A large number of jobless Bangladeshi garment employees fear for future

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A large number of Bangladeshi garment personnel who lost their jobs as a result of coronavirus pandemic are struggling to find work and are at risk of destitution without urgent support, advocates said.

At least 70,000 people are estimated to have been let go after $3.5 billion-worth of clothing orders were cancelled or suspended and exports plummeted by 84 per cent in April, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said.

A lot of the country’s 4,000 clothing factories, which employ about four million people - mostly women, reopened in April after a month-long break to stem the spread of COVID-19. Bangladesh has seen at least 364,900 confirmed cases and 5,250 deaths to-date.

While factory bosses say the sector has seen a recently available uptick - with 90 % of cancelled orders reinstated - and is hiring again, activists said demand for jobs outstripped supply and pointed to too little alternatives and assistance for fired garment workers.

“For every 10 employees who lost their jobs, only 1 has been hired,” Kalpona Akter, founder of the Bangladesh Centre for Worker Solidarity, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.

“This is putting the lives of a large number of workers and their own families at risk, because they haven’t earned for the last 3 to 4 months,” Akter said.

Without social security to tide them over, lots of the workers have had to leave Dhaka to come back to their villages and so are now counting on food handouts from local charities, she said.

Sajida Foundation, which includes partnered with British clothing app Mallzee to improve money by selling off undesirable stock, said it had distributed about $250,000 among 10,500 garment workers.

Advocates welcomed the initiative but say charity alone will not suffice and also have urged the government to utilize factory owners and brands to introduce welfare benefits for the sector.

A European Union-funded scheme to supply cash to laid-off garment workers has been discussed, according to a labour ministry official who was simply not authorised to talk with the media.

SECOND SLOWDOWN FEARED

The Thomson Reuters Foundation spoke to 20 persons who lost their garment industry jobs between April and August. Three have been rehired but most were unemployed and struggling to manage.

“I haven’t paid my rent in 8 weeks and I am struggling to feed my children,” said 26-year-old Jesmin, a former seamstress who lost her job in April. She requested to stay anonymous.

“I tried standing outside factories in the beginning of every month because that’s if they are most likely to employ new workers. But its been difficult as there are so most of us looking for jobs. I am hoping October is way better,” she added.

Although the industry has staged a recovery lately - with exports reaching $2.9 billion in August after falling to $520 million in April - factory owners said expected orders were down by two-thirds and that brands were demanding 10-15% price cuts.

“The turnaround hasn’t been significant,” said Mohammad Hatem, vice-president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, which represents about 800 factories.

“We thought we would get a significant amount of orders before Christmas, but that hasn’t happened.”

Nazma Akter, head of the Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation - a union that represents practically 100,000 garment employees - said she had come across cases where laid-off employees had been rehired by their former factories but on worse terms.

“It’s been difficult for employees because new orders have been tricky to find,” she said.

“Even workers who've jobs now come to mind of losing them as a result of the pandemic’s second wave in Europe.”

Koli, a 26-year-old helper or junior worker, lost her job in April and said she now depended on her behalf family for survival.

“I am not really a skilled operator, there isn’t much demand for helpers,” said Koli, who asked to stay anonymous.

“I've tried hard, but couldn’t discover a job. I don’t know what my future holds.” 
Source: https://www.easterneye.biz

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