Bangladeshi police in the industrial city of Gazipur have arrested seven men in connection with an alleged attack on a denim factory executive following a daylong protest by its employees over unpaid wages, some of which they claimed had been overdue for as many as five months.
Rafee Mahmud, deputy managing director at Mahmud Jeans, as well as the son of its owner, was reportedly set upon by demonstrators on Thursday, incurring serious injuries while trying to negotiate an end to their blockade on the Dhaka-Tangail highway, which had caused traffic to pile up for miles on both ends, according to local media. Workers had previously taken to the streets in August, dispersing only after authorities assured them they would be paid.
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Mahmud had been trying to sell property to meet the factory’s payroll obligations, which it has struggled to fulfill despite appearing on the supplier lists of high-profile brands such as Bestseller and Next, The Business Standard said on Friday. He has since filed a criminal complaint against more than 500 people, of whom 18 were named, police told the outlet. Mahmud Denim did not respond to a request for comment, nor did Bestseller or Next.
In a statement to members of the Bangladesh Apparel Youth Leaders Association, where he serves as vice president, the next day, Mahmud said that the workers had been “trying to murder him.”
“I couldn’t even speak for two minutes before the mob started attacking from all around,” he said. “I was dragged and slammed under the flyover and was assaulted by big bricks, metal rods and tree branches. As soon as I got hit on the back of my head, I fainted for a while. Later when I became conscious, I felt them grabbing my neck, suffocating me and dragging me into my factory and later they locked me inside.”
Industry leaders from the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry and others quickly condemned what they said was a “heinous, inhuman” attack. In a joint statement over the weekend, they denounced the described events as “not only a blow to the individual but a blow to the industry as a whole.”
“Such an attack on entrepreneurship has shocked every entrepreneurial family in this industry and this incident will not only discourage future entrepreneurs but also potential foreign investors in the future,” they said. “On behalf of the business community, we demand that all the miscreants involved in this incident be brought under the law quickly and given severe punishment and that all necessary measures be taken to ensure that such incidents do not recur in the future.”
Blaming a “faction” that was “engaged in mischief” to destabilize Bangladesh’s entire economy, of which the garment industry is a critical engine that drives nearly 85 percent of the country’s exports, the statement harkened back to claims by trade groups that “outsiders” were responsible for a resurgence of worker unrest beginning in September, a month after broader pro-democracy demonstrations forced the resignation and exile of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and installed an interim government to put into place essential reforms ahead of fresh elections. Despite the sector’s best efforts, including agreement on 18 of the workers’ demands, it has been unable to fully tamp down the disquiet, which could stymie Bangladesh’s return to form as the world’s second-largest exporter of clothing after China following what has appeared to be one crisis after another.
“At this important time of nation-building, the government must ensure the protection of all stakeholders in the industry to continue the progress of the national economy including the garment industry and other industries,” the leaders said. “Otherwise, the future of this country will become uncertain if the protection of industry is not ensured.”
Nazma Akter, founder and executive director of Awaj Foundation and president of the Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation, both workers’ organizations, said that she was shocked and saddened by what Mahmud said happened to him. She was asked to join an investigation committee, though she declined, pointing to the number of workers who have died or been beaten and blacklisted without a similar level of scrutiny by those in charge.
“What has been committed didn’t happen overnight,” she said. “How are workers expected to survive, pay their rent or afford groceries? Their lives are very threatened. Workers are angry. Workers and management should both get respect from each other and workers should get their due payments.”
“There should be no anger,” Akter added. “There should be hope and action.”
In an op-ed in The Business Standard on Saturday, Sifat I. Ishty, senior lecturer of economics at Dhaka’s Brac University, called the alleged attack a “chilling reflection of the escalating crisis in the country’s ready-made garment sector.” He said that Mahmud Jeans is not an “isolated victim” and that like many other Bangladeshi enterprises, it’s been wrestling with soaring manufacturing costs, unreliable energy supplies and plummeting orders in the face of geopolitical volatility and other economic headwinds, which have resulted in delays in paying workers.
“Is there a third party fuelling the unrest? Could the same workers who had been loyal to this factory for many years commit such atrocities against its owner? And what role is the government playing—or failing to play—in addressing this chaos?” Ishty wrote. ”The RMG sector—one of Bangladesh’s largest industries, employing over four million workers and contributing the lion’s share of export earnings—is clearly under existential threat. The ramifications of this crisis extend beyond individual factories, threatening the stability of the national economy and Bangladesh’s standing in global markets.“
Addressing the root causes of the turmoil is key, he advised. Otherwise, businesses will continue to witness what he described as the “constant erosion of their resources and stability.”
“Solve economic issues like unpaid wages and energy shortages to reduce unrest. Strengthen financial institutions and encourage open dialogue between workers, factory owners, unions, trade groups and the government,” Ishty said. “This will help ensure fair representation, improve relationships and provide real solutions to disputes.”
