Jute has been consistently described as the “golden fibre” throughout centuries, but the plaudits have only grown hollower over the past decades, as the sector continues to be in a downward spiral due to a combination of lack of innovation, foresight and wages.
In Bangladesh’s labour-intensive industry, wages are a pivotal factor. And though announcements were made for a new wage scale that would double minimum wages from a paltry Tk4,150 to Tk8,300 for jute mill workers. The retroactive wage scale was supposed to be effective from July 1, 2015, but it has not been implemented yet.
The National Wages and Productivity Commission submitted a report to the government March 2018, prompting the parliament to pass an act in October the same year requires the government to formally implement the new wage scale by publishing a gazette. But not doing so has once again sparked another series of furore among jute mill workers nationwide, who vowed to go on hunger strike at the turn of the New Year.
Over five days of strike, more than 150 workers fell ill. At least 20 had to be hospitalized. The workers called off their strike on January 2 after meeting with Textiles and Jute Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi and State Minister for Labour and Employment Monnujan Sufian, after receiving their assurances that their demands would be met by January 16.
The latest episode of protest was the result of the workers frustration when the government failed to keep its word to resolve the crisis, following another hunger strike, which the protesters launched on December 10 and carried out for four days before government officials met with them and assured them of meeting their demands.
Two workers died and at least 100 workers were hospitalized after they fell ill during the December 10-13 hunger strike.
The Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) is the umbrella entity of the state-owned jute mills, which comprise the bulk of the sector.
Muzibar Rahman Mollick, general manager (Employee Relations) of BJMC, said: “We have to pay Tk1,900 crore in back pay to the workers from July 1, 2015. But right now, we need to pay Tk80 crore for two to six weeks of arrears.”
The problem, he said, was that the BJMC has goods it could not sell, worth at least Tk700 crore.
“Our goods were produced specifically for Sudan, our largest market, but it has stopped importing from us. The US sanctions on Iran have closed another market,” He added.
But workers say that is not the problem, the management is.
File Photo: State-owned jute mill workers in Khulna city during their hunger strike | Dhaka TribuneKhalilur Rahman, joint convener of the labour union State-Owned Jute Mill CBA and Non-CBA Sangram Parishad, said: “Every other sector has had their wages updated, except ours. The BJMC is rife with corruption. They purchase jute for higher prices during the off season, that is where they lose a bulk of their money.
“They use outdated machines and technology which severely limit productivity. The management is strongly resistant to improvement. The reason behind this is to give private jute mills the market advantage so they can profit at the BJMC’s expense.”
Jute, a rainy season crop, is sown between March and May, and harvested between June to September, making the July-October the perfect time to purchase raw jute from the farmers. The BJMC frequently fails to purchase directly from the farmers, instead buy from wholesalers at a higher price later on.
In the current fiscal year, the BJMC has to purchase 2.3 million maunds (1 maund=40kg) of raw jute. But it has only purchased less than half – a little over 1.1 million maunds. During the season, raw jute was sold for Tk1,500-1,600 per maund. But the BJMC has paid Tk1,914 on average per maund. Of note, the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute (BSTI) has assigned five grades to jute for quality. The jute bought by the BJMC does not even meet their standards.
An underutilized resource?
While the world has been using jute for a variety of purposes, the BJMC only uses jute to produce sacks and rope. Usage of jute extends to pharmaceuticals, clothing, furniture, and even food ingredient in some countries.
The biodegradable quality of jute has also greatly contributed to its popularity among environmentally conscious people. The BJMC has also invented a form of plastic-like bag from jute, which could immensely curb the rampant plastic pollution in Bangladesh, but has yet to market it. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has instructed members of her cabinet to use briefcases made from jute and not leather as well.
All machinery at state-owned mills were purchased before 1950 and operate at less than half their efficiency. The dated looms require more labour, whereas private mills use modern machines which use one-fourth the labour.
Both BJMC officials and workers have confirmed that 50-60% of the looms in BJMC’s factories are out of service.
Defending the decision to buy jute for higher prices, Ashraf Hossain Chowdhury, deputy general manager (accounts and finance) at BJMC, said: “We suffer from a chronic shortage of funds during the season. That is why we have to buy during off season. Private mills profit because they have modern machineries and pay workers half of what we pay.”
Ashraf, who is part of the committee to implement the new wage scale, said: “We currently spend Tk11-12 crore on wages per week. If we implement the new scale, we will have to spend Tk20-22 crore every week. Everything depends on the Ministry of Labour and Employment.”
