“Decent work” in the ready-made garment sector in Bangladesh

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the perspectives of 26 business owners, managers and supervisors on “decent work” (DW) in the ready-made garment (RMG) sector in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach The qualitative study draws on a framework of ethical human resource management and situated moral agency to establish the ways in which RMG workers are afforded DW. This study uses semi-structured interviews to assess the prospect of DW through applying the ILO’s four-pillar framework of DW. Findings Findings indicate there is a concern among owners and managers of the need to reconcile internal and external pressures to maintain and improve DW. It is evident that ethical practices and moral agency are not self-initiated but in response to mounting political and legal pressures and those of external stakeholders. Employers favour the concept of workers’ participation committees as one means to communicate and negotiate with workers rather than recognise trade unions. Research limitations/implications The research is limited to six organisations in the RMG sector in Bangladesh, but there are implications for all RMG sector organisations to promote reform and DW for all workers. Practical implications DW necessitates major national and international stakeholders to negotiate and cooperate to ensure the long-term competitiveness and survival of the Bangladeshi RMG sector. Originality/value The study calls for reform in a developing country where many workers are denied DW.

Complementarities between Operations and Occupational Health and Safety in Garments

“…Evidence in the literature suggests that, in the context of a developing country, complementarities between OHS and operational practices depend on factors such as the availability of resources and the institutional context. In particular, plant size and institutional context play more critical roles in the adoption of workplace practices in developing and industrializing contexts [2][3][4]10,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. For instance, the results in [20] reveal that upgrades have been unbalanced in small and medium enterprises in the Bangladeshi garment industry, with limited focus on economic and technological issues.…”

“…Moreover, the implementation of sustainable social practices has also been associated with the intensity of institutional pressure emanating from regulators, buyers, and civil associations towards improving working conditions and achieving a better balance between operational and OHS practices [2][3][4]10,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. In countries like Bangladesh, the pressure towards improving working conditions primarily stems from agents based in the US and Europe.…”

Lean meeting buyer's expectations, enhanced supplier productivity and compliance capabilities in garment industry

“…Bangladesh is the second-largest garment exporting country in the world and has a long tradition of working with leading garment brands (Gereffi and Frederick, 2010;Khan et al, 2018).…”

“…However, the industry in Bangladesh has faced increased competitive pressure, both globally and domestically, due to the reasons mentioned above (Khan et al, 2018;Maalouf et al, 2019). such as lean, in order to increase productivity (Hamja et al, 2019).…”

“…Bangladesh is the second-largest garment exporting country in the world and has a long tradition of working with leading garment brands (Gereffi and Frederick, 2010; Khan et al , 2018). However, the industry in Bangladesh has faced increased competitive pressure, both globally and domestically, due to the reasons mentioned earlier (Khan et al , 2018; Maalouf et al , 2019). Therefore, Bangladeshi garment manufacturers have begun to adopt new manufacturing systems, such as lean, in order to increase productivity (Hamja et al , 2019).…”