The Political Economy of Industrial Accidents in Readymade Garments Factory in Bangladesh: a Case Study of Rana Plaza Tragedy
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The Political Economy of Industrial Accidents in Readymade Garments Factory in Bangladesh: A Case Study of Rana Plaza Tragedy MSS, 2nd Semester Exam Roll No: 4456 Registration No: Ha-4667 Session: 2011-2012 Department of Sociology University of Dhaka January 2014 The Political Economy of Industrial Accidents in Readymade Garments Factory in Bangladesh: A Case Study of Rana Plaza Tragedy MSS, 2nd Semester Exam Roll No: 4456 Registration No: Ha-4667 Session: 2011-2012 The present Advanced Research Thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Sciences (MSS) in Sociology Department of Sociology University of Dhaka January 2014 Contents List of Tables iv List of Figures v List of Illustrations vi Abbreviations vii Acknowledgements viii Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Background 01 1.2 Statement of the Problem 03 1.3 Objective of the Study 05 1.4 Conceptualization 06 1.5 Scope of the Study 07 1.6 Methodology of the Study 08 1.7 Limitations of the Study 10 Chapter Two: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction 12 2.2 Review of the Literature 12 2.3 Conclusion 20 Chapter Three: Theoretical Framework 3.1 Introduction 21 3.2 Major Theoretical Perspectives on Political Economy 21 3.3 Marxist Perspective of Political Economy 23 3.4 Feminist Perspective: Super-exploitation of Female Labour 35 3.5 Theoretical Framework of this Study 37 3.6 Conclusion 42 I Chapter Four: Readymade Garment (RMG) Sector in Bangladesh 4.1 Introduction 43 4.2 History of Growth of RMG Sector in Bangladesh 44 4.3 Factors Promoting the Growth of RMG Industry 55 4.4 Contributions of RMG Industry to National Economy 61 4.5 Conclusion 64 Chapter Five: Industrial Accident in RMG Sector in Bangladesh 5.1 Introduction 65 5.2 Industrial Accidents in the Readymade Garment Sector 66 5.3 The Reasons behind all of the Accidents 72 5.4 Initiatives taken by Respective Authorities 72 5.5 Conclusion 73 Chapter Six: Rana Plaza Accident 6.1 Introduction 74 6.2 The Rana Plaza Accident 74 6.3 Aftermath of the Accident 91 6.4 Conclusion 106 Chapter Seven: Case study 7.1 Introduction 108 7.2 Socio-economic Profile of the Victims of Rana Plaza Accident 109 7.3 Case study 117 Chapter Eight: Local and Global Response to the Rana Plaza Accident 8.1 Introduction 140 8.2 Compensation for the Victims 140 8.3 Safety Measures: Building and Fire Safety 147 8.4 Legal Measures after the Accident 149 8.5 Conclusion 156 II Chapter Nine:the Rana Plaza Accident in Retrospect: Local, Global and Gender Dimensions 9.1 Introduction 157 9.2 Global Context: Flexible Accumulation 158 9.3 Local Context: Peripheral State 163 9.4 Gender context: Super-exploitation of Female Labour 176 Chapter Ten: Conclusion 180 References 182 Appendix 188 III List of Tables Table 3.1 Major Perspectives in Political Economy Table 4.1 No. of textile mills in East and West Pakistan between 1947 and 1971 Table 4.2 Growth of RMG Unit and Employment Table 4.3 Some Important phases of the Bangladesh RMG Industry Table 4.4 Comparative Statement on Export of RMG and Total Export of Bangladesh Table 4.5 Country-wise per hour Wage of Garment Workers Table 4.6 Export by Product Table 4.7 Top Global Retailers and Fashion Brands in Bangladesh Table 4.8 Garments manufacturing labor costs (US$/hour) by Countries Table 4.9 Clothing Exports of Asian Countries (US$ Million) Table 5.1 Major Incidents in RMG Sector During 1990 to 2013 Table 6.1 Factories at the Rana Plaza Table 6.2 Victims of the Rana Plaza Accident Table 7.1 Gender Distribution of the Victims Table 7.2 Age Distribution of the Victims Table 7.3 Educational Status of the Victims Table 7.4 Marital Status of the Victims Table 7.5 Time of Migration Table 7.6 Position of the worker Table 7.7 Working Hour of the Rana Plaza workers Table 7.8 Overtime Working hours of the Rana Plaza Factory Workers Table 7.9 Monthly Salaries of the Victims Table 7.10 Problems Faced by the Female Worker in the Factory Table 7.11 Types of Injury Table7.12 Compensation Table 8.1 Comparison of two Labour laws, 2006 and 2013 Table 8.2 New Monthly Wage for Garment Workers IV List of Figures Figure 1.1 Methodological Framework of the study Figure 3.1 Theoretical Framework for Marxist Political Economy Figure 3.2 Wallerstein’s World System Model Figure 3.3 Labour market structure under conditions of flexible accumulation. Figure 3.4 Theoretical Framework of this Study Figure 3.5 Global Ready-made Garment (RMG) Production Chain Figure 4.1 Major Products Export from Bangladesh Figure 4.2 Market of Bangladeshi Ready-made Garment Product Figure 4.3 Total and RMG Export by Year Figure 4.4 Retailers target about top sourcing Figure 4.5 Capacity of Southeast Asian RMG suppliers Figure 4.6 Contribution of RMG to Total Export Figure 4.7 Employment in Readymade Garment Industry Figure 4.8 Growth of the Readymade Garment Industry Figure 6.1 Graphical Image of the Rana Plaza Figure 6.2 Number of Workers Worked in the Garments of the Rana Plaza Figure 6.3 Division-wise Distribution of the 834 Dead Workers Figure 6.4 Nature of family of the 834 dead workers Figure 6.5 Distribution of the 332 Missing Workers Figure 6.6 Severely injured workers Figure 7.1 District-wise distribution of the victims Figure 8.1 Minimum Monthly Wage of Garments Worker in Asia Figure 8.2 Distribution of New Monthly Wage in RMG Sector Figure 8.3 Rise of Minimum Wage for Garment Workers V List of Illustrations Illustration 3.1 Manufacturing cost of a Polo Shirt Illustration 4.1 Chief Purchasing Officers Plan to Shift from China to other Countries Over Next Five Years Illustration 9.1 Comparison of Manufacturing Cost between Bangladesh and USA VI Abbreviations ADB Asian Development Bank ATC Agreement on Textile and Clothing BBS Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics BGMEA Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association BILS Bangladesh lnstitute of Labour Studies BNBC Bangladesh National Building Code CPD Centre for Policy Dialogue CRP Centre for the Rehabilitation and the Paralyzed EPB Export Promotion Bureau FDI Foreign Direct Investment GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade GDP Gross Domestic Product GITI Garments Industries Transparency Initiative GSP General System of Preferences ILO International Labour Organisation IMF International Monetary Fund LDC Less Developed Countries MFA Multi-Fibre Arrangement MNC Multinational Corporations NAP National Action Plan NGO Non-Government Organization OSHE Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Foundation Rajuk Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha RMG Readymade Garment SAFTA South Asian Free Trade Area SCF Social Compliance Forum TCC Tripartite Consultative Committee TIB Transparency International Bangladesh TNCs Transnational Corporations VII Acknowledgements Pursuing a thesis is both painstaking and enjoyable experience. At the same time it was a learning experience too. There are a few persons I would like to thank, without their help and guidance I would not have been able to complete my thesis properly. First of all, I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to my honorable supervisor for accepting me as one of his thesis students. His wide knowledge and logical way of thinking have been a great value to me. His thoughtful inspiration and personal guidance have provided a good basis for the present thesis paper. In acknowledge highly my indebtedness to my teacher for his cooperation, guidance, and advice. When I was in trouble he sincerely and cordially helped me to understand. Without his cooperation and wise guidance this thesis would not have seen the light of day. I also thank all my respondents who willingly participated in this research and helped me to get my data even though they were severely injured and very much sick with amputated hands or legs or severe backbone injury on the bed of hospital. Without their cooperation and help the study would not have been possible. I appreciate all the helps and advices I got from my teachers and fellow friends about this thesis. Finally, I am indebted to the Department of Sociology, University of Dhaka, which offers the opportunity for its students to conduct a research at post-graduate level. January 2014 VIII Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Background The readymade garment (RMG) sector stands at the core of the socio-economic development of Bangladesh. It is hardly exaggeration to say that economy of Bangladesh is what it is today mainly because of readymade garment industry. While a population of around 160 million for a small country like Bangladesh is considered a serious burden, with the rapid growth of RMG sector, it has turned into an invaluable asset. It employs around 4 million workers; more than 85% of them are women who are mostly illiterate, disadvantaged, vulnerable and economically poor portion of the population. This sector has become the largest foreign exchange earning sector, exporting apparel of all sorts to the USA, Europe and other developed countries. More than 79.6% of Bangladesh’s export earnings come from the garment industry in 2013. This industry enjoyed a steady rise from 30 enterprises in 1980 increased to about 5600 in 2012-13 fiscal year. Now, in terms of GDP, RMG’s contribution reaches around 15% in FY 2012-13 which was only 3% in FY 1990-91. This is a clear indication of the industry’s contribution to the overall national economy. The readymade garment industry of Bangladesh is the third-biggest exporter of clothes in the world, after China and Italy.