Meeting of the Stakeholders of the Export Processing Zones (EPZs)

1
MORIUM AKTER, General Secretary Bangladesh
Independent Garment Workers Union Federation
(BIGUF) Bangladesh and The Ready Made Garment
Industry (RMG)
Area total 56,997 sq. mi Population 150
million Capital city Dhaka Largest Port city
Chittagong
With more than150 million people and 56,997 sq.
mi., Bangladesh is one of the poorest and most
heavily populated countries in the world, formed
out of the eastern region of Pakistan in 1971,
which gained independence during the partition of
British India in 1947.
2
Geographical status of Bangladesh
3
The Major Industries of Bangladesh

• Public Jute, Power Generator, Railway, Paper,
  Steel, Fertilizer, etc.
• Private Ready Made Garment, Textile, Shrimp,
  Shoe, Leather, Cosmetics, Plastic Products,
  Pharmaceuticals,
• Communication, Road Transport, etc.

4

• Ready Made Garment Industry (RMG)
  
• 5,000-plus ready-made garment factories.
• More than four (4) million workers, of which
  80 percent are
• women that represent almost 70 percent of all
  women employment
• in the nations manufacturing sectors.
•  
• Bangladesh is the second largest garment
  exporter in the world, behind China
• Bangladesh is the third largest garment
  exporter to the European Union, and is the fourth
  to the United States of America.
•  
• The industry accounts for 13 percent of the
  gross national product (GNP), 75 percent of total
  exports, and 80 percent of foreign exchange
  earnings.

5
A RMG FACTORY
6

• Core Union Partners of the Solidarity
  Center
• Bangladesh Independent Garment Workers Union
  Federation (BIGUF)
• Bangladesh Garment and Industry Workers
  Federation (BGIWF)
• Bangladesh Federation of Workers Solidarity
  (BFWS)
• National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF)
• BIGUF IS PROUD OF ITS
• PARTNERSHIP
• WITH THE
• SOLIDARITY CENTER

7

• The number of special things make
• BIGUF special in Bangladesh
• BIGUF is the largest federation in the RMG
  industry in Bangladesh, has 1,10,000 solidarity
  members.
• BIGUFs constitution ensures it as an independent
  organization, which is free of any political
  biasness, where in Bangladesh most of the
  federations have involvement with political
  parties.
• BIGUF believes in women leadership in the garment
  sector as the majority of the workforce is women.
• BIGUF was formed and officially registered by the
  female garment workers in 1996 and that initiated
  the idea that women should be the main leadership
  to reflect the workers in the RMG industry in
  Bangladesh.
• BIGUF believes in organizing plant level workers
  as one of its core works, it has 18 plant level
  affiliate unions with 8,000 dues paying members.
• BIGUFs Constitution ensures 20 of the 25
  Executive Committee Members including the
  President and General Secretary to be female.
• In the last five years, BIGUF assisted workers to
  file highest number of cases (1,265) in the
  formal courts demanding termination benefits,
  recognition of union leaders, due payments and
  reinstatement of workers, of which 837 were
  settled.

8
Workers of the Ready Made Garment Industries are
in a discussion meeting on the International
Womens Day 2013
9

• Main Activities of BIGUF
• Organizing in RMG Factories
• Legal and Technical Support for RMG EPZ Workers
• BIGUF Works on Occupational Health Safety
  Issues
• BIGUF leverages the brands as a tool to assist
  plant level unions to achieve collective
  bargaining agreement
• BIGUF conducts leadership development in the RMG
• BIGUF does monitoring individual and collective
  violation in RMG
• BIGUF does coalition building campaign on
  workers common issues
• BIGUF provides recommendation to Government and
  Policy makers on labor issues

10
Challenges to form unions Termination Blacklisti
ng Physical Assault Close Monitoring High
Production Target False case Arrest Jail Divorce
of female workers by husband
11
BIGUF is involved in Justice Campaign for the
Victims of the Saver Tragedy, the global worst
ever industrial disaster that took place on April
24, 2013, the collapse of an eight-story
building, Rana Plaza, occupied primarily by five
RMG factories with more than 5,000 workers, where
2,438 survivors were rescued, 1,129 died and
countless people remain missing.
12
Women Leadership Building Training Women trade
union leaders are upholding their commitment to
promote their role and involvement in the trade
union movement of Bangladesh
13
Group work presentation on Gender Equality
14
No More Death Build Union Promoting Women
Leadership