Finance
Garment Sector Global brands treated Bangladeshi garment sector in 'unfair' way : UK study
Dhaka, January 11: The world's biggest global brands paid Bangladeshi factories less than the cost of production to make their garments. Despite the increase in production costs due to various reasons, many companies have given garment factories pre-pandemic prices. In a recent study, this information was revealed by the British media BBC.
This research has been conducted on the situation of 1,000 garment factories in Bangladesh from March 2022 to December 2021. It was run by the University of Aberdeen's Business School in the UK in collaboration with the charity Transform Trade.
According to the research report, at that time, one-fifth of garment factories in Bangladesh were struggling to pay workers a daily wage of 2.30 pounds (about Tk 290).
Big brands that buy clothes from multiple factories are more likely to engage in 'unfair purchasing practices' than smaller brands.
The researchers found that 90 percent of major brands that buy clothing from four or more factories are involved in 'unfair purchasing practices'. These 'unfair' practices include cancellation of purchase orders, failure to pay, late payment, discount or discount claims. There are also indirect effects such as forced overtime and harassment.
According to the BBC, several brands have denied the allegations against them. Muhammad Azizul Islam, Professor of Sustainability Accounting and Transparency at Aberdeen University, led the research.
He said, "For two years since the beginning of the epidemic, the Bangladeshi garment workers have not been paid enough for their livelihood. One in five factories struggled to pay workers the minimum wage. But at the same time, many fashion brands have increased their profits by using Bangladeshi labour."
This researcher fears that this situation has become more fragile due to massive price inflation around the world. He said suppliers reported that big brands, which buy clothes from multiple factories, were more likely to engage in "unfair purchasing practices" than smaller brands.
About 85 percent of Bangladesh's total export earnings come from the garment industry. About 12 million Bangladeshis depend on this sector.
The study also showed that only 75 percent of the workers in garment factories in Bangladesh before the epidemic are working after the epidemic. That is, about nine lakh garment workers lost their jobs.
