Amirul Haque Amin from National Garment Workers Federation Bangladesh

The National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF) has worked with the CCC on nearly 20 urgent appeal cases.  We interviewed Amin, NGWF’s General Secretary, about changes in Bangladesh and the effects of international solidarity.

When did you get involved with NGWF?

I’ve been involved since the founding in 1984.  Before that, I was a student at Dhaka University.  I was an activist in left progressive politics trying to change society - to change the society we needed to organise the workers.  I was involved with another trade union in 1981, the Dhaka City Tailoring Workers Union.  There was a strong tailoring movement under this union.  During that time the garment industry began in Bangladesh.  Many of the tailors went to work in the factories and they saw a lot of violations, so they decided to organise a national-level union for garment workers.  

Many of the workers could not read or write and they needed someone to help them.  The tailors knew and trusted me, so they asked me to help.  In July 1984, they officially became the National Garment Workers Federation.  

That means you’ve been working on labour rights issues for 25 years.  What changes have you seen in Bangladesh?

In the 1980s there were a lot of labour rights violations and irregularities.  Workers always had two or three months outstanding wages or weren’t paid for overtime.  Now there are still a lot of violations, but not as frequent.  In the 1980s there was no holiday.  Now the workers enjoy a weekly holiday.  May Day is a national paid holiday in the garment sector now.  Now you see women workers getting maternity leave in many factories.

Another fundamental change is that when we started in the 1980s there were only a small number of women workers in the factories.  Now almost 60% of NGWF’s members are women.  

In the earliest days, workers didn’t used to get appointment letters or any of their documents.  There was no festival bonus, but now the majority of workers get a bonus.  

You’ve worked with the Clean Clothes Campaign on many urgent appeal cases over the years.  What do you see as some of the benefits or problems?

We need international support and solidarity.  There are a lot of violations, especially of the right to organise and to bargain.  Local manufacturers don’t recognise the right to organise and workers wages are very low.  We’re fighting to improve this, but we need the support from consumers in developed countries.  The headquarters of the multinational companies are all in the developed countries and they are the key.  We are simply producing the garments, but in the west there are consumers.  We need their support.  They should know about the conditions of the workers.

When was your first interaction with the Clean Clothes Campaign?

I first met staff of the CCC in 1995 when they made a short film in Bangladesh.  After that, in 1996 there was a European tour.  I went on a bus tour along with people from Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia to five European countries.

Through the CCC, NGWF has met a lot of NGOs and trade union organisations.  We’ve really built our network – we work with consumer groups, human rights groups, women’s groups.  CCC played a vital role in making this network.  

CCC has also helped us resolve disputes in many factories, like Spectrum.  Sixty-four workers died and another 85 were seriously injured when the factory collapsed.  Many other workers died in fires in Bangladesh.  In the Spectrum case, it was the first time that workers’ families received compensation – it was the first time in Bangladesh that multi-national companies took responsibility – providing support for families.  This happened because of the work of the Clean Clothes Campaign and the ITG.

What is NGWF’s priority for the future?

We want to see garment workers get a living wage to cover their basic needs: food clothes, shelter, health and education.  Until now, wages are very low and workers and their families cannot survive.  We want workers to get a fair wage and for multinational companies to pay a fair price for Bangladeshi garments.