A non-Government organisation has revealed a startling finding that most of the workers in Bangladesh’s garment industry are unaware of being sexually harassed every day.
The report titled ‘Garment Workers’ Rights: A Situation Analysis of Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Chittagong’ was released by Manusher Jonno Foundation on March 21, 2018, at a programme held at Spectra Convention Centre, Dhaka.
The report further states that the regular practice of sexual harassment has reached at such depths of the factory management system and the overall workplace environment that “the workers have become used to it” and that they more than often do not realise they are being harassed”.
However, the report did not state any statistics on the percentage of women being sexually harassed at the garment factories.
Present at the event as the special guest, State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque Chunnu cited the lack of awareness among the factory workers as the primary reason behind the ignorance.
The findings also highlight that over 72 per cent of the workers in the factories located in Gazipur and Dhaka have not been provided with appointment letters, a fundamental worker right. However, the situation in Narayanganj and Chittagong are said to be “comparatively better”.
According to the foundation, the report prepared had a sample population of 770 garment workers across Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Chittagong. Among them, 81 per cent of the sample population are said to be women.
A previous report on the prevalence of gender-based violence in the garment supply chain, published back in December last year, said three-quarters of women garment workers in Bangladesh have said they experience verbal abuse while 20 per cent physical abuse.
Shaheen Anam, Executive Director for ManusherJonno Foundation, said that the study is aimed to improve the working condition of the workers of the nearly US $ 30 billion garment industry of 3.6 million workers.
In another development, Chunnu announced that the Government has approved the setting up of two specialised hospitals for the workers engaged with the country’s biggest export sector, in a bid to create a worker-friendly atmosphere in the garment manufacturing sector.
“Bangladesh Government has approved the construction of these hospitals where the garment workers will be treated at low cost. These two hospitals will be built in Tongi (Gazipur) and Chashara (Narayanganj),” the Minister said at the event.