When we are watching the demonstrations by garment workers on television for their salary, and getting access to devastating, pathetic and painful pictures from incidents such as Savar in social media, most people, such as myself, are asking about why we continue not to listen? Are they making unfair demands? Are their demands impossible to fulfill?
Around four million workers, most of them women, work in more than 5,000 factories in Bangladesh and earn the nation a huge amount of foreign revenue. But how much are they paid for their eleven to twelve working hours? I called some workers from my village, who work in Dhaka and Savar areas to get actual figures. In Mirpur, Lucky works as an operator with four years experience, and earns a maximum of Tk7,000 with overtime. She mentioned that a helper can earn a maximum of Tk5,000 and a person who does the ironing receives a maximum of Tk6,000. With these meagre amounts how can Lucky, or anyone else, balance their nutrition or live comfortably, when they are also responsible for feeding their parents and other family members.
We have not provided our workers with a healthy work environment. A majority of female workers are not allowed to improve ventilation, adjust lighting or change the temperature of the work area. As a result of poor working conditions, they suffer from respiratory diseases, skin allergies, shoulder and back-related problems such as carpal tunnel syndrome, shoulder and lower-back pain and reproductive dysfunction. They are only able to gain intermittent access to medical care, and there are no real programmes for mental health, or counseling for psychosocial problems at work.
Wage-related issues are abundant; workers receive a low starting pay and inadequate overtime payment. Overtime payments are based on basic salary, and many factories prefer to add bonuses rather than increase basic salary levels as this results in lower payments for overtime work; these firms offer exploitative terms of employment, such as non-regularisation of labour and no assurance of continuity of work; added to these are aggravating factors such as lack of transport facilities, lack of affordable lodging facilities near the zone, and unsafe travel in the evening for night-shift workers.
When December comes, all of us, who work in government, the private sector, NGOs and many other fields, never forget to calculate the cost of living, and bargain with our employers for increases in salary. We argue about price hikes and about being able to afford our next vacation. We are generally granted a portion of our demands and are happy with the outcome. The question then, is why garment workers have to protest on the streets to demand an increase in their salary and even to get bonuses that they are entitled to. Why are their employers not listening to them? Why are the authorities not listening to them? Why do we, members of the civil society, not listen to them?
It is time for us to listen, and listen empathically.
Listening empathically helps us listen and emotionally connect to a situation. It helps connect people, build relationships, and can play an effective role in mediation and conflict transformation, by observing the situation, becoming invested in it, and identifying the needs and requests of conflicting parties. Through empathic listening one can find appropriate emotional responses to another person's emotional state, and see things from another perspective. This allows people to make informed decisions that are based on a holistic approach.
Around 700 people have been killed in garment factory fires and collapses in the country since 2006. And, if we add the Savar collapse, the number reaches to almost 2000. If we were to ask how many employers conducted due diligence for hazards and risks? I doubt the authorities could provide the answer.
Those, who survived the Savar collapse, bear frightening memories. Many have lost some of their limbs and they live with constant insecurity and fear. This insecurity and fear is also prevalent for those who have lost loved ones. If we cannot help them in feeling secure, they will feel helpless, resulting in emotional and psychosomatic disorders. So, it is our responsibility to listen to them. We must listen to their demands, and get an understanding of why they are so important, we must listen empathically.
