Bangladesh should move away from reliance on cheap labour: UN expert

[Black_cats]

Bangladesh should move away from reliance on cheap labour: UN expert​

Staff Correspondent | Published: 22:24, May 29,2023

United Nation’s special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Olivier De Schutter speaks at a press conference held at the Sonargaon Hotel in the capital Dhaka on Monday. — New Age photo

The United Nation’s special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter, on Monday said that Bangladesh should move away from its reliance on cheap labour to ensure a rights-based development following its graduation from the least developed country status.

Bangladesh’s development has largely been driven by one export sector – the readymade garment industry – which is highly dependent on keeping wages low, he said at a press conference held at the Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka.

‘A country’s comparative advantage cannot lie in keeping its people poor,’ the UN rapporteur said at the end of a 12-day visit to the country.

During his visit, the UN expert travelled throughout the country and met with people living in poverty.

He noted that while Bangladesh has made a remarkable progress in reducing the overall income poverty, multidimensional poverty remains high and income inequality has increased, particularly in urban areas.

Olivier said that overall economic progress was uneven, with groups such as national minorities, dalit, bede, transgender and religious and linguistic minorities such as the left-out Biharis.

He said that income inequality was rising in Bangladesh and the government recognised the need to reduce inequality in the eighth five-year plan.

‘Inequality is not a necessary consequence of development. And the more general economic progress is equally spread, the faster poverty will be eradicated,’ the special rapporteur said.

‘This is why, beyond seeking to stimulate economic growth, the government should focus on strengthening the resilience of households to shocks. And this is why wealth inequality, and not only income inequality, should be addressed.’ Olivier said at his mission-end statement.

The RMG sector accounted for 82 per cent of Bangladesh’s export revenues, and employed more than four million workers in 2022 and the success of Bangladesh in this sector could inspire other sectors of the economy as the country seeks to diversify its exports, he said.

Yet, this success should not be at the expense of workers’ rights, particularly of the right to a fair remuneration and of union rights, addressed respectively in articles 7 and 8 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, he said.

Olivier said that after the Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013, the safety standards in the readymade garment sector in Bangladesh improved significantly, but little progress was made in improving wage standards.

As per the CESCR, all workers have a right to a remuneration which provides them, as a minimum, with fair wages and a decent living for themselves and their families, the UN special rapporteur said.

‘Yet, in the absence of union rights (including rights to collective bargaining) in Bangladesh, unions are unable to negotiate an adequate remuneration, and the level of the minimum wage as set by the minimum wage board primarily seeks to preserve the competitiveness of the Bangladeshi RMG export sector,’ Olivier said.

He said that the last revision of the minimum wage in the RMG industry took place in 2018, when it was set at Tk 8,000 per month and the amount appeared widely insufficient to ensure an adequate standard of living to the workers in the RMG sector.

Citing an Asia Floor Wage Alliance study, the UN rapporteur said that a working person in Bangladesh should earn at least Tk 51,994.51 monthly to be able to support a family.

He said that the international brands were overwhelmingly responsible for this situation as their buying policies had systematically led factory owners in Bangladesh to cut down on expenses, in particular on wages, or to rely on sub-contractors imposing sub-standard working conditions, in order to stay in business.

In the interest of their own reputation, the international brands must accept their responsibilities in this regard, and support both higher wages and a better respect for union rights, he said.

The special rapporteur said that the right to form and join unions and collective bargaining should also be allowed in EPZs.

Olivier urged the government to use its upcoming graduation from LDC status in 2026 as an opportunity to rethink its reliance on the RMG industry.

‘As Bangladesh moves towards graduation, it continues to focus much of its energy on providing tax incentives to international investors and establishing special economic zones,’ he said.

The special rapporteur said that Bangladesh should strengthen its domestic resource mobilisation by moving towards a progressive tax regime and the tax incentives provided to attract foreign direct investment must be rationalised to avoid their arbitrary use by conducting a regular cost-benefit analysis.

He also said that concrete steps should be taken to plug revenue lost through trade and customs miss-invoicing, saying that between 2008 to 2018, Bangladesh on average lost $8.27 billion of revenues as a result of mis-pricing the declared value of imports and exports.

The special rapporteur said that social protection should be reformed and the various schemes streamlined and rationalised, in order to guarantee an adequate level of protection and to expand coverage.

Bangladesh should move away from reliance on cheap labour: UN expert

The United Nation’s special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter, on Monday said that Bangladesh should move away from its reliance on cheap labour to ensure a rights-based development following...

www.newagebd.net

 

[Black_cats]

UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights speaks to poor people

Photo: srpoverty.org
)

Bangladesh

Bangladesh's economic growth cannot justify keeping workers in poverty, says UN expert​

ByNews Desk

Published:29th May, 2023 at 7:12 PM

The Bangladesh government must move away from its reliance on cheap labour if it is to ensure a rights-based development following its expected graduation from Least Developed Country status, a UN poverty expert has said.

“A country’s comparative advantage cannot lie in keeping its people poor,” Olivier De Schutter, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said at the end of a 12-day visit to the country.

“Bangladesh’s development has largely been driven by one export sector –- the ready-made garment industry –- which is highly dependent on keeping wages low,” he said.

De Schutter urged the government to use its upcoming graduation from LDC status in 2026 as an opportunity to rethink its reliance on the apparel industry, which currently accounts for 82% of the country’s export revenue and employs 4 million workers, according to a United Nations Bangladesh statement.

“As Bangladesh moves towards graduation, it continues to focus much of its energy on providing tax incentives to international investors and establishing special economic zones,” he said.

“The government's time and resources would be better spent on ensuring fair wages, educating and training workers, and improving social protection,” the UN expert said.

“Not only will this attract investors who care about their reputation, it will pave the way for a new form of development in Bangladesh -– one driven by domestic demands rather than exploitative export opportunities,” he said.

He expressed alarm at the chilling effect on the ability of civil society to operate freely of the government's NGO Affairs Bureau and the Digital Security Act –- under which journalists, human rights defenders, opposition politicians and academics have been detained for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and opinion.

“These developments will not only scare off the very investors the country is trying to attract, but they are also an obstacle to the realisation of economic and social rights,” De Schutter said.

“You cannot deliver health care, education or social protection without also improving accountability and transparency.”

During his visit, the expert travelled around the country and met with people living in poverty, the statement added.

UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights attends a meeting. Photo: srpoverty.org

He noted that while Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in reducing overall income poverty, multidimensional poverty remains high and income inequality has increased, particularly in urban areas.

“Overall economic progress has been uneven, with groups such as the Adivasi, Dalit, Bede, Hijra and religious and linguistic minorities such as the Bihari left out,” De Schutter said.

“The government has also carried out evictions in informal settlements under the guise of development, without following due process or providing adequate compensation and rehabilitation -– in violation of the right to adequate housing,” he said.

De Schutter urged the government to rationalise its social protection system, which he described as “a patchwork of 119 schemes that emerge on an ad hoc basis, are poorly coordinated and do not provide the level of income security that Bangladeshis should expect”.

He expressed concern that the tax-to-GDP ratio was particularly low at around 7.8 percent and that almost two-thirds of public revenue to finance social protection came from indirect taxation, while only one-third came from direct taxation on income.

“This should be reversed. It is high-income earners and large businesses that should contribute to the financing of public services and social protection, not consumers,” he said.

“Social protection programmes should be developed to protect the population from the new and significant risks posed by climate change.”

He noted that in 2022 alone, 7.1 million Bangladeshis were internally displaced due to riverbank erosion, cyclones, floods, and other disasters, or because their livelihoods were threatened by water salinisation.

The mission included a visit to Cox's Bazar, where De Schutter visited the camps that have housed 977,798 Rohingya refugees, most of whom fled the genocidal attack in neighbouring Myanmar in 2017.

While paying tribute to the Bangladesh government for hosting nearly a million refugees in an already overcrowded country, he deplored the living conditions in the camps.

“Until the conditions for repatriation are met, the Rohingya must be allowed to live a decent and dignified life,” the expert said. “The government and the international community all have a role to play.”

He mentioned that it was ‘unconscionable’ that international donors had contributed so little to the 2023 Joint Response Plan which calls for $876 million to address the urgent humanitarian needs in the camps, only 17% of which is funded.

Since March 2023, the World Food Programme has had to cut the value of its food vouchers from $12 to $10 per person each month, and the value will be further reduced to $8 in June.
De Schutter warned that malnutrition and undernutrition would increase, with dramatic consequences, especially for children.

“Families are growing desperate. If the government were to recognise the right of the Rohingya to seek employment and earn an income, as required under human rights law, that would alleviate at least some of the pain,” he said.

De Schutter will present his final report on Bangladesh to the Human Rights Council in June 2024.

Bangladesh's economic growth cannot justify keeping workers in poverty, says UN expert

De Schutter urges the government to use LDC graduation as an opportunity to rethink its reliance on the RMG industry

bdnews24.com

 

[Destranator]

Easier said than done. Even if Bangladesh manages to get substantial investments in high value products, we would still need tens of millions of low value, labour intensive jobs in the medium term just to keep such a huge population employed within such a small landmass.

Guess should have though of that when banging like crazy in the 70s and 80s.

Low value or high value, BD must secure all the investments it can get at the moment.

 

[bluesky]

Bangladesh should move away from reliance on cheap labour: UN expert​

Staff Correspondent | Published: 22:24, May 29,2023

United Nation’s special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Olivier De Schutter speaks at a press conference held at the Sonargaon Hotel in the capital Dhaka on Monday. — New Age photo

The United Nation’s special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter, on Monday said that Bangladesh should move away from its reliance on cheap labour to ensure a rights-based development following its graduation from the least developed country status.

Bangladesh’s development has largely been driven by one export sector – the readymade garment industry – which is highly dependent on keeping wages low, he said at a press conference held at the Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka.

‘A country’s comparative advantage cannot lie in keeping its people poor,’ the UN rapporteur said at the end of a 12-day visit to the country.

During his visit, the UN expert travelled throughout the country and met with people living in poverty.

He noted that while Bangladesh has made a remarkable progress in reducing the overall income poverty, multidimensional poverty remains high and income inequality has increased, particularly in urban areas.

Olivier said that overall economic progress was uneven, with groups such as national minorities, dalit, bede, transgender and religious and linguistic minorities such as the left-out Biharis.

He said that income inequality was rising in Bangladesh and the government recognised the need to reduce inequality in the eighth five-year plan.

‘Inequality is not a necessary consequence of development. And the more general economic progress is equally spread, the faster poverty will be eradicated,’ the special rapporteur said.

‘This is why, beyond seeking to stimulate economic growth, the government should focus on strengthening the resilience of households to shocks. And this is why wealth inequality, and not only income inequality, should be addressed.’ Olivier said at his mission-end statement.

The RMG sector accounted for 82 per cent of Bangladesh’s export revenues, and employed more than four million workers in 2022 and the success of Bangladesh in this sector could inspire other sectors of the economy as the country seeks to diversify its exports, he said.

Yet, this success should not be at the expense of workers’ rights, particularly of the right to a fair remuneration and of union rights, addressed respectively in articles 7 and 8 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, he said.

Olivier said that after the Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013, the safety standards in the readymade garment sector in Bangladesh improved significantly, but little progress was made in improving wage standards.

As per the CESCR, all workers have a right to a remuneration which provides them, as a minimum, with fair wages and a decent living for themselves and their families, the UN special rapporteur said.

‘Yet, in the absence of union rights (including rights to collective bargaining) in Bangladesh, unions are unable to negotiate an adequate remuneration, and the level of the minimum wage as set by the minimum wage board primarily seeks to preserve the competitiveness of the Bangladeshi RMG export sector,’ Olivier said.

He said that the last revision of the minimum wage in the RMG industry took place in 2018, when it was set at Tk 8,000 per month and the amount appeared widely insufficient to ensure an adequate standard of living to the workers in the RMG sector.

Citing an Asia Floor Wage Alliance study, the UN rapporteur said that a working person in Bangladesh should earn at least Tk 51,994.51 monthly to be able to support a family.

He said that the international brands were overwhelmingly responsible for this situation as their buying policies had systematically led factory owners in Bangladesh to cut down on expenses, in particular on wages, or to rely on sub-contractors imposing sub-standard working conditions, in order to stay in business.

In the interest of their own reputation, the international brands must accept their responsibilities in this regard, and support both higher wages and a better respect for union rights, he said.

The special rapporteur said that the right to form and join unions and collective bargaining should also be allowed in EPZs.

Olivier urged the government to use its upcoming graduation from LDC status in 2026 as an opportunity to rethink its reliance on the RMG industry.

‘As Bangladesh moves towards graduation, it continues to focus much of its energy on providing tax incentives to international investors and establishing special economic zones,’ he said.

The special rapporteur said that Bangladesh should strengthen its domestic resource mobilisation by moving towards a progressive tax regime and the tax incentives provided to attract foreign direct investment must be rationalised to avoid their arbitrary use by conducting a regular cost-benefit analysis.

He also said that concrete steps should be taken to plug revenue lost through trade and customs miss-invoicing, saying that between 2008 to 2018, Bangladesh on average lost $8.27 billion of revenues as a result of mis-pricing the declared value of imports and exports.

The special rapporteur said that social protection should be reformed and the various schemes streamlined and rationalised, in order to guarantee an adequate level of protection and to expand coverage.

Bangladesh should move away from reliance on cheap labour: UN expert

The United Nation’s special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter, on Monday said that Bangladesh should move away from its reliance on cheap labour to ensure a rights-based development following...

www.newagebd.net

The fact is labor is abundant and is therefore cheap. The situation can only be reversed by creating jobs in the industries.

But, industrialization may have evaded BD because it has to repay the foreign money it borrowed with interest. So, little money is now available due to the use of borrowed money.

By the way, what methods other than industrialization can raise the labor earnings? The UN visitor said nothing about it.

 

[Kuru]

By the way, what methods other than industrialization can raise the labor earnings?

May be he meant to increase the price of final goods and give the benefits (as form of increased wages) to the workers.

 

[bluesky]

May be he meant to increase the price of final goods and give the benefits (as form of increased wages) to the workers.

How an exporting company increase the price of products. A company has to go with the market.

Labor wages can increase when value-added goods are produced by them. Garments is a low- value good.

Wages do not increase just by wishing unless labors produce high-end goods.

 

[El Sidd]

#FairLabor
#NoToCheapLabor

 

[legacytiger18]

#FairLabor
#NoToCheapLabor

Bangladesh strategy is great, dont bother about these reports. Continue to bring more and more people into labour force and that shud be enough for next 15 years. Even for INDIA, i suggest the same, bring more people in to doing something productive. Bangladesh has done fabulous job in getting more and more women to work. India should learn from this, we have 700 million women, and they must contribute to economy

 

[Destranator]

#FairLabor
#NoToCheapLabor

Also,
#NoToUnemployedLabourStarving
#NoToSausageFestInTheWorkplace
#NoToMultiplyingLikeRats