Some of the comments made in a recent statement by the President of the BGMEA reflect this unfortunate tendency. They came in the wake of two violent incidents at Savar on October 14 and in Kanchpur on October 19. Newspaper reports suggest that in the first incident violence spilled over in some Savar factories after some workers were killed in an accident caused by a bus on the main Savar highway. It is not unusual for emotions to run high leading to irrational violence. In the second instance in a garment factory in Kanchpur, the security guards allegedly tied a worker's hands, beat him, and suspended him from the ceiling because he did not have an ID. A woman worker who protested was also beaten. This led to a massive protest by workers, which led to use of bullets and batons by police, causing extensive injuries. The question here is: was there not a failure of the security system? Was the situation not mishandled by the security guards which led to the escalation of violence? The management needs to assess its security system and to remedy identified defects. BGMEA should ensure that there is an accounting for such arbitrary acts of violence against workers.

BGMEA is expected impartially to inquire into the causes of the violence and to make these public. It is not helpful for the factory concerned or the industry as a whole, to put the blame on a conspiracy by unnamed, unidentified conspirators.

The role of the garment industry in building the national economy is widely recognised. We all acknowledge the contribution that the garment industry has made to our foreign earnings and to opening work opportunities for over 1.5 million workers. The BGMEA president himself acknowledges that the credit for this is not exclusively that of the employers, but results from co-operation between employers and workers. We cannot forget the major contribution of the workers who work long hours to meet delivery schedules, under conditions that do not always assure their safety, and are likely to be injurious to their health.

In the press conference Mr Annisul Haq, without presenting specific facts or evidence, made general insinuations about a conspiracy against the garment industry. Since BGMEA is officially committed to engage in a process of consultations involving constructive interaction with worker and their representatives, and other organisations concerned with the rights and welfare of workers, including NGOs, such general criticisms are counter-productive. Several non-government organisations and trade unions have supported workers' demands for health and safety conditions, for regular payments, maternity leave, health insurance, etc. because these are essential for a healthy, productive work force. Last June at a conference organised by UNDP, at which foreign buyers, BGMEA, government, NGOs, and workers' representatives were present, the BGMEA recognised the need for compliance with specific international labour standards and Bangladesh's labour laws. A task force was formed, supposedly with representatives of all sectors. It was agreed at the conference that the buyers would prepare a common list of compliance conditions, and the BGMEA would try to implement the doable in stages. The responsibility for allocating different tasks was given to the task force, but unfortunately this seems to have met only once, and that too without adequate representation. This calls for urgent attention, to ensure a continuity of export orders.

Mr Haq has said that no employers want to maintain bad relations with their workers. But then last April when the Spectrum Sweater Industries collapsed due to engineering defects, how were the workers compensated? A mere 100,000 takas was promised to families of dead workers. BGMEA and the owner did offer partial financial help to some grievously injured workers, while the Spectrum buyers donated 300,000 Euros for their treatment. And INCIDIN and OXFAM (two organisations which were unjustly maligned by a participant in the press conference) used these funds to pay for further treatment and rehabilitation in the trauma centre. The BGMEA promised to send a few workers abroad for treatment, but were they finally sent? Many workers of Spectrum and its sister firm lost their jobs. How were they compensated? Only a few days are left before Eid, yet there are daily protests by workers demanding back pay and Eid bonus. This is indeed a gross contractual violation, and shouldn't BGMEA call up its defaulting members? The minimum monthly wage fixed at 930 takas in 1998 has remained unchanged even though the price of onions has gone up to 50 takas. Perhaps our response should now be: why do workers need to eat onions?

BGMEA as an association is mandated to promote the interests of the manufacturers. It is time that it sees the logic of acting as a monitoring and regulatory body to ensure that laws are not transgressed by its member factories. The absence of safety provisions, training in fire drills, and locked gates has led to endless number of fire accidents and workers' casualties. Has BGMEA or the government seen fit to penalise the owners and to assure compensation to the workers? If they had there, would have been fewer industrial accidents.

It can hardly be disputed that absence of proper industrial management leads to many of the problems in the garment industry. BGMEA can and should do even more to improve management so that the garment industry gains the reputation of being responsible employers and are not seen as fly-by-night industries for quick profits, without adequate responsibility towards workers. There is now greater awareness amongst workers, and a commonality of concerns shared by trade unions and human rights organisations. BGMEA will have to demand more responsibility from its members to observe the laws of the land and to treat their workers with dignity and respect.

Dr. Hameeda Hossain is a freelance contributor to The Daily Star.