Beleaguered BGMEA Joins Cascale as Bangladesh Takes ‘Concrete’ Steps
Miran Ali, vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association doesn’t consider himself a socialist. Neither does he think that he looks like a revolutionary. He’s a capitalist, he said at the closing keynote of Cascale’s annual meeting in Munich on Tuesday. Even so, he, like the rest of the South Asian nation, is reconsidering his approach.
That includes the BGMEA, as it’s better known, joining the multi-stakeholder group formerly known as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. Colin Browne, Cascale’s CEO, later joined Ali on stage to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to align the organizations’ goals and accelerate the transition toward a more carbon-neutral, environmentally and socially responsible industry.
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The move comes at a fraught time for Bangladesh, which continues to face widespread worker unrest following a democratic uprising that ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina last month. The so-called 36th July revolution—so named because protestors said there wouldn’t be an Aug. 1 while Hasina’s Awami League remained in power—has “reshaped our society dramatically for the better,” Ali told an audience of 600. The BGMEA is trying to work through any mistakes it has made, he said, and joining Cascale is just a first step. Another is building a database that more accurately tracks the impact of its members.
The BGMEA, which is facing an internal battle over its leadership, also wants to make stronger demands on buyers to act responsibly. Suppliers lacked the courage to do that before, said Ali, who is also the global spokesperson for the manufacturer-driven Sustainable Terms of Trade Initiative. Now, they want to appeal for better prices, just like they will stand up for social and environmental justice.
“I’m not a socialist. I’m a capitalist, but I must take responsibility for my actions, and if my actions are going to hurt the environment, if my industry is going to hurt the environment, then my industry has to evolve,” he said. “I cannot keep saying I will evolve in 2030 or 2040…we need concrete steps today.”
But first, the world’s second-largest exporter of clothing after China must wrestle with worker unrest, particularly in the industrial areas of Ashulia, Gazipur and Savar, where dozens of factories—25 here, 45 there, 74 elsewhere—have been shuttering, reopening and closing up shop again due to violence, vandalism or an outright refusal by employees to work. Authorities and the BGMEA have blamed “outsiders” for inciting workers into making what some have described as unreasonable demands, such as a 10 percent annual increase in pay, a higher food—also known as tiffin—allowance, attendance bonuses and the recruitment of more male employees. But some workers have also been calling for unpaid dues, including from one factory that closed four years ago.
To quell some of the discontent Ashulia authorities and the BGMEA told worker rights groups in the district on Monday that it will be acceding to some of their requests, including increasing the monthly attendance bonus by 225 Bangladeshi taka ($1.88) and the tiffin fee by 10 taka (8 cents). There will also be no discrimination between men and women during recruitment, which will be based on merit and disregard any “blacklist” that exists. The decision led a number of protestors to resume work.
“We are hopeful that from tomorrow, it will be better,” BGMEA director Mohiuddin Rubel told Sourcing Journal.
Still, there are the long-term effects of the turmoil to consider. Orders were already falling in Bangladesh because of the global downturn fueled by the war in Ukraine and shipping delays due to fighting in the Red Sea. Coupled with the effects of the nationwide curfew and communications blackout that Hasina’s government imposed during its crackdown on students who were protesting quotas for public sector jobs, suppliers are falling into the red faster than ever, said one factory owner who asked not to be named because of potential backlash.
“Then there was a big flood and we couldn’t ship any goods for maybe two, three days because the highway was flooded, and then we had no face to [show] the buyers,” said the person, who makes clothing for retailers such as Walmart. “Even after so many extensions, we couldn’t ship the goods. They started asking for discounts, for air shipments and even cancellations. Now we are also having unrest and the police is not as strong as before. I don’t know how a lot of us will survive this time.”
Walmart said in a statement that it hasn’t changed its sourcing strategy in Bangladesh, contrary to a recent BBC story that said that it was swerving orders away from the country. Any movement of orders in or out of Bangladesh is a “standard course of business,” it added.
Ali himself remains sanguine about conditions in Bangladesh. Speaking to a reporter before he gave his presentation, he said while there are some “scattered issues still going on,” it’s important to note that only 3 percent of factories are affected by the demonstrations.
“Ninety-seven percent of factories in Bangladesh are running,” he said of the country’s 4,000-strong arsenal. “This is a localized area-wide issue. We are hoping that in the next couple of days, it’s going to be resolved.”
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