In Bangaldesh: Garment workers exploitation continues

The 2.5 million factory workers are one of the cheapest workforces in the world. Their wages have come down to nearly half of what they were earning earlier.

Asda, Tesco and Primark have spoken of their commitment to labour rights. All three have signed up to a code of conduct which sets out basic rights for employees, agreeing that they will work for 48 hours a week, that overtime shall be voluntary and not exceed 12 hours a week, and that a "living wage" should be paid.

But employees of factories supplying clothes to all three retailers said that their wages were so low that, despite working up to 84-hour weeks, they struggled to provide for their families. Many are regularly forced to work 12-hour days, and working through the night to finish an order was not uncommon.
They were refused access to trade unions and in the last month, four colleagues had been dismissed for attempting to organize a union. They were paid well below the £22 a month considered by experts to be the minimum living wage.

The basic hours are 8am to 8pm, six days a week, but overtime, sometimes through the night, is compulsory, as is a meticulous attendance record. If someone refuses, they can lose their job.

Nazma Akter, president of the United Garment Workers Federation and general secretary of the Awaj Foundation said that long hours, bad working conditions, poverty and the overcrowded and insanitary conditions in which garment workers are forced to live made them susceptible to a number of illnesses and diseases.

"They get tuberculosis, kidney problems, diarrhoea, problems with their hearing and there are a huge amount of skin diseases caused by the dust and fibres. People here boil water before they drink it but the garment workers do not have the time to do that. There are also mental health problems brought on by constant stress."

Last year, after workers protest the Bangladeshi government agreed to introduce a minimum wage of 1,660 taka or £12 a month. The deadline for the new wage, which is supposed to be based on an eight-hour day, passed a month ago, but according to the National Garment Workers' Federation, even this meagre target is not being met, with 60% of factories still flouting the rules.