Though the ready made garment industry people claim that 80% of their workers are women, a recent study suggests otherwise.
The study titled “Garment Workers in Bangladesh: Social Impact of the Garment Industry” shows that 65% workers are women.
According to the survey, there are 4 million workers in the country’s apparel industry, of which 85% or 2.6 million are women, while 35% or 1.4 million are men.
The Asian Center for Development conducted the survey on 1,204 workers in 173 garment factories which are the members of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
The survey indicates that on an average the factory employs nearly 950 workers.
Commenting on the workers’ ratio, BGMEA President Siddiqur Rahman said: “The number of female workers depend on the pattern of production, such as if a factory produces sweater, it will have less women workers, while the number of women workers will be high in woven factories.”
“I cannot clarify the issues just now as I do not have the details of the survey report.”
The findings showed that 83% workers can read letter while 71% can write Bangladesh. The survey found that RMG workers’ sons or daughters, or their siblings study in schools and colleges and even in the universities.
Around 98% workers think they are self-reliant while 93% say they have important role in making family decisions.
The survey shows 36%-44% workers can influence family decisions regarding entertainment, health service, buying or selling properties, selecting area for residency, education of dependents, marriage of siblings, saving money and taking loans.
The average monthly family expenditure of a garment workers is around Tk11,299, of which 42% for food, 30% for housing and 11% kept for family expenses living in rural areas.