Stakeholders in the ready-made garment, tannery, and shipbreaking sectors have called for policy measures to ensure the protection of workers and the environment for a just transition in these industries. They said, “Green industrialization is not possible without a national action plan that guarantees worker safety, just wages, and climate resilience.”
On Sunday (August 24), at a national dialogue titled “Just Transformation in RMG, Tannery, and Shipbreaking Sectors: Roles of Government, Employers, Trade Unions, and Human Rights Organizations,” organized by the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) and the Daily Bonik Barta at Bonik Barta’s conference room, speakers made these remarks. The discussion, held with support from the international organization Mondiaal FNV, was moderated by the Daily Bonik Barta’s Assistant Editor, Badrul Alam.
The keynote paper was presented by Associate Professor Aurangzeb Akand of Maulana Bhasani University of Science and Technology. He said, “Addressing climate change, green industrialization, and a just transition requires coordinated efforts from the government, employers, and workers to establish social justice and environmentally sustainable production systems. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) emphasizes green economy, green industry, and green factories in sustainable development. Transitioning to a green and sustainable economy must be just and inclusive, creating decent work while protecting workers and industries.”
He added, “To implement a just transition strategy, a national action plan must be developed along with a national policy framework and strategic initiatives. At the national level, a just transition commission or regulatory body should be established, a national just transition climate fund created, and sector-specific just transition monitoring cells and funding initiatives put in place. The government, employers, trade unions, and human rights organizations should ensure sustainable industrial development, safeguard workers’ rights, improve their quality of life, and secure environmental protection and climate justice.”
The Daily Bonik Barta’s Editor, Dewan Hanif Mahmud, said, “We are in the middle of a transformation process. It is because of this transformation that, despite so much conflict, Bangladesh’s economy has grown step by step. We need to listen to those who are creating employment and building factories. At the same time, we must listen to the workers in these establishments who are adding value. That is why it is essential to sit together. We want to resolve many global issues by sitting on the streets. But if we want to create quality employment while ensuring justness, we have to sit together and engage in dialogue. If we try to establish justice by fighting on the streets, the country as a whole will fall behind. We have to save the factories. At the same time, we must work to improve the quality of life for the workers.”
The Chief Guest at the dialogue was AHM Shafiquzzaman, Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment. He said, “Among the ready-made garment, tannery, and shipbreaking industries, the garment sector is our leading industry. We have achieved much in this sector. It contributes $50 billion to our export economy. Our GDP is half a trillion dollars. By 2030, we aim to reach $100 billion in exports. A platform has been built over a long period. If we destroy it now, the consequences will be catastrophic. We cannot move forward by harming the climate. Workers, owners, and the government must work together. But when we sit at the negotiation table, we often see each other as adversaries. We need to break free from that mindset. If we remain adversaries, foreigners take advantage of the situation. In many places, we complain about one another. This brings no benefit. In fact, it only strengthens them and weakens us.”
Addressing the workers, the Secretary said, “Workers should not assume that employers always oppress or deprive them of their rights. No employer can run a business by exploiting workers. Likewise, only 1 percent of workers are involved in strikes and blockades. Internationally, these actions are creating a negative impression. These strikes and protests are generating a negative narrative.”
Highlighting the importance of automation, he added, “We must move toward automation, or we will fall further behind. The challenge now is how to involve workers in a just transition. Our labor-intensive industrial establishments may remain sustainable for the next 20 years, but we must consider whether we can integrate these workers as skilled employees afterward. We need to assess our preparedness to face climate risks. Leaders must raise their voices to ensure that the government is providing workers, over 75 million of them, with a just share.”
Mahmud Hasan Khan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said, “To address the issues in a just transition, we first need to create an accurate database. Since 2011, BGMEA has been working on this database. To date, a total of 9,876,698 workers from the garment sector have been included. This database was created to bring workers under the ration program. The government’s food-friendly program benefits 12.3 million people, but 25–30 percent of them are receiving benefits based on false information. Correcting this and bringing 3 to 4 million garment workers under the ration program is not impossible.”
Mohammad Hatem, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said, “Transformation is underway across all industries. We have visited green factories. After the Tazreen Fashion incident, an image crisis arose, but we have emerged from it. No country in the world has such a favorable working environment in its garment sector as Bangladesh. There are no factories as well-equipped as Bangladesh’s. This itself is a significant transformation. Here, workers and owners cannot be left behind; we do not leave anyone behind. Despite many challenges, we have sustained the garment industry. When the United States first imposed retaliatory tariffs, many asked if we were concerned. We said no. The non-tariff barriers we face daily from the NBR locally are far more challenging than U.S. tariffs. We deal with numerous problems and crises every day. Overcoming all these, Bangladesh’s garment industry has reached this stage.”
Worker leaders emphasized the need to ensure safety and rights in a just transition. Abul Kalam Azad, joint secretary of the Bangladesh Trade Union Centre (BTUC) and president of the Tannery Workers’ Union (TWU), said, “The leather sector is the country’s second-largest export industry. It is practically the only exportable sector using domestic raw materials. Over 85 percent of the raw materials in this industry are domestic. Despite its potential, the sector has not achieved any significant success in the past 70 years. Instead, it is now on the brink of collapse. The industry is increasingly deteriorating. Thousands of workers have lost their jobs. Here, owners comply with minimal regulations at best. Compared to other sectors, the leather industry faces more crises. Workers suffer in multiple ways, including health complications and environmental problems. Yet these workers remain consistently neglected. This sector has long been absent from public discourse. Even we, from our side, have failed to address it.”
Shakil Akhter Chowdhury, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Labour Federation (BLF), said, “Transformation is an ongoing process. It has been occurring since the dawn of human civilization. From embroidery to AI technology, all progress is a result of transformation. Technological advancement also causes job displacement, which is a form of transformation. When these displacements and relocations disrupt people’s lives, we, as worker representatives, become alarmed. In this transformation, workers’ livelihoods are under severe risk. On one hand, we aim to protect the environment; on the other, we must protect the workers’ quality of life. The government must play its role here by formulating policies and ensuring their implementation. Trade unions must also be strengthened.”
Tapan Dutta, convener of the Ship Breaking Workers’ Trade Union Forum (SBWTUF), said, “There used to be 145 yards in the shipbreaking industry in Chattogram. Through the transformation process, 16 have become green yards. Another six or seven are in progress. Now the problem is that these yards once employed 20,000 to 25,000 workers, and that number has fallen to around 5,000. These companies have technically gone green and received certification. But the lives of the workers haven’t changed. Our demand was to implement the wage board, but the government is not doing it, using various tactics. There is no safety for workers in this industry. If people themselves become targets and lose their livelihoods due to climate change, how will it work? The transition must be just, and workers’ safety, just wages, and a minimum wage structure must be ensured there.”
Leaders of the IndustriALL Bangladesh Council said, “It’s not enough to just discuss. Initiatives must also be taken for implementation. There are various problems in the ready-made garment industry. We still haven’t been able to take it to a better place. Issues like worker safety remain. Even after prices rise in the market, workers’ wages do not change. There is no improvement in their or their families’ standard of living. Thousands of workers have lost their jobs.”
Elisa Benistant Fremigaci, Technical Officer (Just Transition) at the International Labour Organization’s Bangladesh office, said that the ILO always encourages just transition. It has even provided some guidelines for this. She emphasized that environmental protection is very important and the issue of workers must also be carefully considered. She reaffirmed that the ILO will support Bangladesh in achieving a just transition.
Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, Executive Director of BILS and Chair of the Labour Reform Commission, said, “Transformation is a natural process in industry. From birth, humans have been going through transitions. There was one kind of transition after the discovery of fire, another after the discovery of steam. Another type occurred after the invention of the internet. Now we are going through a different type of transition due to automation and AI. This transition will involve both workers and owners. Those who can coordinate and prepare will move ahead. There are several key elements here: the relationship between humans and machines, labor relations, and the relationship between management and policy. Many policies create instability in industry. These are interrelated. Only after coordinating many things can we determine whether the transition will be positive or negative.”
In his closing remarks, Mojibur Rahman Bhuiyan, acting Chairman of the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS), said, “At one time, I believed trade unions wouldn’t last more than ten years. But that belief later proved wrong. Trade unions are working, and I hope they will play an important role in securing workers’ rights. The issue of providing rations to workers has come up. As far as I understand, a rationing system should be implemented for workers. It existed even during the Pakistan era. It is possible to implement it. I have worked on this issue extensively. BILS can work on how to reinstate it.”
During the panel discussion, additional remarks were made by A M M Khairul Anam, Program Coordinator at the Nature and Life Foundation; Kutubuddin Ahmed, president, and Babul Akhtar, General Secretary, of the IndustriALL Bangladesh Council (IBC); Nasrin Akter Dina, General Secretary of the Nationalist Workers Party (Women’s Committee); Tauhidur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Garment Industry Workers Federation; Sanzida Sultana, Additional Executive Director of Karmojibi Nari; Shamim Ara, president of the Bangladesh National Workers Federation; AAM Foyez Hossain, general secretary of the Bangladesh Labour Federation; Shahidullah Badal, acting General Secretary of the Bangladesh Free Labour Federation; Naimul Ahsan Jewel, General Secretary of the Jatiya Sramik Jote Bangladesh; and Badal Khan, general secretary of the Bangladesher Jatiya Sramik Jote.