As the Rana plaza tragedy completed one year on April 24, Md Atiqul Islam, President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and his colleagues are still seen on television talk shows explaining what measures they have taken so far to ensure workplace safety in the apparel sector.
BGMEA leaders as well as the government policymakers, in loud voices, promised a new journey for the country’s garment industry towards a safer and more sustainable future. The industrial tragedy in 2013, that shook and shocked not only the garment industry but also the entire economy, was also seen by the policymakers as well as the owners as an opportunity to rectify all its weaknesses.
Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB) praised the industry owners and the government for the initiatives taken and implemented so far to ensure workplace safety. It however said that the industry still has to go a long way to win the confidence of the international community.
In the TV talk shows, newspaper interviews, and interactions with the buyers, civil society members, media people, and others concerned, BGMEA leaders promised maximum efforts to ensure workplace safety to clean up their image globally. In one such meeting with newspaper editors and television news chiefs, BGMEA leaders, in detail, clarified the measures and arrangements taken to prevent such industrial accidents in the future.
BGMEA President Atiqul Islam hoped that the apparel industry of Bangladesh would have a totally different picture after the five years time given by the buyers for the factory remediation. He was also hopeful of reaching the $50bn export mark soon. Newspaper editors and senior journalists reminded the BGMEA leadership that the process to bring back a good image for the industry is not an easy task as it involves bridging daunting cultural and economic challenges in the way business has been done in the past.
The RMG industry that accounts for nearly 79% of the country’s total export earnings, the industry that created direct employment of nearly five million people, of whom most are women, with another four million people in the associated sectors, needs to go beyond the traditional markets at the earliest. Why are the new markets required? Experts, economists, exporters, and civil society people were of the opinion that market diversification will not only help Bangladesh manufacturers reduce dependency on selected markets, but it will also raise our bargaining power in setting the prices of products.
Rich nations like EU countries, the USA, and Canada may not remain rich markets forever. Alternative markets are lucrative in another sense too, as these buyers will not set tough conditions at the initial stage. The new market exploration will also force the industry towards quick product diversification. And for all those initiatives, Bangladesh has to ensure that it will not do the kind of business that kills people because of negligence.
All the discussions during the past year focused on workplace safety. Promises for it have been made by the owners and the government. But after one year of such a big disaster, the RMG industry is yet to set a real goal for itself. It appears that the industry lacks philosophy or concept. In television talk shows, in media interviews, in seminars and roundtables, the BGMEA leaders and ministers are all talking about workplace safety and diversification of markets and products, but no one is talking about a concrete vision towards the future.
What actually is the destination of our RMG sector? What are the areas where Bangladesh’s RMG has comparative advantages? Is it the high-end market, the low-end section, or the mid-segment? These questions so far remained unanswered. Considering Bangladesh’s infrastructure and ability, it is perceived that Bangladesh can become the leader in the mid-segment very soon, provided other factors work favourably for the sector.
The issue is not only of getting the right workplace for the workers, but also being a real and efficient player in the international market. As the exporters fight each other over the buyers, there should be more consistency among the players.
Since the Rana Plaza tragedy, the Bangladesh garment sector is facing serious negative publicity around the world. BGMEA held so many press meets in Dhaka. Even foreign journalists were called in to brief them about the initiatives. But it did not think of opening an office in Europe or America to face the criticisms there or going for direct management of the pressing issues.
Many exporters go to the buying houses as they do not go directly to the foreign buyers. As the BGMEA or other organisations and companies are hardly representing Bangladesh in Europe or USA, there is a lack of contact there. For new concepts and new ideas, the BGMEA must have direct contact with buyers associations in Europe and North America.
The 30 years experience ensured the right skills for the Bangladesh RMG industry to be able to take a fair amount of orders in the days to come. But it needs a comprehensive foresight so that the industry owners, the workers, the policy makers, and the media too can talk along the same lines.
The Rana Plaza collapse and the Tazreen fire threw the RMG industry under monstrous pressure. Already, the rise in wages and necessary safety precautions have raised the costs of this business. It is now time to think about productivity enhancement. It is also time to think about knowledge sharing and capability enhancement through collaboration. The vision for the RMG industry is to observe new possibilities and developing a strategy to grab opportunities.