors. • To inspect machinery, equipment and structures regularly and to ensure that any defects discovered are remedied forthwith. To prevent access by the workforce or other persons to any defective machinery, equipment or structures until the faults have been rectified. • To ensure that employees are adequately instructed in the safe operation of equipment and machinery. • To ensure that any areas of the site to which the general public or visitors may have access, are maintained to ensure their safety. • To arrange for all necessary insurances, certificates etc. , appropriate to the site’s size and function. • To arrange for the reporting of all incidents to the insurers where appropriate. • To arrange the appropriate fire-certificates for each site, the proper maintenance of fire-fighting equipment, regular fire drills and adequate access to fire-fighting services. Ensure that adequate first-aid facilities are available and adequately maintained. • To ensure that all accidents are reported in accordance with the provision of this policy. • Ensure that no unnecessary risks are taken by the employees in pursuance of their duties and to ensure a site disciplinary procedure is in place for offenders Ready Made Garments Sector of Bangladesh Introduction: Being the biggest contributor to the country’s foreign exchange- around 76 percent- and employing around 2. 2 million people, 80 percent of them women, the importance of nurturing a sector as vibrant and thriving as the garments industry, cannot be emphasized enough. With export of Ready Made Garments (RMG) reaching 9. billion in 2007 and predictions of it rising to 12 billion or more in the next two years, it is obvious that the industry is growing at an exponential speed. Greater demand for our garments abroad indicates the improvement in quality of the products as well as greater customer confidence, which translates to further expansion of the industry, more employment, more consumers in the domestic market and a huge boost to the economy. However, there are many jolts and stumbles along the road to economic freedom and overcoming them will determine whether we can sustain the boom that is waiting to happen. The tremendous success of readymade garment exports from Bangladesh over the last two decades has surpassed the most optimistic expectations.
Today the apparel export sector is a multi-billion-dollar manufacturing and export industry in the country. The overall impact of the readymade garment exports is certainly one of the most significant social and economic developments in contemporary Bangladesh. With over one and a half million women workers employed in semi-skilled and skilled jobs producing clothing for exports, the development of the apparel export industry has had far-reaching implications for the society and economy of Bangladesh. For Bangladesh, the readymade garment export industry has been the proverbial goose that lays the golden eggs for over fifteen years now. The sector now dominates the modern economy in export earnings, secondary impact and employment generated.
The events in 1998 serve to highlight the vulnerability of this industry to both internal and external shocks on the demand and supply side. Given the dominance of the sector in the overall modern economy of Bangladesh, this vulnerability should be a matter of some concern to the policymakers in Bangladesh. Although in gross terms the sector’s contributions to the country’s export earnings is around 74 percent, in net terms the share would be much less partially because the backward linkages in textile have been slow to develop. The dependence on a single sector, no matter how resilient or sturdy that sector is, is a matter of policy concern.
We believe the policymakers in Bangladesh should work to reduce this dependence by moving quickly to develop the other export industries using the lessons learned from the success of apparel exports. Support for the apparel sector should not be reduced. In fact, another way to reduce the vulnerability is to diversify the product and the market mix. It is heartening to observe that the knit products are rapidly gaining share in overall garment exports as these products are sold in quota-free markets and reflect the strength of Bangladeshi producers in the fully competitive global apparel markets. Preliminary data and informal evidence indicate that this sector seems to have weathered the devastating floods relatively well.
The floods did create a crisis for the tightly scheduled export industry, but to its credit the firms responded swiftly and creatively to the unexpected dislocation and transportation disruptions. The industry is one hundred percent export-oriented and therefore insulated from domestic demand shocks; however, it remains vulnerable to domestic supply shocks and the smooth functioning of the banking, transportation and other forward and backward linkage sectors of the economy. The Dhaka-Chittagong road remains the main transportation link connecting the production units, mostly situated in and around Dhaka and the port in Chittagong, where the raw material and the finished products are shipped in and out.
Despite increased dependence on air transportation, trucks remain the main vehicles for transporting raw materials and finished products for Bangladesh garment exports. The floods disrupted the normal flow of traffic on this road. Eventually, this road link was completely severed for several days when large sections of the road went under water for a few weeks during the latter phase of the floods. This delinking of the road connection between Dhaka and the port in Chittagong was as serious a threat as one can imagine for the garment exporters. The industry responded by calling upon the Bangladesh navy to help with trawlers and renting a plane from Thai Air that was used to directly fly garment consignments from the Dhaka airport to the Chittagong airport several times a day.
According to industry sources, the list of flood-related damage to the garment industry is extensive. According to the September 1998 BGMEA newsletter, garments worth taka 1,000 crore ($208 million) could not be exported on time due to the disruption of the Dhaka-Chittagong road. Finished products worth $231 million were stockpiled and twenty percent of these may end up in a “stock-lot” situation. [? ] The estimated production loss was put at $120 million. As many as 250 apparel factories were partly or completely submerged during the floods. Attendance and worker productivity in factories was down as much as 35 percent during the worst period of the floods.
As many as 300,000 workers were unable to work as their homes and families were stricken by the flood conditions. Many more workers fell sick from waterborne diseases. Besides natural disasters, there were several other crises that impacted the garment industry in 1998. The disruption of the Chittagong port due to labor disputes was certainly one of them. BGMEA, the industry association, has repeatedly requested the government to ban labor strikes in the Chittagong port for national security reasons. Another source of disruption for the industry was the perennial problem of hartals or general strikes called for and enforced by the political opposition.
Although the leader of the main opposition party has declared, in a major concession to this industry, that the garment industry would be exempt from such hartals, in practice the situation is more difficult. Lastly, the psychological impact of these events on the existing and potential buyers cannot be overstated. Buyers in the global garment markets remain highly sensitive to the risks of unfulfilled orders. As a result of the floods, the image of Bangladesh as a somewhat unpredictable supply source may have been strengthened since the floods received considerable world media attention. Historically, apparel exports have grown at an average rate of 24 percent annually, roughly doubling every three years since 1984. In 1996-1997 the exports in gross terms equaled three billion dollars.
These should reach the six-billion-dollar range by the year 2,000 and in the ten-billion-dollar range by the year 2004 when the Multi-Fiber. Arrangement (MFA) quotas are expected to end, ushering in a truly global and competitive market. Among the many factors, the one most responsible for the success of this industry is the entrepreneurial spirit it has displayed. The garment entrepreneurs should receive a national “innovators” award for taking creative initiatives to overcome the crises in 1998. The list of the hurdles the industry had to overcome this year includes not only the floods related dislocations but other internal constraints as well.
Among the steps taken by the entrepreneurs to improve the competitiveness of the industry were initiation of monthly meetings with the union leadership, implementation of child labor agreement, and attempts to gain market share as a result of the East Asian crisis by asking the U. S. to increase its quotas for Bangladeshi apparels. The positive impacts are considerable and their significance cannot be overemphasized. This is the largest industry in the manufacturing sector and also the biggest earner of foreign exchange. This relative share of apparel exports has steadily increased for several years now indicating that, in both absolute and relative terms, the industry has dominated the modern economy of Bangladesh for some time now. In addition, the positive sociological, demographic, political and economic impact of employing 1. 5 million in the manufacturing sector is huge.
This is especially true since ninety percent of these workers are women, many of whom have migrated from the countryside. The forward and backward linkage industries and services such as textiles, accessories, transportation, and packaging have also been large beneficiaries. The public exchequer has also gained and foreign investors have been exposed to Bangladesh as a result of this success. However, the biggest gainer must be the private entrepreneur in Bangladesh who now has a role model to follow. The spirit of entrepreneurship is thriving in Bangladesh. The proof for this view is the success of the apparel export sector. Contribution in the National economy: Textile Sector as a whole plays an important role in the economic life of Bangladesh. • The sector contributes 38% industrial value addition. • Earns around 78% of total export earnings. • Employs around 4. 5 million workforce of which majority is women • Generates huge cliental base for Banking, Insurance, Shipping, • Transport, Hotel, Cosmetics, Toiletries and related other economic activities. • Provides indirect employment to 0. 80 million workforces in accessories industries related to garments. • Provides 0. 2 million job to waste recycle industry related to RMG sub- sector. • Contributes 10. 50% to GDP through RMG sub-sector. Sub-sectors of Textile industry in Bangladesh
From the processing point of view Textile sector has the following sub-sectors: – Yarn Manufacturing: Manufacturing of yarn from natural fiber & MMF – Fabric Manufacturing: Woven & Knit Fabrics. – Textile Product processor: Dyeing & finishing of grey fabrics & yarn dyeing – Knitting Mills – Knit-Dyeing-Finishing Mills – Woven Composite Mills (more than one process is carried) – Knit Composite Mills (more than one process is carried) – Hosiery Units – Readymade Garments Industry (RMG): Apparel manufacturing. SWOT Analysis of Present RMG Sector of Bangladesh For discovering the potentially of the present RMG sector the following SWOT analysis is prepared. Strength • Considerable Qualified/keen to learn workforce available at low labor charges.
The recommended minimum average wages (which include Travelling Allowance, House Rent, Medical Allowance, Maternity Benefit, Festival Bonus and Overtime Benefit) in the units within the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones (BEPZ) are given as below; on the other hand, outside the BEPZ the wages are about 40% lower • Energy at low price • Easily accessible infrastructure like sea road, railroad, river and air communication • Accessibility of fundamental infrastructure, which is about 3 decade old, mainly established by the Korean, Taiwanese and Hong Kong Chinese industrialists. • FDI is legally permitted • Moderately open Economy, particularly in the Export Promotion Zones • GSP under EBA (Everything But Arms) for Least Developed Country applicable (Duty free to EU) • Improved GSP advantages under Regional Cumulative Looking forward to Duty Free Excess to US, talks are on, and appear to be on hopeful track • Investment assured under Foreign Private Investment (Promotion and Protection) Act, 1980 which secures all foreign investments in Bangladesh • OPIC’s (Overseas Private Investment Corporation, USA) insurance and finance agendas operable • Bangladesh is a member of Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) under which protection and safety measures are available • Adjudication service of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Dispute (ICSID) offered • Excellent Tele-communications network of E-mail, Internet, Fax, ISD, NWD & Cellular services • Weakness of currency against dollar and the condition will persist to help exporters • Bank interest@ 7% for financing exports • Convenience of duty free custom bonded w/house • Readiness of new units to enhance systems and create infrastructure accordant with product growth and fast reactions to circumstances Weakness • Lack of marketing tactics • The country is deficient in creativity • Absence of easily on-hand middle management • A small number of manufacturing methods Low acquiescence: there is an international pressure group to compel the local producers and the government to implement social acquiescence. The US GSP may be cancelled and purchasing from US & EU may decrease significantly • M/c advancement is necessary. The machinery required to assess add on a garment or increase competence are missing in most industries. • Lack of training organizations for industrial workers, supervisors and managers. • Autocratic approach of nearly all the investors • Fewer process units for textiles and garments • Sluggish backward or forward blending procedure • Incompetent ports, entry/exit complicated and loading/unloading takes much time • Speed money culture Time-consuming custom clearance • Unreliable dependability regarding Delivery/QA/Product knowledge • Communication gap created by incomplete knowledge of English • Subject to natural calamities Opportunity • EU is willing to establish industry in a big way as an option to china particularly for knits, including sweaters • Bangladesh is included in the Least Developed Countries with which US is committed to enhance export trade • Sweaters are very economical even with china and is the prospect for Bangladesh • If skilled technicians are available to instruct, prearranged garment is an option because labour and energy cost are inexpensive. Foundation garments for Ladies for the FDI promise is significant because both, the technicians and highly developed machinery are essential for better competence and output • Japan to be observed, as conventionally they purchase handloom textiles, home furniture and garments. This section can be encouraged and expanded with continued progress in quality Threat • . The exporters have to prepare themselves to harvest the advantages offered by the opportunities Workplace Health & Safety Assurance in Bangladesh The health & safety situation at present in the garments industry of Bangladesh can be assumed from some incidents within this few years.
Recent incident in garments sector in Bangladesh Outrage following more Bangladesh garment worker deaths Three tragedies hit Bangladesh factories in one week, leaving scores dead, wounded. The spate of tragedies began on Thursday, February 23 when a fire, possibly caused by an electrical short circuit, destroyed the four-story KTS Textile Industries in Bangladesh’s port city of Chittagong. Initial reports stated that 54 were killed and at least 60 were injured, however other sources peg the death toll at several hundred in what local garment workers rights’ advocates are calling the worst tragedy in the history of the Bangladesh garment industry.
Over 1,000 workers were reportedly in the factory at the time of the 7 p. m. fire. According to the workers, the exits were locked. In 2005 two electricians reportedly died at this same facility, located in the Kalurghat Industrial Area, when they were electrocuted. This facility reportedly produced for US companies Uni Hosiery, Mermaid International, ATT Enterprise, and VIDA Enterprise Corp. Meanwhile, authorities have apparently sealed off three other factories connected to this facility (Vintex Fashion, Cardinal Fashion and Arena Fashion) citing unplanned construction and inadequate safety measures as life-threatening for their more than 6,000 workers.
Image: 1 Fire from electrical short circuit Table:1 February 24 2006 – Collapse of the Phoenix building Just days after the KTS fire, 19 people were reported dead and 50 injured when a five-story building collapsed in Bangladesh’s capital city of Dhaka. The Phoenix Building in the Tejgaon industrial area collapsed following unauthorized renovations to convert the upper stories of the building that housed various offices and factories, including a garment factory, into a 500-bed private hospital. One hundred fifty construction workers and an as yet unreported number of garment workers were reportedly in the building Saturday morning when it collapsed.
Rescue operations, hampered by lack of equipment, are still underway, as many are feared to be trapped under tons of concrete rubble. Image: 2 The Phoenix Building in the Tejgaon industrial area collapsed Hundreds of activists from workers’ rights groups marched through Dhaka on Saturday demanding compensation for the victims families and punishment for the factory owners. Police have reportedly been searching for the building’s owner Deen Mohammad, also chairman of the City Bank of Bangladesh, but have been unable to locate him. Phoenix Garments exports clothing mainly to Europe. February 27 2006 – Thirteen women workers’ associations stage a rally at Muktangan in the capital demanding safe workplaces.
That same day in Chittagong, 57 workers at the Imam Group of Industries (reportedly housing the Moon Fashion Limited, Imam Fashion, Moon Textile, Leading Fashion and Bimon Inda garment factories) were injured when a transformer explosed and fearing fire, they tried to exit through a narrow exit. Four are reportedly in critical condition following the stampede. These tragedies from local and international stakeholders must include 1. support for adequate rescue and relief efforts and financial compensation for the injured workers and the families of the dead; 2. full, independent and transparent investigation and follow-up for all these incidents; and 3. Immediate structural measures to prevent future, similar incidents.
In the wake of the Spectrum-Shahriyar factory collapse in April of last year Bangladesh unions and labor rights NGOs called for structural measures to be taken to prevent similar incidents in the future. Industry, along with public authorities (at the local and international levels) must commit to launch an immediate initiative to take on the safety issues that plague the garment industry in Bangladesh, including a structural review of multi-story buildings and facilities inspection mechanisms, explained Zeldenrust. The CCC and partners recommended in April 2005 that an independent international oversight committee/program be formed that is charged with examining occupational health and safety regulations and their implementation (including emergency regulations).
In addition to addressing technical matters, workers’ access to safe channels by which they can communicate their concerns on issues such as health and safety to their employers must also be addressed. The committee should be given a multi-year assignment in order to ensure that follow-up takes place on any recommendations that will be made. There is a clear need for a long-term widescale program to address health and safety in the garment/textile sectors. The failure to implement safety measures in these sectors in Bangladesh has resulted in a conditions where the death and injury of workers has become alarmingly routine: in 2000 53 workers died at Choudury Knitwear, 24 died in 2001 at Maico Sweater, nine died in 2004 at the Misco Supermarket building, and 23 died at Shan Knitting and 64 died at the Spectrum-Shahriyar factory in 2005.
The CCC, supporting this call for sector-wide improvements recently hosted several survivors of the Spectrum-Shahriyar factory during a tour of Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Germany where they met with representatives of the factory’s European clients (including French retail giant Carrefour). Outstanding demands still to be addressed by Spectrum’s European clients include compensation to families of the dead and the injured and credible mechanisms to ensure compliance with good labour standards. [For more on the Spectrum case, see On Sunday, the Bangladesh Parliament passed a bill outlining construction regulations, violations of which are punishable with fines and up to seven years imprisonment.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) convened an emergency meeting Sunday in wake of the week’s tragedies and announced they would inspect all garments factories in the country within the next month to determine which units are in compliance with safety standards and other standards set by the national and international organisations. "Inspecting factories only makes a difference when workers and their organisations are involved, otherwise auditors remain blind to the reality that workers face and are unable to draw up plans to follow-up and fix the problems in a way that’s sustainable in the long term and can make a meaningful improvments,” said Zeldenrust. While some buyers have begun to take steps to systematically address conditions at their supply units, the vast majority have yet to really take sufficient concrete action to improve the dreadful situation in the workplaces where their products are made. ” The CCC will continue to report on these tragedies as more information on those injured, brands producing at these facilities, and steps taken to follow up becomes available. Imam Group transformer explosion February 25: Imam Group, Chittagong: 57 injured : A transformer explosion caused workers to rush for the exits, dozens were injured when they were unable to get out the narrow exists, at this facility housing Moon Fashion Limited, Imam Fashion, Moon Textile, Leading Fashion and Bimon Inda garment factories. Clients reportedly include US retail giant Kmart and US-based Folsom Corporation. Fire in Sayem Fashions, Gazipur
March 6: Sayem Fashions, Gazipur: 3 dead, approximately 50 injured : A fire triggered by an electrical short circuit at the building housing Sayem Fashions, SK Sweater and Radiance Sweater 35 kilometers from Dhaka lead to a stampede when workers attempting to exit the premises were blocked by boxes. Workers’ organizations report those other workers’ rights violations at the facility included long working hours and seven-day work weeks. The building was reportedly owned by Monir Hossain, also the owner of Radiance Sweater and Sayem Fashions (the three women who died were all working at Sayem Fashion). US brands that have reportedly sourced at the factory include Charles F. Berg and Wet Seal.
Other brands named in connection with production at this facility include Ada Gatti, Bershka Company, BSK Garments, X-Mail, Kreisy, Persival. Far East Knitting and Dyeing Industries Ltd A Exception in Garments industry of Bangladesh Far East’s strategy has been to charter a plane from Germany that could load the goods on Saturday and deliver them in London on Sunday. "Our buyers were very happy and we were getting orders for a 100,000 extra pieces every week! ” Quasem adds that by now Bangladesh’s garments are well known internationally for their high quality in fabric, stitching etc. In the fast expanding knitwear industry, around 98 percent of the fabric is made in Bangladesh, says Quasem.
Such developments in reducing the gap between demand and supply of raw material, particularly for woven fabrics, is important in reducing lead-time. [pic] Image:3. Mohammed Bin Quasem Director, Far East Knitting and Dyeing Industries Ltd Quasem has also introduced metal detectors in the factory to make sure stray pins or needles do not get attached to the clothes being sent to exacting buyers like Mother Care which specialises in infant wear. But it is not just good safety measures or even good quality garments that capture a market that is flooded with competitors. Buyers are more globally conscious, they want environmentally-friendly garments and products that are made through ethical means. Far East and Quality Assured Ltd. both of which Quasem is a director, are together the largest exporter of ‘organic garments’ that is clothes that are pure, with fibres that are not genetically modified and their manufacture does not involve the use of pesticide or reduction of the water table. The factories also have their own effluent treatment plant, which treats the wastewater from production so that it is less toxic before it is disposed off into the water bodies of the country. A child care centre at the Far East factory in Kaliakor The thorniest issue for foreign buyers has been work conditions and age limits of the workers. Customers want to be assured that the product they are buying has not been made with child labour and that the workers have not been exploited. All factories in Bangladesh have to comply with the labour aw of 2006, which among other things prohibits child labour and also limits the hours of overtime to two hours. For Quasem and his fellow directors, all the factories they own must be far beyond merely compliance. Image: 4. A separate Child Care Department At Far East and Quality Assured Ltd, the Human Resources Department makes sure that every worker is treated fairly in terms of salary, overtime and other benefits, that workers are not abused in any way and that all complaints from workers are addressed. A woman ‘welfare officer’ visits each floor regularly to hear out any complaints or problems any worker may have and tries to come up with a satisfactory solution. Sometimes women workers are shy about telling their male supervisors that they are pregnant,” says Quasem “Here the woman worker can tell the welfare officer who then informs the supervisors so that extra consideration is given to the worker such as extra food, more bathroom breaks, saving her from any heavy work and so on. ” Bonuses for good performances are constantly given to workers with good performance. Those who have completed three years in the factory get an extra bonus apart from the holiday bonuses. Quasem and his partners have decided to take it a step further with their upcoming Echotex Ltd which will employ all the ethical and environmental practices even more stringently with a winning formula: a great product, happy workers and an ethical, green factory will make a commercially sound enterprise which in turn will build a future. [pic[pic]ge:5 Fire Extinguisher in the factory
Factories like Far East and Quality Assured Ltd may not be representative of the industry as a whole in terms of ethical practices (there are still many small factories with poor, claustrophobic, unsafe work environments) but they do show a definite change in the mindset of garment entrepreneurs. “Private entrepreneurs have started to believe in themselves, that they can strive for something better,” says Quasem “and customers are gaining more confidence in our products and our capability of taking care of our people. ” But even optimists like Quasem and many of his fellow entrepreneurs admit that the ‘silent revolution’ that they are anticipating is dependent on several factors. One of them is developing a pool of highly skilled workers which are in high demand but low in supply.
The head of the International Finance Corporation – SouthAsia Enterprise Development Facility (IFC-SEDF) Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan and the Deputy General Manager, Deepak Adhikary, believes that one of the major factors that need to be addressed is training, coaching and mentoring of the workers and staff. The absence of this is playing a major role in slowing down the progress of the RMG sector in Bangladesh. In the present scenario, workers are mostly unskilled and uneducated. There are virtually no institutes to train workers so that they have better skills that also result in better paying jobs and greater efficiency. Adhikary believes that we should have more institutes in the country, where students will receive practical training.
Furthermore, he thinks that to reach the 20 billion dollar benchmark, the factory owners need to organise regular training workshops for the employees and the staff. “One has to know by doing,” he says. “Lecturers and professors will come and lecture about the market and factories. However, an engineer is basically of no use if he or she has never seen a garment factory, leave alone the operation of the machinery. Therefore, practical knowledge and vocational training is extremely important for the workers. ” [pic[pic]ge: 6State-of-the-art machinery like this one at Far East makes thread and cloth and also dyes it. According to him, many factory owners simply overlook the idea of training their employees. “One would have to spend a huge amount of money for training,” he explains. That is why a factory owner is usually satisfied with the fact that he has cheap labour. Then again, a worker sometimes leaves the factory after training, to join another one with better facilities. This is also another reason as to why factory owners do not give a second thought to training their employees and workers. ” Infrastructure, power and good banking facilities are also areas where Bangladesh is lagging behind. Frequent load shedding and poor roads are major obstacles in reducing lead time. Big factories have their own power generators, many of which produce surplus power but there is no system of sharing this extra power. Political stability obviously is also an essential factor for expansion. Our competitive markets in India, Pakistan and China are enjoying less interest rate, that is 3%, less bank charges and a very strong infrastructure,” says Anwar-ul-Alam Chowdhury (Parves), the President of BGMEA. “For instance, it takes trucks carrying goods at least 8-12 hours to move from Dhaka to Chittagong. We lose a greater deal of time delivering outside the country. ” The declaration of the minimum wage for garment workers has also been a contentious issue. In the wake of painful price hikes of essentials the TK 1662 minimum wage seems way to low to satisfy disgruntled workers. [pic[pic]ge: 7. The assembly point for workers at the factory “The workers should be given certain facilities,” says the BGMEA President. “For instance, a ration card system, through which the garment workers can at least buy their essentials at a subsided price.
Only the government can do this. ” Unfortunately though, Chowdhury believes that successive governments have not been committed enough and that is why these changes will take a long time to come about. “Time and again, we have been asking the government to develop economic zones, which will bring down the living costs of the garment workers tremendously. These zones, or small cities, will have housing facilities, schooling, medical facilities and so on. But the government is not committed and is not serious about this idea. Their policies are still not industry based. This is why, it gets very difficult for us to build a production-driven economy. Discrimination against female workers in the sector, in terms of wages, is hardly heard of now according to Nazma Akhter, president of the Sammolito Garments Sromik Federation and the General Secretary of Awaj Foundation, an NGO working for workers’ rights. “There are seven grades in a garments factory, where a worker starts off working as a helper in the seventh grade with minimum wage of Tk 1662,” the former garment worker explains. “As a worker gets promoted, he or she shifts to a higher grade and accordingly gets a higher salary. Since everything works according to these guidelines, there is hardly any scope of discrimination in terms of wages.
However, many workers are not regularly paid their wages. For instance the other day, a worker called to say that she and the others in her factory had not been paid their wages for the last two months. This is a common problem that workers, male or female, face today. ” Sexual harassment of female garment workers by male co-workers has been a long-standing menace. According to Nazma, female workers are now stronger and more confident than they used to be before and have formulated ways to tackle the harassers. Even though regulations within a factory are now very strict where harassment is concerned, this is still a major problem faced by female garment workers. pic] Image: 8The effluent treatment plant at Far East Opinion of Experts: Despite the fact that a large number of female employees work in the garment sector, men still have the upper hand. As a result, it becomes very difficult for women to express their needs. “For instance, there are many factories who still do not have a provision for maternity leaves for female workers,” says Nazma. “While some are probably not bothered, the other factories are simply not aware of the fact that the women need the maternity leaves. If the women are given the leave, they would probably be a paid leave for two months and the other two months would be non-paid.
Sometimes, even the women themselves are not aware of the fact that it is their right to a four-month paid maternity leave as per the government policy. Some of them even come to us to ask how to apply for the leave. ” “It is very important for the workers to interact with the management,” she adds. “That would let both the parties to understand each other and solve the ever-rising problems. Workers need to be trained, educated and updated on a regular basis as well. This is the responsibility of the garment owners. This would also lead to a better level of productivity in the industry. The owners can fund these training programmes and the resources required for the programmes as well. Every year, a good amount goes to welfare, charity and advertisements.
Even a small percentage of this amount can be Deepak Adhikary emphasizes on interaction and connection with the outside world as ways to expand the export market. spent on the workers for training and vocational education. ” In a market that is driven by latest fashion trends that are constantly in transition, Bangladesh has to delve into design development in order to establish original, local brands. Several design institutes have emerged in the industry with foreign and local experts to teach students as well as internships at garment factories. There is therefore a possibility of a substantial pool of designers in the future. The garments industry also suffers from a dearth of mid-level managers and training for such people is essential to modernizing the industry.
Deepak Adhikary also emphasises on how to expand the export market, interaction and connection with the outside world is a natural process. Even remotely isolating oneself will result in huge losses. “Every extra penny that a country earns is due to the strength of the export market in that country,” he explains. “Any amount of growth or any change that happens in the RMG sector revolves around the export market. Today, we are competing with export markets in countries like Cambodia, China and Vietnam, where the markets also emphasise on brands. Bangladesh has to aim for brands like Gucci and Prada, even though it does have a niche in places like Wall Mart. ” [pic[pic]ge:9 Nazma Akhter, fighting for workers’ rights “Cheap labour used to be a factor,” he explains. “Not anymore.
Along with cheap labour, the RMG sector here also needs to focus on reducing the lead-time, delivery, accommodating new designs and trends. ” To build a production driven and export-oriented economy for the RMG sector, one has to prepare for the series of battles that we will have to fight one after the other. “It is like foreseeing a possibility of an earthquake or a tsunami in Bangladesh,” he explains. “Even if the natural calamity does not happen, we simply cannot put our forces down. We don’t know when we will be gripped by something like this. Similarly, this sector has definitely survived a lot of turmoil like the post MFA, removal of sanction on China by the EU, labour unrest and so on.
However, a lot of attention still needs to be given on social and environmental compliance along with productivity improvement along the supply chain. ” Few in this industry or connected to it will disagree that the time is ripe for Bangladesh’s garment industry to take full advantage of the goodwill it has earned in the international market over the last few decades. All the ingredients for a big bang are there: a huge supply of young, sincere, hardworking and easily trainable workforce, innovative, dynamic entrepreneurs and the ability to maintain high quality of product. A practical industry policy, greater infrastructural support from the government and opportunities for skills development can take our garments sector to unprecedented heights.
On the local front, an expansion of the industry in this scale will have a multiplier effect on the economy with a rise in ancillary industries as well as a huge increase in employment, purchasing power and thus a surge in demand for goods and services in our local markets. The idea of more and more people coming out of poverty is certainly an exciting one, which makes the ‘silent revolution’ theory all the more believable. [pic[pic]ge:10 A sample picture of Garments factories which do not care Health & Safety Issues Process of Establishing Compliance Standard in RMG Sector This part of the report is designed to present few guidelines for establishing a compliance department in every garments manufacturers & exporter’s organization for ensuring healthy * safe working environment. Workers’ Health and Safety Related Compliance Standard
There were, on average, more than two emergency exits in a sample factory. More than 600 workers could use one exit in large factories, while the number for medium and small factories was 353 and 170 workers respectively. Number of emergency exits was relatively higher in EPZ-factory compared to non-EPZ factory. However, availability of emergency exits did not necessarily ensure worker’s safety in full measure. The width of the exit, landing space available etc. was also important factors from the perspective of safety. There were, on average, 0. 8 doctors available in every factory, which indicates a good number of factories have no in-house doctors.
In other words, one doctor was available for 1,088 workers. According to sample workers, most common diseases from which they suffered were headache, cold fever, etc. Most factories did not have adequate ventilation and exhaust fans and few workers use masks. As a result, there was strong possibility to be affected by serious diseases, such as tuberculosis. Incidence of accidents while working in the factory was not found to be very high. Other than accidents, in-house doctors usually diagnosed the patients and prescribed medicines free of cost, but workers had to bear all costs of medicine. Trade union activities were almost non-existent in the garment sector.
There were very few factories where workers were allowed to have trade unions at the factory premise. As is known, following long debates over