Introduction:

Globalization has hit the populations of the third world hard. Unemployment has risen as
established industries have been destroyed and poverty has deepened. Yet the organizations that
clear the way for Foreign Direct Investment do have something to be proud of in Bangladesh
the rapid expansion of the garments industry, which now employs approximately 1.5 million
people. However, for these workers the joy of having a job is marred by the harsh conditions
they endure in the workplace.
Bangladesh began creating Export Processing Zones (EPZs) in 1978 to attract foreign capital and
earn export dollars. In 1993 the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA) was set
up and a blanket ban on trade union activity imposed. This is obviously the most attractive
feature for investors, on top of tax breaks and other incentives on offer. The EPZs now employ
70,000 workers, mostly in the garment and shoe-making industries. National labor laws do not
apply in the EPZs, leaving BEPZA in full control over work conditions, wages and benefits.
However, BEPZA ignores not only national standards but its own. The guaranteed minimum
monthly wages of $US70, $US 40 and $US 25 for skilled, unskilled and probationary workers
respectively is a laughable fiction. As is the entitlement of permanent workers to annual festival
bonuses, medical coverage, and accommodation and transportation allowance. The body has
consistently refused to give out letters confirming employment and does not hire any workers on
a permanent basis. In reality, earnings average about $20 per month less than half the official
rate and workers do forced overtime under threat of dismissal. The withholding of pay for
months at a time a practice common throughout the private sector is also the norm.
The situation in the garment industry at large is even worse. The nations top export earner
employs 1.5 million workers under conditions of super-exploitation. The majority are young
women from rural areas who have migrated to the urban centers in search of work. The
sweatshops are more like prisons than factories, with no fixed hours, regular breaks or days off.
Workers earn between $7 and $10 a month, for an average of 13 hours a day, up to 27 days per
month. This comes to an hourly rate of two or three cents! The bourgeois media reports that the
industry currently owes $ 300,000 in back pay, a staggering amount considering the miserly
wages.
Garment workers change jobs frequently because of wage arrears, lay-offs, ill health or
harassment from the bosses and their security guards. As the vast majority of employees are
girls and young women most living apart from their families there are many cases of physical
and sexual harassments.

Garments Industries in Bangladesh

Garments Industries in Bangladesh are a very prospecting industries in Bangladesh. The total
demand of our garments can be fulfilled by the domestic made garments and so also this sector is
doing very well in the sense of exporting. The major portions of our exports come from the
garments industry. Even though the major portion of the government revenue comes from this
sector but only few people are thinking about the present situation of the workers of this sector.
As it is very significant issue of the country so intellectuals should watch about it. They have
reflected on it how the problem can eliminate on this sector.
Working environment and Law in Garments Industries in Bangladesh
There are some certain criteria in working condition. Every employer is bound to provide sound
working environments for their employees according to different section of the factor is act
1965. In working environment the following criterias should be provide by the environment for
employees of his/her organization. This areHealth and Hygiene

Cleanliness *

Disposal of wastages and effluents**

Ventilation and temperature**

Dust and fume**

Artificial humidification***

Over crowding***

Lighting**

Drinking water**

Latrines and urinals**

Spittoons***

Safety

Precautions Incase of fire**

Fencing of machinery***

Working on or near machinery in motion***

Employment of childrens on dangerous machines***

Striking gear and devices for cutting of power***

Self acting machines***

Causing of new machineries**

Prohibition of employment of women and children near cotton openers***

Revolving machinery**

Floors stairs and means of access.*

Excessive weights.*

Production of eyes.*

Welfare

Washing facilities. *

Fast aid appliances. **

Shelters. **

Canteens.*

Rooms for childrens. **

Working hours

Weekly hours. ***

Weekly holiday. **

Compensatory weekly holiday. ***

Daily hours. ***

Intervals for rest or meals.*

Spread over. ***

Night shift. ***

Prohibition of overlapping shift. **

Extra allowance for over time. **

Restriction on double employment.

Employment of young person

Prohibition of employment of children. ***

Certificate of fitness. ***

Working hours for childrens. ***

Register of child workers. ***

Power to require medical examination. ***

Leave and holidays with wages

Annual leave with wages. ***

Festival holidays. *

Casual leave and seek leave.*

Maternity leave. ***

Wages during leave or holiday periods. ***

Payment in advance in certain case. **

Miscellaneous

Penalties.

Accident offences by workers.

Those are the specific criteria which are mention in the factories act 1965. Each and every
section of the law is not mentioned and describe here due to the shortage of space and those are
not subject related. Those laws must be followed by the employer of garments worker.
Garments industry in Bangladesh
Bangladesh earns nearly $7 billion a year by exporting textile products, mainly to Europe and the
United States. This is about 70 percent of total export earnings of the country. The RMG industry
has around 4,000 units across the country. It employs around 2.5 million workers, 90 percent of
whom are poor women. Whenever the country is criticized for its high level of corruption and
confrontational politics, its garment industry is held up as a success story.
For Bangladesh, the ready-made 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 sectors contributions to the countrys 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 i
Preliminary data and informal evidence indicate that this sector seems to have weathered the
devastating floods relatively well. 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 .
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.
List of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters:
=> AFTEX LIMITED
=> AGAMI APPARELS LTD.
=> AGAMI FASHIONS LIMITED
=> AGRANI SWEATERS LTD.
=> AGS APPARELS LTD
=> AHMED FASHIONS
=> AHMEDIA GARMENTS (PTE) LTD.
=> AHSAN FASHIONS LTD.
=> AHSAN KNITTING LTD.
=> AIRTEES APPARELS LTD.
=> A ONE DRESSMAKERS LTD.
=> A PLUS INDUSTRIES LTD.
=> A.B. FASHIO WEAR LTD.
=> A.B. SIDDIQUEE APPARELS LTD.
=> A.B.C. ATTIRE LTD.
=> A.B.M APPARELS LTD.
=> A.B.M. FASHIONS LTD.