About the BCWS

The Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity (BCWS) was founded in 2001 by three former garment workers, including one former child worker. Their aim is to promote worker rights and “establish a congenial atmosphere in the working place to increase productivity and contribute to the national economy.” BCWS is widely known for its credible research on labour rights compliance in garment factories and is committed to lawful means of redressing labour rights violations.

BCWS maintains programs on labour rights awareness raising, leadership training, conflict resolution and runs a night school as well as a day-care centre for children of garment workers. Thanks to the work of BCWS many workers can enjoy their legal benefits, including maternity leave, and exercise their right to form and join unions.

BCWS faces constant harassment from Bangladeshi authorities, including surveillance, phone tapping and searches of their offices. In the last year however the situation has become drastically worse.

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What’s life like for garment workers in Bangladesh?

In Bangladesh, about 2.3 million workers are employed in the garment industry; 85 percent are female. The garment industry is the largest industry in the country; in 2001, it accounted for 78 percent of the country’s merchandise exports. The industry is plagued by low wages and human rights abuses. Workers are subjected to far-reaching wage violations, including late payments, failure to pay overtime, and payments below the legal minimum wage.

The fight for a living wage

In January 2010, after years of pressure from unions and NGOs inside and outside Bangladesh, the government set up a minimum wage board to set a new minimum wage for the garment sector. Struggling to survive on 12 cents per hour, the lowest wage in the world, garment workers havelong been demanding an increase to 35 cents per hour, (still considered to be a bare-survival wage). On July 30, when the government announced a new minimum wage of only 21 cents per hour, workers protested both on the streets and in the factories. Tens of thousands of workers protested and about 700 garment factories were shut down for two days.

The government cracked down hard on protesters and more than 900 were injured in clashes with police. Children caught up in the clashes were kicked and beaten with batons by police.

As part of a crackdown on workers rights, the Government of Bangladesh stripped BCWS of their legal NGO status, seized their office equipment and ordered their bank manager to close their foreign donations bank account. BCWS leaders were imprisoned on false charges relating to the protests. They were beaten while in custody and in one case tortured, then beaten unconscious. These labour leaders are now out on bail but face a number of false charges with sentences up to and including the death penalty.

Since the protests, BCWS staff have faced continued harassment from Bangladeshi police and government security forces, including searches and confiscation of office equipment, searches of homes and threats to family members.

Still these brave strugglers continue their work to improve the conditions of the lowest paid workers in the world. They are now only able to receive donations through Western Union money transfers, are still facing criminal charges and are fighting to have their legal NGO status re-invoked.

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