DHAKA, Bangladesh- In Savar, a sub-district in the Greater Dhaka area in Bangladesh, on April 24, an eight-story commercial building collapsed killing 1,129 people. Reports of cracks and structural problems beforehand were ignored and subsequently, garment workers were ordered to return to work; the next day, the building collapsed. Known as the Rana Plaza disaster, this was deemed the deadliest accidental structural failure and garment factory incident in history. What this means is evident: reform is necessary.
In response to this incident as well as numerous work-condition complaints, H&M has pledged to pay a living wage to the 850,000 textile workers in its factories in Bangladesh and Cambodia. The Swedish company, which has 2,629 outlets worldwide, plans to extend the program to the rest of their 800 suppliers. Ideally, H&M plans to meet these goals by the end of 2018.
Despite not using Rana Plaza for clothing production, H&M was the first company, immediately following the Rana collapse, to sign a safety agreement for their Bangladesh factories. Other implicated companies, such as Zara, Tesco and Primark, signed a legally binding safety agreement to help finance fire safety and building improvements in the factories they use. The contract also called for the formation of trade unions, enabling four million garment workers to coalesce without permission from factory owners.
H&M’s creation of an advisory board, consisting of experts from the International Labour Organization, global trade unions, civil society and suppliers is using the Fair Wage Method to create a salary that enables a decent standard of living. This is determined by a collaboration of campaign organizations, NGO’s, the Swedish Government and trade unions. H&M’s strategy for improving the lives of workers is simple: the workers themselves know what wages they need.
Countries like Bangladesh rely heavily on the textile industry for economic livelihood. As a result, national governments are hesitant to fight for the rights of their workers and oppose the large global companies pressuring them to manufacture the desired items. For example, those working at the Rana Plaza were paid as little as $38 per month.
“The standard of living has become much more expensive than it was two years ago. The cost of essential items, house rents and utilities are very high in and around Dhaka,” said Mushrefa Mishu, president of Garment Workers Unity Forum.
To mitigate this, H&M has decided to do what no one else has done. “We believe that the wage development in production countries, which is often driven by governments, is taking too long. H&M wants to take further action and encourage the whole industry to follow,” they said in a statement released with their pledge.
Encouragingly, this may act as a catalyst for other countries to follow suit. H&M has also promised these increases in wages will not augment the prices of their products.
“I believe labor should be justly appraised. We want to save the industry but at the same time we want to uplift the standard of living of our workers. We do not want slave labor,” announced Abdul Latif Siddiqui, minister for textiles.
Earlier this month, garment workers were issued a 77% raise, putting their salary at only $66 per month. Hopefully, the expected raises by H&M will provide an even larger increase.
– Chloe Nevitt
Feature Writer
Sources: The Guardian, Bloomberg, The Contributor, H&M
Photo: Desert Living Today