Professional Documents
Culture Documents
http://www.textiletoday.com.bd/magazine/printable.php?id=79
Top Story
Issue: Jul-Aug , 2010
1 of 3
3/9/11 8:59 AM
http://www.textiletoday.com.bd/magazine/printable.php?id=79
or buying houses. Buying houses could read the buyers mind; regarding their demand of product quality, consistency and lead-time. As the middlemen are playing leading role in export by gaining commission; the profit margin or income of the industry falls. In addition, Power and gas crisis; hampering production; are among many other reasons, indirectly manipulating profit of clothing industries. Lack of managerial skills of the top-management in clothing factories causes in failing on-time shipment and thus rejection of orders from buyers, are one among many reasons which affect profit margin of the factories. High labor fluctuation does affect the productivity. The productivity of individual labor in clothing sector is one of the lowest in the world, as no concept of labor training exists here. This results into lack of workers motivational in the respective factories. The latter matter is the best example of managerial weakness. We can sum up the main reasons for minimal profit in the clothing industry as: 1)due diligence of our humble people to the buyers, 2) presence of commission of middlemen or buying agents, 3) shortage of power and gas utilities in the industry, 4) higher labor fluctuation, untrained labors, lower productivity of individual labor; resulted from managerial weakness; 5) seasonal natural disasters, 6) volatile and unpredictable backward linkage markets. Now question is: how the industry creates higher revenues; that means expected profit; to full fill higher wages demands? I already have pointed out some above-mentioned hurdles and appropriate measures against those hurdles must ensure higher revenues. One of the accurate measures is to develop potential in the sector, through restructuring the industry. At the factory level, the top and mid-level management need not to be well conversed and communicative only, with their respected buyers. But they should also gain expertise in understanding the needs and demands of their labors. And accordingly take initiative to satisfy them. It is comparatively better to have due-diligence with their workers than the buyers. We can restructure individual factorys hierarchical structure; including labors training and create an environment; making labors feel as they are part of the management. Such an approach may result in decreasing labor strife, increase productivity of each labor, thus higher turnover. Factory owners should avoid hard-line policy and have to have patient and listen to labors as well. To cover up with power and gas supply, the clothing industrys premium bodies like BGMEA, and BKMEA, should come up with actually regular demands of power and gas in the industry as well as proposed ways to fight the problems. As the crisis is a national problem; the BGMEA and BKMEA would have to come up with any alternative or innovative way. The sector is lagging behind in training of its stakeholders. There is no established training institute in the country to train their top-level, mid-level, and low-level managements. Training makes human resource efficient; makes business competitive, and creates core competences in complete supply chain. Industrial management knowledge is most important for top and mid-level employees while proper operations of machines by operators are crucial for operators productivity. Regular basis training in Training Institutes can ensures both better industrial management environment and higher productivity. Higher productivity means high revenues, thus profits, which in turn could ensure better wages. Thus training significantly contributes to controlling Labor Unrest! In my summery, we need a common platform for owners and labors, where both parties raise their problems, and therefore find instant better solutions. The platform should be consisted not only with owners and labors representatives, but also experts from research organizations (like CPD, BIDS) should be included for better performance of the platform. Government with the consultation of respective stakeholders of the industry should create Textile and Clothing Police; like Bangladesh Railway Police to protect railway sector of the country; to tackle unrest in the sectors, if any. The clothing sector is not much less important for the nation than the Railway one! According to me, Identification of real garment workers and picketers during unrests is very difficult, as there is no way to create identity of each and individual worker. Therefore, registering their names and issuing them ID cards have become essential. Establishment of an organization to issue ID card is getting important for our T&C sectors future prospects and faster growth. Issuing ID cards or ID numbers to garment labors, would help in many aspects like food rationing, counting number of garments workers in the sector, finding out life details in case of labors death, or labor criminal activities. It could be a step ahead in organizing the Textile & Clothing sectors. Personally I dont believe that only wages issue creates labor unrest, and therefore increasing demanded wages will not help to stop frequent labor unrest in the industry. I believe that labor unrest is the final explosion created by uncountable mistakes, misbehavior, mismanagement, and over exploitation of labors by authority. I like to summarize my writing in the following table:
Reasons for Labor Unrest Low wages Higher wages discrimination/gap organizational hierarchy in
Lack of compliance (no weekly day off, no festival bonus, compulsory over-time, but fraction payment or no payment) No responsible organizations who will listen labors needs and demands
Proposed Solutions Control food and power abnormal inflation; readjust wages Restructure factory hierarchy organogram; provide incentive to deserving employees but keeping salary indiscriminate level Ensure social and environmental compliances in the clothing-manufacturing sector. A neutral organization to be formed (taking members from BKMEA, BGMEA, labors unions, and government employee from labor ministry) who listen them. Train labors techniques how to save themselves; construct production plant accordingly; keep contractual agreement with nearest doctors in the locality, in case of unable to ensure 24 hours doctor.
About the author: Abrar Ahmed Apu is a Faculty in the department of Textile Engineering in Daffodil Int. University (DIU), and Founder & Director of M&A Sourcing Bangladesh. He can be reached at: abrardk@ yahoo.com
Death of any garment labors in the factory premises, could be by fire-smoke, electrified and labor pain for pregnant women
2 of 3
3/9/11 8:59 AM
http://www.textiletoday.com.bd/magazine/printable.php?id=79
Distorted minded boys/males labors create havoc of unrest to press their illegal demands Local influential (could be mastans) trading of garment wastes/jhoot, sometimes creates unwanted unrest in the clothing manufacturing areas. Some believe international politics willing creates labor unrest, thus intentionally spread the news of labor unrest in the industry to take unprivileged advantages.
In case of recruiting boys/males, scrutinize them properly. Needs to formulate garment police to tackle such occurrences (like Railway Police to guard Bangladesh Railway) In such cases, government and media could play vital role. They should go depth in the matter, and thus broadcast real pictures (hidden cases)
3 of 3
3/9/11 8:59 AM