The dispute took place as the Myanmar International Textile and Garment Industry exhibition kicked off a four-day event at the Myanmar Convention Center on November 8 to showcase what garment and textile manufacturers in 18 countries and territories have to offer. The 120 exhibitors displayed equipment and products ranging from textile spinning to weaving and dyeing, embroidery to knitting, cutting and sewing to finishing machinery, fabrics and garment accessories. The event featured leading brands from Bangladesh, China, Czech Republic, Germany, hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Britain, Vietnam and the host, Myanmar. If official statistics are any indication, Myanmar hopes to see its export earnings from the garment trade jump from US$915 million in 2012 to over US$1 billion in 2013.
In all the razzmatazz of the exhibition, little if any discussion will have been had over the drivers of this trade. Much of the profit in the business comes from leveraging low salaries and long hours on the garment-making factory floor into handsome profits, in some cases at high-end brands in up-market shopping outlets around the world. It is a trade that needs far more scrutiny than it gets, even though the International Labour Organization has long been expressing concern. Several labor disputes at garment factories in Myanmar during the last three years since the change of government indicate that workers, as in many countries, are overworked and underpaid and that conditions could be significantly improved.
That would be an understatement in neighboring Bangladesh, where there has been a furor over unsafe conditions at many garment factories. Workplace safety came under increased scrutiny earlier this year after the collapse of a garment factory in April killed more than 1,100 people. The collapse, and a fire in 2012 that killed 112 workers, prompted calls for more safety checks, better conditions and higher wages. Earlier this month, due to the pressure, Bangladesh's wage board proposed raising the minimum wage by 77 percent to the equivalent of US$68, which is less than the amount demanded by unions. employer representatives have cautioned that a sharp hike in wages could damage competitiveness.
A cursory look at the conditions in Myanmar's factories indicates that while conditions are better, they offer little cause for complacency. Typically, workers earn about US$110 a month and toil for 12 hours a day in less-than-ideal conditions, with power cuts causing regular disruptions. A garment industry consultant who recently toured some factories in Myanmar said none of those he visited met factory compliance laws in the West. he saw underage apprentices, poor lighting, unsafe machinery and too much overtime.
That said, the horrors of Bangladesh have stirred the industry on a worldwide level to improve standards. Myanmar's garment industry is only just recovering from US sanctions that laid waste to a trade that once relied heavily on supplying the American and european markets. Myanmar may benefit from the furor next door and be able to do business again with the global companies. But local factories will need to be aware that their practices and their conditions will be coming under increased scrutiny.
This Editorial first appeared in the November 21, 2013 edition of Mizzima Business Weekly.
Mizzima Business Weekly is available in print in Yangon through Innwa Bookstore and through online subscription at www.mzineplus.com
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/sweatshop-woes/
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