VIOLENCE and harassment are major factors in men and women workers leaving their jobs while pregnancy is a leading reason for women in the country’s readymade garment industry. According to a latest ILO and UN Women joint report, workers change jobs within the RMG sector fairly frequently, largely to access better salaries and working conditions. Women are still lagging behind in the managerial role despite women are 85% of the total labour force working in the sector. There is no serious effort from the government or trade body to ensure gender balance.
The study found that sixty per cent of both men and women workers surveyed experienced repeated insults and shouting from their supervisors or line managers.
About 25 per cent of the surveyed workers cited violence, and harassment at the workplaces and 26 per cent reported work stress as the main reasons for leaving jobs in the RMG sector. Pregnant workers face severe challenges and are often pressured into quitting their jobs.
Longer working hours, no job security, owners’ unwillingness to hire older workers and negative health effects are causes for leaving the RMG sector before reaching the regular age of retirement. It is revealed that jobs of 97.1 per cent of women workers are concentrated in low wage grade compared to 80.8 per cent of men. There were more men than women in higher-level positions in the production section and on the other, women more than men in lower-level positions. Virtually, no improvement was made in the past decade to enhance women’s representation in managerial and leadership positions in the RMG sector.
The report based on a large sample also revealed that most RMG workers are satisfied with their current employers and jobs. Factors underlying job satisfaction include the timely payment of salaries and over time, particularly among women workers. The study truly reflects the different features of RMG workers and paves the way of improvement in the coming days. Unless, we comply with the ILO guideline in labour wellbeing, safety and security in the RMG sector, we may lag in the global competition.
