One can only imagine the pride I felt when, in a luxury brands course at SDA Bocconi School of Management in fashion capital Milan, the class discussed the importance of Bangladesh as a key source for clothing brands across the globe.
The discussions also alluded to the risks for the industry, where the Rana Plaza event turned up. The Rana Plaza incident sent shockwaves through not only the country but across the world.
Experts consider this incident a turning point for the entire industry when brands started getting concerned about responsible sourcing. Consumers became vocal about boycotting “sweat-shop” products and Bangladesh was at the forefront of receiving such criticism.
Questions were raised over work conditions and workers’ safety. News of the factory owners ignoring warnings about the buildings being risky and still making workers operate in hazardous conditions further tarnished reputations.
Seven years on, the industry has managed to fight away some of that stigma thanks to the combined efforts of the government, the industry, and the buyers.
Unless smart and timely measures are taken, the current crisis brought about by Covid-19 can potentially be more damaging.
While the Rana Plaza incident had led to the 1134 deaths and injuries to over 2000 others, any rushed decision in the complex situation at present may impact the lives and livelihoods of many more.
Besides being a major contributor to the economy, the RMG industry has led to building the brand that is Bangladesh, representing the country worldwide. This reputation has been built upon a continuous supply of quality and price-competitive clothing to the world.
Protests by RMG workers demanding pending salaries, the mismanagement leading to thousands of RMG workers thronging towards the Dhaka, Savar, and Gazipur hubs on April 4, and confusion over the reopening of the factories have recently become headlines.
When major retailers are claiming to pay out the portion of their bills that cover the workers’ wages, and the government allocating funds at 2% interest rates for wages payment -- these reports of withheld salaries can have a lasting negative impact on the image of the industry, leading to loss of orders in the future.
The government now has to choose between keeping economic activities ongoing and managing the industry’s image, hinging upon ensuring fair work conditions. It is a double-edged sword and careful handling is needed.
Surely, the economic activities, especially of export-oriented businesses such as RMG, cannot be put on hold indefinitely.
Yet, given the transmissibility of the virus and the socio-cultural reality of densely populated Bangladesh that makes Covid-19 even more potent, it is unreasonable to assume life would be the same as before, including how these factories operate.
Safety measures adhering to WHO-approved guidelines and those devised by local authorities need to be implemented, within the factory and in places where the workers live.
Transporting the millions of workers from across the country into the RMG hubs -- already coronavirus transmission hotspots -- is a major concern that needs to be addressed with utmost caution.
In the factories and offices, managers and workers must be regularly trained on healthy practices and behaviors. Healthcare facilities should be made readily available at the facilities.
Besides, strict monitoring of such adherence by responsible authorities is required to ensure compliance. Even if it is at the cost of letting go of some portion of profits, all measures required to ensure safe working conditions and responsible behaviors must be taken.
Simultaneously, international lobbying is needed to ensure that buyers do not desert the Bangladeshi manufacturers. Embassies, envoys, and multi-nation trade bodies need to highlight to buyers the disastrous impact cancelling orders can have on millions of RMG workers.
Taking care of the workers that run the industry is important, as is ensuring the existence of the very businesses that employ these workers.
Carefully devised modes of operation and strategic trade-related activities can protect the RMG industry from the short-term risks of losing immediate orders, and the long-term risk of losing markets due to the ill-repute of poor work conditions.
The Rana Plaza catastrophe is a prime example of how a mistake or misdeed of one manufacturing unit can damage the reputation of an entire industry, and subsequently that of a country.
Current developments in the RMG industry amid the Covid-19 situation are threatening to advance in the same direction as that of Rana Plaza.
Recently, the country learned of the first instance of an RMG worker being identified as a coronavirus affected person.
If he were to be currently working with hundreds, if not thousands, of co-workers in a factory building in Gazipur, mass community transmission would have been literally uncontrollable.
The factory and many neighbouring ones may be locked-down, the workers sent to quarantine, and all production processes will come to a halt.
In such a case, not only will operations stop again but international media and human rights activist bodies would not spare a blink in calling out the entire industry, and its stakeholders.
It is time that far-sighted and carefully considered decisions are taken. When the factories do re-open, health and safety standards must be maintained to the highest standards.
If done well, the management of international orders and the resumption of economic activity in the country might as well give us a head-start when the world economy enters the post-coronavirus world.
Nabeel Khan is the co-founder of Market Insights - a market research and consultancy firm. He specializes in market competitiveness and business development, and in the field of sustainable development. He has half a decade of non-profit and corporate experience across Bangladesh and the UK. Nabeel obtained his MBA from Warwick Business School, University of Warwick.
