Effects of the covid 19 on RMG women and men at workplace in bangladesh.
1. Effects of the Covid-19 on RMG women and men at workplace in Bangladesh.
Apparel Manufacturing & Technology
Course Title: Industrial Psychology
Course code: PSY3101
BGMEA UNIVERSITY OF FASHION & TECHNOLOGY
Submitted By
ID – 192-051-101 -- Jahidul Islam
ID – 192-062-101 -- Md. Ebrahim Tamim.
ID – 192-066-101 -- Md. Fuhad Tanjum Tonmoy
From the dept. of AMT, 192 section-02.
Submitted To
Md. Abdur Rakib
Assistant Professor and Head
Department of Social Sciences
BGMEA University of Fashion & Technology.
2. Introduction
Bangladesh's development is aided by the readymade garments industry. The "Made in Bangladesh" label has
also brought glory to the country, establishing it as a prestigious brand around the world. Bangladesh, once dubbed
a "bottomless basket" by cynics, has now evolved into a "basket full of wonders." Despite its limited resources,
the country has maintained an annual average GDP growth rate of 6% and has achieved remarkable social and
human development (BGMEA,2021). Bangladesh was one of the poorest countries in the world after its
independence in 1971. Due to the discriminatory attitude and policies of the then-West Pakistani government, no
major industries were developed in Bangladesh when it was known as East Pakistan. As a result, rebuilding the
war-torn country with limited resources appeared to be the most difficult challenge (BGMEA,2021).The
readymade garment (RMG) business, which is now Bangladesh's single largest export earner, has played a critical
role in rebuilding the country and its economy. The sector accounts for 83 percent of the country's total export
profits (BGMEA,2021). It generally creates generation of about 4.4 million people where mostly are women
which are from the disadvantaged part of the society most. This sector is the second largest RMG exporters next
to China (Hossain, 2019). COVID-19 has formed a serious threat to global public health in both developing and
developed countries. Bangladesh is at great risk from this public health emergency due to its lack of readiness to
manage this deadly virus (Leatherier,2020). Bangladesh is at great risk from this public health emergency due to
its insufficient preparedness to manage this potentially fatal virus. Bangladesh, being a developing and
overpopulated country, has made a slow start toward COVID-19 prepared-ness only declaring its first COVID-
19 patients on the 8 March 2020.The late identification of COVID-19 infection in Bangladesh not only delayed
preparedness to prevent and treat COVID-19 infections, but it also meant that those who are the most vulnerable
and disadvantaged in the country have been more impacted by the disease. The RMG workers of Bangladesh are
one such group. These workers have little or no education, are unskilled, have low socioeconomic and often rural
backgrounds, and possess less bargaining power, resulting in their identification as vulnerable (Kabir,2020
Usher,2020). Since the garment factory is a place where people have to work in very few places, there is a huge
opportunity to spread the corona virus. Due to this most of the garments were closed and production was stopped
for a long time. Therefore, we say that the Covid-19 epidemic had a long-term effect on garment workers,
especially in the case of their health problems, financial difficulties and inability to pay for essentials such as food
and future employment opportunities (Authors,2021)
Literature Review
This assignment describes the potential impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) effect on the
readymade garment (RMG) workers of Bangladesh. COVID-19 has already impacted RMG workers health (both
physical and mental health status) and wellbeing, and resulted in loss of employment. Therefore, we say that the
COVID-19 epidemic had a long-term effect on garment workers, particularly in relation to their health problems,
financial hardship and inability to pay for essentials such as food and future employment opportunities. The
stakeholders (such as the international retailers/brands, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters
Association, Government of Bangladesh) responsible for the global supply chain RMG factories should
reconsider the health and overall wellbeing needs of the RMG workers during the ongoing COVID-
19(Authors,2021). (Nahar,2020 Tasnim,2020) wrote in one of the most highly regarded national daily newspapers
(The Daily Prothom Alo) On 2 May 2020 in Bangladesh. It is just one example of the terrible toll COVID-19
has had on the readymade garment (RMG) industry workers in Bangladesh. RMG workers were already
established as a highly vulnerable group before COVID-19, with the evidence of heightened risk being reported
including the evidence of rape and suici-dal cases (during lockdown), infections and deaths related to COVID-
3. 19. The Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee conducted a national survey (between 31 March to 5 April
2020) among 2675 respondents from low-income backgrounds and found that 14% of the respondents had no
food reserves at home, whereas 29% only had enough food for 1–3 days. With such shortages, and in the lockdown
conditions, starvation is a potential outcome of COVID-19 for the vulnerable and those in the low-income bracket.
(Maple,2020) published in The NEWage newspapers on (23 April 2020) a reality, as one RMG worker (Female,
age: 27) explained: We will die by starving before being affected by coronavirus. Bangladesh, as many other
countries, is struggling to meet the ongoing needs of their large population during the COVID-19 pandemic and
is unable to provide the support packages being offered in developed countries. As a result, the COVID-19
lockdown and resulting economic recession will lead to major loss of income for the working poor who will be
forced to leave home, break isolation guidelines and risk infection in an attempt to find ways to feed their family.
Another RMG worker (Male, age: 30) told us he had to sell vegetables in a market as a way to help feed his
family. (Hossian,2020) published On 25 March 2020, in The Daily Star newspapers, The Prime Minister of
Bangladesh (Sheikh Hasina) announced a stimulus package of BDT 5000 crore ($587 925 000) for the export-
oriented sector to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. She advised the factory owners to use this money to pay the
wages of the workers and employees. Unfortunately, the factory owners did not pay the full wages to the workers
for the months of March and April 2020 and did not pay outstanding wages on time, which forced thousands of
workers to demonstrate on the street demanding their wages be paid in full. RMG workers are performing work
that brings billions of dollars (over $30.61 billion of exports in 2017–18 financial year) to the factory owners
every year, yet the factory owners are not seen to stand beside them during this critical crisis period. Some workers
complained that they had not been paid for 2 months or more. And effective protective measures are not taken to
protect workers. RMG workers inability to practice physical/social distancing or access healthcare facilities
increases the risk of COVID-19 infections for the entire population28 putting millions of lives at risk. New
infections and deaths of RMG workers have already been reported after the re-opening of the sector. Research on
COVID-19 infections among the RMG workers, conducted by the ‘Bangladesh Garment Shramik Sanghati, found
that 96 RMG workers have been infected by COVID-19 between 9 April and 6 May 2020. In addition, the deaths
of a number of RMG workers with undiagnosed fever and respiratory symptoms have also been reported. Fear of
becoming infected with or dying due to the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to impact mental health, and
the RMG workers are no exception. It is also worth noting that RMG workers mental health is also affected by
the tensions about their future in this sector (Authors,2021).
Methodology
The study has made on descriptive research, is conducted to identify different dimension of challenges in
readymade garment industry in Bangladesh. To come up with the result, researchers were not required to visit the
factory. For this reason, researchers have ignored the direct data collection and surveys. Consequently, the
research technique has relied based on information from secondary sources. Those data collected through
Journals, Research articles, Thesis papers, newspapers case studies, online news paper and survey reports,
garments Manufacturing Industries Annual reports, BGMEA Yearly report and Files. The data was collected
basically through skimming ad scanning out the findings of different secondary source. After the completion of
the data collection descriptive analyses was used illustrate the data. This study did not use any unethical means
to collect information.
4. Result & Discussion
➢ Effects of the Covid-19 on RMG Worker discuss below :
1. Job Loss Effects:
98% of the garment factories are situation in four districts: Dhaka (38 per cent), Gazipur (28.9 per cent),
Chittagong (16.1 per cent) and Narayanganj (14.7 per cent). Currently, the garment worker population of
Bangladesh is 3.5 million of which 60.8% are female and 39.2% are male. However, when it comes to managerial
positions, the women are still lagging behind in managerial positions with only 0.5% managers and 9.3% of HR
managers being women (Light Castle Analytics Wing, 2020). The Covid-19 pandemic has triggered huge job
losses, especially for women, in the ready-made garment (RMG) sector in Bangladesh exposing the sector’s
sensitivities by unstable global supply chains and leading to a collapse in demand. Recent surveys indicate that
more than a million garment workers in Bangladesh have already been lost their job due to future order
cancellations and customer refusals to pay for current orders. Of them, 72.44% of the furloughed workers have
no income while 80.40% of the workers have been paid no severance (The Financial Express, 2020).
Most retrenchments took place between March 2020 May 2020: Job loss and retrenchment occurred more in
the first three months of the Covid outbreak in the country. Data about retrenched workers show that 73% lost
their jobs during that period. The severity of retrenchment reduced gradually in the following months, the lowest
being in the last month for which data was recorded (October 2020).
Source: FAIR WEAR December 2020
45.3
37.9
29.2
39.5
50.3 48.9
61.5
51.5
4.3
13.2
9.2 9.0
Knit Woven Composite Total
Worker retrenchment during Covid
(in percentage responses)
Yes No Do not know
23
27
23
9
6 4 6
2
Time of Retrenchment and number of retrenched Worker
Source: FAIR WEAR December 2020
5. Retrenchment incidences differed based on factory type: Along with the factory closure, retrenchment was
another immediate impact on RMG workers. Four in every ten respondents have claimed that their factories
retrenched workers during the Covid period. The rate of retrenchment was slightly higher in knit factories and
comparatively low in composite factories.
2. Food & health effects:
The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for these RMG workers is dire and include uncertainty about
whether they will be entitled to wages during the COVID-19 pandemic and related issues such as lack of money
for essentials such as food, and concerns about the re-opening of factories during COVID-19 infection peak times.
Other concerns are the health risks due to lack of preventative measures in the workplace, and the development
of mental health conditions due to the impact of the loss of employment and the fear of contracting COVID-19
(Humayun et al., 2020). RMG workers returning to the workplace fear infection with COVID-19 because of the
increasing amount of new infections and the number of deaths that have been reported in the national electronic
and print media. Perceiving the virus as severe has also impacted the mental health status of the general public
and the individuals who are working during this pandemic. Fear of becoming infected with or dying due to the
COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to impact mental health, and the RMG workers are no exception. It is also
worth noting that RMG workers mental health is also affected by the tensions about their future in this sector
(Fouad,2020).
D
6. 3. Financial effects:
Parents working in a garment factory located in Gazipur (near Dhaka) had to sell their newborn baby, as they
could not pay the hospital bill of BDT 25 000 ($295). The father of the new born baby said that they could not
manage hospital bills as the garment factory, where both husband and wife used to work, was closed because of
the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the local police rescued the baby and returned it to their parents. (The Daily
Prothom Alo, 2020). It is just one example of the terrible toll COVID-19 has had on the readymade garment
(RMG) industry workers in Bangladesh.
Workers’ average income and gender wage gap during the pandemic
Month Mean wage of workers
(BDT)
Mean wage of female
workers (BDT)
Mean wage of male
workers (BDT)
March,2020 9,816 9,715 9,968.99
April,2020 5,422 5,380 5,487
May,2020 7,599 7,528 7,712
June,2020 8,775 8,633 8,997
July,2020 9,358 9,187 9,626
August,2020 9,484 9,394 9,621
September,2020 9,729 9,671 9,818
October,2020 10,010 9,875 10,216
November,2020 9,986 9,858 10,174
Source: FAIR WEAR December 2020
7. 4. Social and others effects:
During the ongoing infection (while COVID-19-related infections and death rates are increasing), the BGMEA
suddenly declared that garment factories would be re-opening from 26 April 2020 with the permission of the
government so that shipments of previously ordered clothing items could be completed. RMG workers were
reportedly contacted by the management of the factories and told if they do not return to work they would lose
their jobs as well as any salary due. The return to work was made more difficult as public transport was not
available and no alternative transportation was provided to bring them from their home villages, often in rural
areas, to the factory location during the lockdown. Therefore, workers had to arrange their own means of travel
to return to work, and these arrangements included using crowded trucks and small vehicles making them more
vulnerable to infection transmission (Fair Wear, 2020). Unexpected outcomes, such as reported rapes and suicide
cases during the COVID-19 pandemic period, may impact female RMG workers’ mental health status into the
future. For example, one rape case and one suicide death by a female RMG worker has been reported in the
national daily newspapers during the COVID-19 pandemic period, which would definitely increase anxiety and
fear for safety among the female RMG workers (UNDP,2020).
Covid has had a very minimal impact on the incidence of harassment in the workplaces. The pandemic has neither
significantly decreased nor increased the prevalence of harassment. The workers' survey noted a decreasing trend
in physical, psychological, sexual, and verbal harassments, by 10%, 7%, 9%, and 9% of respondents, respectively.
On the other hand, an increasing trend in these areas of harassment has been claimed by 3%, 5%, 2%, and 7% of
respondents, respectively.
Source: FAIR WEAR December 2020
W
10
7 9 9
84 86
82 83
3 5 2
7
4 3
7
2
Physical harassment Psychological harassment Sexual harassment Verbal harassment
Impact of Covid on workplace harassment
Decreased Remained same Increased Don't know
8. Recommendation
1. We think the contribution of the Garment Industry has been more in providing employment to millions of
Bangladeshis than earning foreign currency. Thus, a decline in this industry will hit them the most. So in this
critical situation I think the following suggestions can be considered to help this industry survive.
2. We recommend that Government Stimuluses packages which would assist the garment factories should be
utilized to ensure that the garment workers can get their fair share. However, the eligibility of these stimuluses
should be contingent on the manufacturers not laying off workers.
3. We recommend that when it is safe for the garment workers to return to work with proper precautions, the
buyers should be given diplomatic pressure to buy their complete order. If necessary, a reduced price could be
negotiated to ensure that the costs of production and the wages of the workers can be given.
4. We think long term plans must be made to ensure this industry sustains. China is losing its market share and
those are mostly being taken by countries with more efficient manufacturing. The Bangladeshi industries should
also concentrate on their efficiency instead of relying on low-cost workers.
5. We recommend that, some regulations should be made to ensure the garment factory owners cannot replace
the older and more experienced workers with younger and less costly workers. This shall compel the garment
owners to train their workers to be more skillful and valuable for them in the future. However, in such cases, the
workers must also give commitments that they will not leave their workplace after it has invested in them without
proper reason.
6. We think despite these, there is a possibility that a portion of the garment industry might not survive. The
employees in those factories should be given proper training so that they can develop skills and transition into
another employment easily.
Conclusion
As sufficient evidence is not yet available to determine the lifespan of COVID-19 on various surfaces (such as
fabric, metal, plastic, etc.), it is possible that the virus may be transmitted across the border if the clothes are made
by the COVID-19 infected workers. Therefore, Bangladesh RMG sector requires urgent coordinated and effective
actions by all actors including global health communities, BGMEA, international brands/retailers, the GoB, and
the International Labour Organization to safeguard workers’ health and overall wellbeing during the COVID-19
pandemic as well as the health of people in other countries. In addition, the global supply chain and RMG trade
needs to be tenured for the long term to support the economic sustainability of Bangladesh. The production of
clothing during the COVID-19 pandemic must not go ahead without an urgent overview of the system and the
development of a plan to ensure the health and safety of workers. RMG sector is very much important for the
economy of Bangladesh. Actually, it will never fear to call, the garment industry is the heart of our economy.
There are too many problems and mismanagement of the RMG sector during The COVID-19. We can see there
that, too many workers are losing their jobs, father had to sell his children, the mental and physical health of the
workers is also affected by this COVID-19. Along this there are too many social problems occurring like a
garment worker woman were raped in the early august in Narayanganj. So overall very tough situation is going
for the garments workers in Bangladesh. We all related to this industry have to come forward to save this RMG
sector and recover from this disaster COVID-19.
9. In conclusion, it is worth noting that the United Nations Development Programme has initiated a prompt
assessment for global trades to conduct human rights due diligence in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is
time for the Bangladesh government and the RMG industry to heed this warning..
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