Background

The readymade garments industry acts as a catalyst for the development of

Bangladesh. The "Made in Bangladesh" tag has also brought glory for the
country, making it a prestigious brand across the globe. Bangladesh, which was
once termed by cynics a "bottomless basket" has now become a "basket full of
wonders." The country with its limited resources has been maintaining 6% annual
average GDP growth rate and has brought about remarkable social and human
development. After the independence in 1971, Bangladesh was one of poorest
countries in the world. No major industries were developed in Bangladesh, when
it was known as East Pakistan, due to discriminatory attitude and policies of the
government of the then West Pakistan. So, rebuilding the war-ravaged country
with limited resources appeared to be the biggest challenge.

The industry that has been making crucial contribution to rebuilding the country
and its economy is none other than the readymade garment (RMG) industry
which is now the single biggest export earner for Bangladesh. The sector
accounts for 83% of total export earnings of the country. When our only major
export earner "the jute industry" started losing its golden days, it is the RMG
sector that replaced it, and then, to overtake it.The apparel industry of
Bangladesh started its journey in the 1980s and has come to the position it is in
today. The late Nurool Quader Khan was the pioneer of the readymade garment
industry in Bangladesh. He had a vision of how to transform the country. In 1978,
he sent 130 trainees to South Korea where they learned how to produce
readymade garments. With those trainees, he set up the first factory "Desh
Garments" toproduce garments for export. At the same time, the late Akhter
Mohammad Musa of Bond Garments, the late Mohammad Reazuddin of Reaz
Garments, MdHumayun of Paris Garments, Engineer Mohammad Fazlul Azim of
Azim Group, Major (Retd) Abdul Mannan of Sunman Group, M Shamsur
Rahman of Stylecraft Limited, the first President of BGMEA, AM Subid Ali of
Aristocrat Limited also came forward and established some of the first garment
factories in Bangladesh. Following their footsteps, other prudent and hardworking
entrepreneurs started RMG factories in the country. Since then, Bangladeshi
garment industry did not need to look behind. Despite many difficulties faced by
the sector over the past years, it has carved a niche in world market and kept
continuing to show robust performance.

Since the early days, different sources of impetus have contributed to the
development and maturity of the industry at various stages. We learned about
child-labour in 1994, and successfully made the industry free from child labour in
1995.The MFA-quota was a blessing to our industry to take root, gradually
develop and mature. While the quota was approaching to an end in 2004, it was
predicted by many that the phase-out would incur a massive upset in our
export.However, the post-MFA era is another story of success. Proving all the
predictions wrong, we conquered the post-MFA challenges. Now the apparel
industry is Bangladesh s biggest export earner with value of over $30.61 billion of
exports in 2017-18 financial year. The Ready Made Garments industry of
Bangladesh has expanded dramatically over the last three decades. The history
of the Readymade Garments Sector in Bangladesh is a fairly recent one.
Nonetheless, it is a rich and varied tale.

The recent struggle to realize Workers’ Rights adds an important episode to the
story.The RMG industry of Bangladesh has expanded dramatically over the last
three decades. Traditionally, the jute industry dominated the industrial sector of
the country until the 1970s. Since the early 1980s, the RMG industry has
emerged as an important player in the economy of the country and has gradually
replaced the jute industry. Although Bangladesh is not developed in industry, it
has been enriched in Garment industries in the recent past years. In the field of
Industrialization garment industry is a promising step. The sector now dominates
the modern economy in export earnings, secondary impact and employment
generated. It has given the opportunity of employment to millions of unemployed,
especially innumerable uneducated women of the country. It is making a
significant contribution in the field of our export income. Bangladesh exports 35
types of garment products to about 31 countries around the world. The RMG
sector is a 100% export-oriented industry.

That Bangladesh today is considered an economic competitor in terms of

international garment manufacturing by other countries of the region and beyond
is the country since gaining independence in 1971. It appears much of the socio-
economic development in the first decade of the twenty-first century for
Bangladesh and its approximately 1.5 million women workers depend on the
continuing success of the RMG industry. The garment industry of Bangladesh
has been the key export division and a main source of foreign exchange for the
last 25 years. National labor laws do not apply in the EPZs, leaving BEPZA in full
control over work conditions, wages and benefits. Garment factories in
Bangladesh provide employment to 40 percent of industrial workers. But without
the proper laws the worker are demanding their various wants and as a result
conflict is began with the industry. Bangladesh imports raw materials for
garments like cotton, thread color etc. This dependence on raw materials
hampers the development of garments industry. Moreover, foreign suppliers
often supply low quality materials, which result in low quality products. Most of
the illiterate women workers employed in garments are unskilled and so their
products often become lower in quality.There are some other problems which are
associated with this sector. Those are- lack of marketing tactics, absence of
easily on-hand middle management, a small number of manufacturing methods,
lack of training organizations for industrial workers, supervisors and managers,
autocratic approach of nearly all the investors, fewer process units for textiles
and garments, sluggish backward or forward blending procedure, incompetent
ports, entry/exit complicated and loading/unloading takes much time, time-
consuming custom clearance etc. Now there were some tragedy happened in
Bangladesh with this garment factories the most tragedic one is RANA PLAZA.

On 24 April 2013, the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka, Bangladesh,
which housed five garment factories, killed at least 1,132 people and injured
more than 2,500. Only five months earlier, at least 112 workers had lost their
lives in another tragic accident, trapped inside the burning Tazreen Fashions
factory on the outskirts of Dhaka. These disasters, among the worst industrial
accidents on record, awoke the world to the poor labour conditions faced by
workers in the ready-made garment sector in Bangladesh. For some of the
lowest wages of the world, millions of people, most of them girls and women, are
exposed every day to an unsafe work environment with a high incidence of work-
related accidents and deaths, as well as occupational diseases. Most of the
factories do not meet standards required by building and construction legislation.
As a result, deaths from fire incidents and building collapses are frequent.

Since the Rana Plaza disaster, no fewer than 109 accidents have occurred.
Among these, at least 35 were textile factory incidents in which 491 workers were
injured and 27 lost their lives. In the absence of a well-functioning labour
inspection system and of appropriate enforcement mechanisms, decent work and
life in dignity are still far from reality for the vast majority of workers in the
garment industry and their families.Given the hazardous working conditions and
the high risk of exposure to employment injury in this sector, the provision of
adequate benefits is of critical importance in compensating injured workers for
the loss of earnings they are likely to suffer, and to ensure that they have access
to the medical and associated care required by their condition. Access to some
form of financial compensation or support for dependent family members who
lose their breadwinner can also make the difference between life in dire poverty,
where children and older people are forced to work to survive, and life at or just
above subsistence level. At present, the only form of financial protection
available to workers and their dependants is set out in the labour code, which
requires employers, when liable, to provide specified payments to injured
workers or survivors.Access to some form of financial compensation or support
for dependent family members who lose their breadwinner can also make the
difference between life in dire poverty, where children and older people are
forced to work to survive, and life at or just above subsistence level. At present,
the only form of financial protection available to workers and their dependants is
set out in the labour code, which requires employers, when liable, to provide
specified payments to injured workers or survivors.A recent amendment to the
labour code requires employers to insure themselves against liability, but no such
obligation was in force at the time Tazreen caught fire, or when Rana Plaza
collapsed. The amounts of compensation envisaged are also very low and take
the form of lump sums, offering inadequate protection to beneficiaries against ill
health and poverty in the medium and long term. The system is also plagued by
major practical application issues (e.g. evasion, lack of proper enforcement,
absence of effective recourse), with the result that legal entitlements very rarely
materialize. Despite the magnitude of the losses suffered by the victims of the
Tazreen and Rana Plaza accidents and their survivors, no compensation was
paid in application of the labour code provisions on employer liability. A small
number of global buyers and local players made some payments to victims in the
months following the disasters, albeit on a voluntary basis.
Same kinds of incidents happened in west the CTV building. The CTV building’s
collapse was one of several investigated by the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal
Commission which reported in June 2012. The Royal Commission found that the
building’s design relied ‘on the north wall complex and the south coupled shear
wall to resist the lateral loads generated by earthquakes’. Defects including a
lack of ductility (ability to stretch or deform under tensile stress) in areas such as
joint zones, columns and drag bars ‘meant that these two walls were not able to
function as the designer intended in the strong shaking generated by the
February earthquake’. It noted inadequacies and deficiencies in the engineering
design, construction and post-2010 earthquake inspection of the building. In
September 2014 the New Zealand Police confirmed that they would proceed with
a criminal investigation into the collapse. In December 2015 this investigation
was still in progress; only once it was completed would the police ‘be in a position
to make final decisions regarding any criminal culpability. The report of the
Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission contains biographies of those who
died in the CTV building as a result of the earthquake. Another tragedic incident
happened in ISTANBUL. An unlicensed fireworks factory here exploded
accidentally, leaving at least 22 people dead and at least 100 injured, Turkish
officials said Thursday. The building that housed the unlicensed factory, in
Davutpasa, an industrial neighborhood, partly collapsed. The factory was in a
multistory workshop complex it shared with manufacturers of paint, socks and
textiles, the Istanbul governor, Muammer Guler, said in a statement. Many
victims were crushed to death when some floors collapsed. The explosion
originated with a fire on the building’s fourth floor, Guler said. Several of those
killed were bystanders in the street watching the blaze. There were more than
130 workshops and offices in the building complex where the blast occurred. At
least six of the 20 dead had been pulled out of the rubble from the building that
partially collapsed under the force of the blast, Guler said, adding that nobody
alive remained under the debris.
Inadequate workplace safety has been blamed on lenient enforcement,
inceptions and training. Industrial accidents have killed and injuried thousands in
Eastern world these recent years. Workplace safety has been an everlasting
issue here. Another incident is an explosion has ripped through a chemical plant
in south-eastern China's Fujian province, sparking a major fire. The blast
occurred on Monday evening at the plant in Zhangzhou. Six people were taken to
hospital, say officials. State news agency Xinhua said 177 fire engines and more
than 800 firefighters were sent to the blaze, which is now under control. The plant
produces the chemical paraxylene (PX), in a process many in China feel creates
harmful pollution. PX is a flammable chemical used in polyester and plastics
manufacturing. Construction of PX plants has sparked protests, including violent
demonstrations last year in Guangdong province. Seventeen people were killed
and 20 injured in a series, the blast was occurred around 9.30 am at the Fuwa
Engineering Manufacturing plant while a large number of workers were inside.
Probably there were three blasts as the plants roof was blown off and windows
shattered. The windows of factories around were also shattered in the blasts up
to 100 meter away. The factory has been closed down with several fire trucks at
that moment. The injured workers have been sent to three local hospitals for
treatment. The Lahore Sunder Industrial Estate which buried at least 21 workers
and wounded many others has revealed an important reality about the shabby
state of Pakistans manufacturing economy. It is horrifying that the factory which
produced polythene bags employed a workforce consisting largely of children.
Equally shocking is the fact that the factory owners can build structures that are
dangerous structurally or vulnerable to fires or which follows lenient safety
standards that can cause boilers to explode.

In Pakistan again another incident occurred in KARACHI where more than 190
people are now known to have died in a fire at a garment factory in the southern
Pakistan city of Karachi, police have told the BBC. The blaze broke out on
Tuesday evening. Many other people were injured, including some who jumped
from the burning building. Now need to understand which kind of steps should be
taken for this kind incidents. Specially country like Bangladesh there are so many
problems regarding thois issue. Garments worker are not very educated so they
don’t knoe about the rights and safety initiatives. So there are some initiatives
that they need to be trained for their own safety.After RANA PLAZA fall criminal
bodies of evidence have been recorded against the proprietors of the building
and the proprietors of 5 articles of clothing production lines housed in the
building. Bangladesh labour law 2006 are now impleting by the government.
Bangladesh enjoys the lowest wages in clothing sector in the world, but cost of
living has been increasing gradually; most likely at significantly higher rate in the
world. Thus; demand of increasing monthly wages is obvious, creating labor
unrest. The second factor is wages discrimination; top-level employees draw
more than 100 times monthly salaries than low-level employees, plus other
company’s benefits in the hierarchy. This in turn develops non-motivation among
the fellow workers; create jealousness among them, consequently less
productivity of worker by unrest in the production environment.
Environment Analysis Tool
(PESTLE)
It is understood that Garments industry of Bangladesh has drawn a special
attention to the mass people in the world because of being both cost leader and
quality leader at the same time. The purpose of this research paper is to analyze
the garments industry in Bangladesh, which is going to be an emerging tiger in
the world economy. It also aims to assess the impact of macro-environmental
factors affecting the industry by PESTLE analysis. Again, five forces model has
been analyzed to assess the impacts of competitive external factors on the
Garments industry in Bangladesh. Furthermore, Garments sector competitive
responses to the primary issues affecting the industry have been evaluated here.
It also outlines the primary external influences to which this industry is subject. In
this case, SWOT analysis has been conducted to assess the competitive position
of this industry in comparison with the global perspective. The study suggests
that total export is highly correlated with the exports of garments. It also finds that
there is severe lacking in the safety and security compliance, wages and
compensations and code of conduct of the current organizations. Moreover, GSP
facility withdrawn can affect severely on the readymade garments of Bangladesh
to compete with price in the international market with China, India and Vietnam
etc. The readymade garments sector of Bangladesh is enjoying cost leadership
as a source of completive advantage because of cheap labor. Finally, the study
would like to recommend for further improvement of garment sector in
Bangladesh.
Also there are some key points which shows this should be PESTLE anlaysis-
 PESTLE is more appropriate because Rana Plaza building has different
companies of same industry, which focuses on macro environment.
Therefore, we thought PESTLE analysis would be more appropriate for
rana plaza.

 It is more relevant to the contents of this case.

 It covers the whole industry’s environment.

 Deeper understanding of external factors affecting industry.

Problem Identification
1. Ruling political parties of Bangladesh having an unfair, yet very strong
power of control over the manufacturing companies.
2. Inefficient and corrupted government authorities do not ensure that the
legal codes of high rise buildings are being maintained.
3. The denial of the building owner about the building’s condition
manipulated the garment owners to think the building was in a workable
condition and thus the workers were sent back into the building, leading to
the great tragedy.
4. The ineffective unions of Bangladeshi ready-made garments companies
only focus on their own financial or political gains, ignoring representation
of the bigger issues that need to be represented to their respective
management.
5. Foreign brands pressurize Bangladeshi ready-made garments companies
to manufacture at extremely cheap rates, coercing the managers/owners
not being able to maintain certain workplace standards.
6. Corrupted government authorities issue authorizations and permits with
briber, without acknowledging the safety concerns.
7. Relevant authorities of government neglected the fact that the building
owner was leasing the building to garment manufacturers for industrial
purposes, whereas it was built as a commercial building.
8. Despite social compliance audits conducted according to BCSI procedure
at two of the factories at Rana Plaza, auditors failed to detect the
structural concerns.
9. The government’s inability to seize opportunities of lobbying with foreign
governments.
10. The manufacturers’ unbelievably low ability of negotiating with foreign
buyers in term of price and delivery time.

Mission Statement
What are the steps that the managerial authorities of RMG companies and the
government take together to ensure workplace healthy and safety, preventing
any further loss of human lives or industry reputation, leading to an economic
struggle for the whole industry?
Pestle Analysis
Political
In spite of having favorable business environment for RMG sector with having
low labor cost, duty-free export facilities to 27 European Union countries and 10
developed countries, this sector is facing negative impact in business operations
due to unstable political state. The eight-stored Rana Plaza building came
crashing down on 24 April demonstrating the ugly politics of Bangladesh. The US
duty-free trade privileges order suspends Bangladesh’s under the terms of a
trade program called the (GSP), designed to promote economic growth in
developing countries suspecting Bangladesh was not taking steps to afford
internationally recognized rights to its workers.
A country’s development largely depends on the country’s smooth and stable
political system. Democratic government, fiscal policy, monetary policy helps to
gain economic growth. Bangladesh is appearing as a new emerging tiger by the
help of its readymade garments and textile sector. But in recent times a black
shadow is appearing in the sky of Bangladesh because of political unrest, strike,
conflicts, labour unrest etc. The most noticeable and important features of
political system are as follows -
 Absence of proper democratic system
 Absence of rule of law
 Corruption and terrorism
 Absence of democratic practice among political parties
 Pressure from the Islamist
 Confrontational situation among political parties
Though the problems, stated above, exist in Bangladesh, the government has
taken many positive steps and initiative in favor of garments sector. Foreign
investments are welcomed. Favorable policy, tax holiday, export-import policies,
investments incentives, reduced import duties on capital machinery and spares
are some important initiative helping the garments sector.
In the year 2011 and 2012 the corporate tax rate, company tax rate and general
tax rate had declined which ultimately had an influence on the growth of service
revenues. This unexpected growth in earnings will eventually increase the
charitable activities in Canada in order to enhance the image of Rana Plaza and
to promote themselves in an ethical way.
Economical
Garments sector is currently contributing about 10% to GDP1 and it is the
highest single contributor of Bangladesh economy. About 20 million people are
directly or indirectly involved in this sector. And about 78% of the employees are
women who are playing a pivotal role in decision making, poverty alleviation in
their family. A platform for 2.8 million women to engage in new productive role
has been created by this industry. Besides, this industry is accelerating the
industrial growth and employment opportunities for the unemployed people in
Bangladesh. Banks are making a lot of profit only from this sector by export and
import services.
The collapse of Rana Plaza has received vast international attention and strong
criticism. Nevertheless, the almost immediate strengthening of labour rights and
the wholesale reform undertaken on all sides of the supply chain, evidence a
move of all local and foreign stakeholders towards greater compliance and taking
of precautionary steps for prevention of further disasters. The tragedy that Rana
Plaza embodies served as a much-needed epiphany for the soaring RMG Sector
of Bangladesh. Prompt co-operation on the part of all stakeholders and
regulatory bodies now show a move towards sustainable development, which
further ensures safeguarding against any future irregularities and pave the way
for steady economic growth.
The recent economic trend of Bangladesh is rather satisfying. In 2007-08 while
US was facing turnover in economic growth, subsequently in 2010-11 quite a few
countries of Europe were in the same state, Bangladesh was having
comparatively steady and stable situation. According to BBS (Bangladesh
Bureau of Statistics) in 2010-11 the rate of economic growth was 6.7%, in 2011-
12 was 6.3% and in 2012-13 it will be 6.03%.
 The recent digester of Rana Plaza boosted the garment worker’s anger
and frustration and creating negative impact on Garment Industry.
 China is also stepping back From RMG sector.
 Bangladesh began its new struggle for achieving economic emancipation
and leading the country try to prosperity with its limited resources.
 Economically they are improving day by day as they are learning from the
past experience.
 The upcoming trend of using technologies in RMG production questions
future economic growth.
Social
Bangladesh is a country of about 160 million people and a large number of her
people are unemployed. Women are the most unused labor force in our economy
and those who are working are not getting well compensation packages as
compared to men (Bhuiyan, 2012). And it is garments that have helped them to
engage in the mainstream of the economy. About 78% of total garments worker
are woman who are significantly contributing to their families living in slums and
villages. Hence, they are participating in decision making of families. From this
point of view, the social impacts of garments are as follows.
 Woman empowerment has been achieved in private and public sector.
 They are contributing to increase savings.
 They are interested population control.
 Economic solvency of woman has been achieved.
 Their Children are getting educated more.
 Awareness about Health care has been increased
 Standard of living is increasing day by day.
Society and culture is an important factor that must be given emphasis by any
business, specifically those who are operating in the global area. It is important
that any industry must operate in compliance with the social systems in order to
gain good reputation and effective public image. On the other hand, cultural
aspects is equally essential, in order to understand the various needs of different
individuals that belongs to different cultures
 Population growth rate
 Age distribution
 Career attitudes
 Consumer behavior
 Religion and culture itself.
Although Consumer Rights Movement, enforcement of government regulations
and a structured view regarding the economic importance of Social responsibility
are not yet so widespread in the corporate world in Bangladesh. , business
organizations can thereby have an inclusive financial, commercial and social
approach, leading to a long term strategy minimizing risks linked to uncertainty.
This is an investment, not a cost, much like quality management.
Technological
Bangladesh is not technologically so developed as compared to other big giants
in the international markets. It is still using obsolete technologies because they
have to pay a high amount of money to acquire ultra-modern technology.
Although, government has given duty free import of technology and machinery
for garments, it is increasing the fixed and operational cost. If they could
purchase it from the local market, it would be a blessing for the garments industry
of Bangladesh. China, Vietnam, Taiwan etc are more advanced in technological
advantage.
The manufacturing technology of garment production has been changing from
labor-intensive to more sophisticated and capital-intensive production. This
change creates dissatisfaction for the lower skilled workers because of their
inability to adapt to the new manufacturing process. Work dissatisfaction reduces
the performance of workers and, in turn, company performance is negatively
affected. On the other hand, the positive relationships to technological change
include improvement of task significance, salary increase, improvement of the
quality of supervision, improved co-workers relations and increase benefits, in
addition, if skilled technicians are available to instruct, prearranged garment is an
option because labor and energy cost are inexpensive here. Concluding remarks
and recommendations: There are some opportunities that prevailed in the
industry are given below –
 Good reputation of product quality in outside world will increase more
option of export.
 Strong rise of knitting sector.
 Very good quality yarn is now producing.
 More options of new employments.
 Great pricing capability.
 Attracting new buyers by establishing new buying houses.
 Encouraging new joint venture projects.
 Change in Governments attitude towards RMG sector
Advances in the preparation of base raw materials are one area that can benefit
hugely from technology contributing to the whole sustainability of the garment
supply chain. A simple cotton t-shirt requires some 700 gallons of water to grow,
produce, and transport with more water being used in the dyeing process.
Systems that allow the efficient growing and harvesting of crops, monitoring
water usage, and minimizing the use of fertilizers and pesticides are increasing in
number globally, and are endorsed by a number of international institutions,
including the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI). But technology can take Bangladesh
further still.

Environmental
Environmental impacts of garments on the environment are not well enough to
describe because of poor waste management. The improper drainage system is
mainly responsible for it. Besides, government is not taking enough steps for
waste management in Dhaka city. Sound and air pollution are the outcome of this
industry. Sustainability in RMG business operation is an evolving issue for
Bangladeshi entrepreneurs Rana Plaza incidents. Bangladesh RMG industry, the
main catalyst for the country’s economy, is blamed by the buyer for lack
implementation of sustainability issues in the factories.  Environmental
sustainability is the most important and emerging issue at the present phase of
industrialization, which is considered as a burning issue. The goals of sustainable
developments are –Cleaner water and sanitation, Affordable and clean energy,
Industry innovation infrastructure, Climate action and responsible consumption
and production.
Environmental sustainability consists of energy usage, water usage and chemical
storage and handling. The apparel industry has various impacts to
the environment. It is polluting the environment in many ways. Environmental
pollutions are wastewater discharge, solid and hazardous discharge, air emission
and nuisances. Bangladesh RMG industry owners are very much concern about
business sustainability. Compliance factories are implementing a numbers of
best practices to improve their efficiency and sustainability. Some best practices
are:
 Rain water harvesting
 Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (3R) of water
 Cogeneration
 Condensate recovery boiler
 Water efficient dyes and chemicals
 Use of renewable energy (solar panel)
 Prismatic skylight
 T5 and LED light
 Sustainability reporting and etc.

Sustainability has a broader aspect than compliance. Bangladesh RMG industry

needs a comprehensive strategy to be sustainable for environmental issues.
Both industry owners and policy-makers need to understand the global impact of
production and consumption patterns. Sustainability has to be evolved within the
industry, which is not as print rather than a marathon.
Legal
Government always encourages garments industry by its supportive hands most
of the time. That’s why a large number of companies have been established here
and there in the city. But recent fire in some notable garments company has
drawn the sight of the government. It has increased some legal and compliance
issues. The workers do not get proper wages and remuneration, working
environment and safety from the companies. That is why government has
intervened on this issue by enforcing the law and order system.
The ready-made garment (RMG) industry in Bangladesh was hit by several fatal
industrial accidents in 2012 and 2013, including the Rana Plaza collapse in April
2013.
In response, the ILO Programme on Improving Working Conditions in the Ready-
Made Garment Sector funded by Canada, the Netherlands and the United
Kingdom was launched in October 2013. The garment industry of Bangladesh
has very significant contributions to the country’s development process in terms
of foreign earnings, employment opportunities, women empowerment and
bringing social change. The contribution of Bangladesh ready-made garment
industry in the world apparel sector is also very significant, currently it has
become 2nd largest exporters of garment products in the world. More than 4
million workers invest their labors in the sector. In align with this positive
achievements, the sector is facing some challenges such as maintaining social
standards of business, safety at works, promoting labor rights. Rana Plaza
incident has offered a great opportunity to revisit the current status of the workers
and it can be said that the incident has increased awareness among various
stakeholders of the sector including Bangladesh government, foreign buyers, and
factory owners to improve the working condition and ensure workplace safety for
the workers.
The new amended labour law incorporates provisions including forming trade
unions without informing owners, safeguarding safety measures for employees in
their workplaces. Provision of safety committees and the establishment of
workplace health centres are also included in the law.  Inspection is an integral
part of the law. According to the law, inspectors can enter any factory to measure
compliance with the law, and can apply penalties for breaches of the law. Many
initiatives have been taken to promote workers’ rights. For example:

 Accord arranged training for safety committees. Alliance has completed

safety committees’ training in 34 factories.
 Alliance claimed to finish 1.2 million workers training to empower workers
and bringing positive change.
  Accord has developed a safety and health complaint system, where
workers can complaint about the safety issues that are not properly
addressed by the management. In addition, workers preserve the right to
refuse unsafe work.

Management Agenda
1. Statement: Ensure national and international certification of safety in the
workplace to safeguard the reputation of the company and to circumvent
probable losses.

Justification: Dedication to the identification of workplace hazards and the

formation of an inclusive safety culture demonstrate good managerial
leadership with a long-term view. Having the business certified will also
make the organization more credible to the local and foreign brands
placing orders. Certification can lead the companies to building an
environment at work where the employers and all the employees are
physically safer and they practice awareness about dangers at work. In
short, these certifications will provide the employees with strong morale
and increased employee retention due to a healthful and safe environment
for everybody.

Expectation: Our expectation is that if the manufacturing companies get

national and international certificates, international brands will not worry
about losing reputation due to negligence and risking profit. Additionally,
we expect that the certificate will be a great public relations related activity,
which can be a great tool that can protect, uplift and promote the
organization. Most importantly, witch official certification, we expect that a
safety group or committee will be developed that will review all the local
safety practices and ensure everyone is educated on the best way follow
through on the employees.

2. Statement: Seek investments and other relevant support from affiliated

foreign brands and non-government organizations (NGOs) to upgrade to
international standards of safety in the workplace.
 Justification: Adherence to the rules set out by the Bangladesh Labor Act
2006 about minimum conditions of work that employers should provide,
relation to hours of work, minimum wage levels, the security of their
employment, and the overall environment in which they work can be only
ensured with proper funding either by NGOs or global support. These
investment will also be significantly important for design and product
development by the garment manufacturers. Till now the industry is only
producing clothing as per buyer’s provided design. However, there is a
huge opportunity for Bangladesh to develop business in design selling to
buyer. Some local giant group of companies already has established own
design studio and buyers also like their design and buying a lot

Expectation: Our expectation is that with proper funding raised from

investors in these sectors will restrain the manufacturing company from
any future legal issues that could have occurred otherwise. It would also
prevent the company from a bad reputation in cases of accidents.

3. Statement: Conduct training programs for workers of all levels and make
them strictly adhere to safety policies within the organizations to minimize
losses in cases of emergencies.

Justification: Along with the obvious reasons – regulation and moral

responsibility – there are plenty of advantages to investing more time and
thought in a well-planned workplace safety training program. For example:
lower insurance premiums, less productivity loss due to illness or injury,
higher employee satisfaction, reduced worker compensation for medical
leave due work-related injuries and illnesses, protection from liability
lawsuits, future incident prevention. We want to provide continuous and
easy access to safety training content to let employees refresh their
memory when necessary. For example, an employee who was instructed
on the safety requirements of operating a certain machine six months ago,
and hasn’t touched it since? Is more likely to stay safe if they have the
content of the training course readily available for him to review. In fact,
when a company takes on such compliance as a practice, they see a
dramatic decline in all work-related injuries and even illnesses that may
occur, which ultimately improves efficiency and work ethic completed by
the employees.
 Expectation: When planning your workplace safety training program, our
expectation is to minimize incidents, maximize awareness and alertness,
and keep your employees healthy, happy and productive. Not just comply
with regulatory demands. We want to involve our workforce in developing,
implementing, and optimizing the training program. The contribution of
managers, supervisors and workers is crucial to us since they have the
best understanding of how work gets done, and where dangers to their
safety and health might be hiding.

4. Statement: Conduct regular inspections of workplace conditions to prevent

any unfortunate events like Rana Plaza or Tazreen Fashion and publish the
results in relevant platforms to maintain a good reputation.

Justification: Because employees who "know better" often continue to engage in

accident-causing behavior, many employers have redirected their focus
from accident prevention to the prevention of unsafe acts that could lead
to an accident. To do so, the ready-made garment factories must conduct
safety audits. Building codes provide minimum standards for safety, health
and general welfare including structural integrity, mechanical integrity
(including sanitation, water supply, light and ventilation), means of egress,
fire prevention and control, and energy conservation. In one word, it
provides ‘safety’. Now, occupational health and safety has become a
questionable matter in Bangladeshi RMG sector due to some recent
accidents. It has lead foreign companies to feel pubic pressure to shift
their orders to other countries. Thus, maintaining proper building codes
and communicating such activities through public relations activities has
become mandatory for Bangladeshi ready-made garment manufacturers.

Expectation: Our expectation is that a new Periodic Facade Inspection

system will be introduced to reduce the likelihood of facade failure as
buildings age. The managers will be assigned to ensure that they are
designed, installed and maintained properly, so that they are safe to use.
Owners of lifts and escalators will also be required to engage the services
of specialist professional engineers in lifts and escalators to certify the
respective design plans, which are to be submitted to relevant government
authorities for approval. We further expect that publicity of these actions
will be done on appropriate media. This will help the ready-made
 garments factories of Bangladesh re-gain the image they once had. As a
result, the foreign investors will be free of worry and will invest in this
industry one again.

Recommendation & Implementation

Recommendation & Implementation-1

What is the problem? Government’s lack of setting opportunities like lobbying

with the foreign government.

What is the solution? The solution to take advantage of the regional

cumulating.

Why it needs to be solved? Lobbying with the foreign government can help
reduce value added requirements for expert.

How it needs to be solved? Strike a government industry partnership to

develop linkages.

Who is going to solve it? BGMEA should responsible for taking the matter to
the government.

When is it going to be solved? This will be a long process that might take even
years to be solve, this must be initiated immediately.
Recommendation & Implementation-2

What is the problem? The worker working in the RMG sector are not aware of
proper techniques to minimize risks in the workplaces.

What is the solution? The solution is to conduct proper training sessions for all
level workers to ensure they are safely handling equipments.

Why it needs to be solved? This has to be done to make the RMG sector safe
and sustainable industry.

How it needs to be solved? This can be done hiring professional agencies for
T&D.

Who is going to solve it? Management for respective RMG factories should be
responsible.

When is it going to be solved? It should be conducted on orientation for new

employees and semi-annually for current employees.
Recommendation & Implementation-3

What is the problem? Global pressure on RMG companies to produce the

product at lower cost, making the unable to spend for workplace safety.

What is the solution? The solution can be safety program which can help focus
the efforts improving the work environment.

Why it needs to be solved? Safe and healthy workplace will encourage the
employees involvement to achieve the goal.

How it needs to be solved? Make sure employees have the right tools and
have regular equipment inspections and also implementing safety protocols from
the beginning.

Who is going to solve it? The government and RMG sectors should work for
the workplace safety program.

When is it going to be solved? It might take some time to rechecking the tools
and equipments they are using which will ultimately going to be helpful for
ensuringsafe and healthy workplace.
Recommendation & Implementation-4

What is the problem? Corruption in government authorities is causing lack of

proper maintenance of safe working environment.

What is the solution? The solution is to start showing the concern about the
safety of the infrastructures and start working on it by hiring qualified engineers
who would do his job correctly.

Why it needs to be solved? This needs to be solved because workers desire to

work in safe and protected atmosphere.

How it needs to be solved? They can hire engineers and expertise from abroad
and also change the education system, so that the future engineers are aware of
the technologies.

Who is going to solve it? RMG sectors should be aware hiring the right
candidate.

When is it going to be solved? It might take some time for screening the
existing employees and recruiting the new ones.
Recommendation & Implementation-5

What is the problem? The buildings of RMG sectors is taken for commercial
purposes but are used for industrial purposes.

What is the solution? Officials from the government sectors should go for
verification and the rules should be stricter.

Why it needs to be solved? So that the buildings are properly analyzed which
will eventually create a safer workplace for all.

How it needs to be solved? The government officials should go for routine

verification once the contract is passed.

Who is going to solve it? The government officials as well as the engineers
should work together to solve it.

When is it going to be solved? It needs to be solved when the new RMG

factories are built or when the existing ones are renovated.