Saturday, August 02, 2014

Bangladeshi Workers - The Dominance Of Capital: Part 1

Hunger strike and seizure of machines by garments workers in and near Dhaka, the Bangladesh capital, during the last part of July 2014 were part of Bangladesh labor action that is moving unabated through experiences of gains and failures. In distant Greece, labor from Bangladesh witnessed a court verdict that further bloodied already bloody strawberries. The incidents once again confirmed the dominating reality: dominance of capital. The incidents, on the opposite, also showed an emerging reality: labor’s increasing action.

Eid, Moslems’ holy festival after a month of fasting and practicing restrains on aspects of life, was approaching. That was July. All salaried employees and wage laborers usually get festival bonus. It’s the rule, practice and tradition. The bonus provides a small opportunity to mend torn down life of the hard-pressed labor and low-salaried employees.
But alas! Workers in a garments factory were not going to have it. Their salaries for the months of June were not paid. Uncertain was the festival bonus. The aggrieved workers had to resort to action: demonstration. And, then, they had to resort to strike. The owner and his management cadres fled away. A few accounts officials were gheraoed, kept seized, for five days that led to a “resolution”: payment of all unpaid salaries and festival bonus by July 21, 2014. It was a written commitment from the factory management. The seizure was withdrawn.

The owner-committed time limit for payment of salary and bonus passed. Eid approached nearer. Darkness of uncertainty was coming closer to the workers. They frantically tried to contact the owner. But, to no avail! He was beyond reach.
The desperate situation and violation of commitment led workers to seize a part of machineries of the factory. They successfully found a buyer also. The machines were sold away. A sum of money came in. It was more than Taka, the Bangladesh currency, 1.7 million. [$1=Tk. more than 78] The sale proceed was distributed among the workers by the workers. The money distributed was treated as salary for the month of June. A police official confirmed the sale of machineries by the workers. [bdnews24.com (Baanglaa version), July 27, 2014, “Workers sale factory machinery to realize unpaid salaries”; name of the factory: Trade Mark Fashion Limited; place of occurrence: Gazipur, a few kilometers from Dhaka; period of occurrence: Last week of July] It was a labor action without adventurism that gave no scope for highhanded interference. And, it was an exposure, and a lesson, and an experience.

About 1,500 workers of five garments factories in Dhaka resorted to protests and about three hundred of them went on a hunger strike to realize their unpaid salaries for the months of May and June and festival bonus. The hunger strike continued for days, and it was during the Eid festival while millions of citizens were celebrating the festival and the entire country was in a festive mood. Scores of the workers were sent to hospital as they collapsed from hunger strike. The workers returned to the factory, place of the hunger strike, and joined their striking colleagues after recovering from hospital. Progressive Doctors’ Forum, an association of physicians connected to the Communist Party of Bangladesh, extended medical care to the striking workers. 

Commitments for the payment of salaries and bonus were made thrice on behalf of the owners. But all the commitments remained unfulfilled. As the festival neared the workers began protest that later led them to resort to hunger strike. Initially, there was none to unknot the problem of non-payment. Later, the garments manufacturers’ association sought another week for a partial payment.
It was reported that the factories, owned by Tuba Group, produced garments amounting to Tk. 260 million during the recently concluded World Cup Football.
It should be mentioned that in 2012, Tazreen Fashions, a factory owned by the same company, burned down that killed hundreds of workers. The owner, Delwar Hossain, is now in jail for negligence causing deaths.

The workers’ series of protests for non-payment of salaries was going on for a long time. One leader of the garments manufacturers said: “We’re really sorry. They could not celebrate Eid and they’re on a hunger strike.” One of the garments manufacturers “urged the government to take charge of paying [the workers’] salaries at any cost.” One of the striking workers asked: We are fined for delay in work. But, who shall be fined now for delay in payment of salaries? [bdnews24.com, July 29, 30 and 31, 2014]

Thus it appears: The manufacturers are “sympathetic” to the workers as the workers had no Eid celebration but the manufacturers’ association could “not” arrange money; the manufacturers now need government help; government should take charge for paying salary, not for making profit.
It’s a “story” of trickery, and of indifference, and of cruelty, and of capitalizing workers’ distress.

Entrepreneurs’ organizations lobby for formulating policies favorable to them, influence national budget allocation, banking, financial, fiscal, export policies. But they can’t influence one entrepreneur in paying salaries and bonus. Entrepreneurs make profit, take full of it. But they ask government to take responsibility whenever they face problem they create. It’s the public that bears government expenses. So, it stands: “I make profit, you, the public, bear the cost.”



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