DHAKA – New research on the impact of COVID-19 on Bangladesh’s ready-made garment (RMG) sector has highlighted a major drop in worker incomes, as a group of 115 workers surveyed said their wages had more than halved compared to 2019.
Four factories, of which two ran standard operations and the other two were titled ‘champion factories’ – because of additional benefits and a progressive workers rights approach – allowed their staff to be assessed as part of this analysis, overseen by the Girls Advocacy Alliance (GAA) and the Awaj Foundation.
The findings paint a bleak picture, with debt on the rise amongst this workforce forcing necessities like food and education to be sacrificed.
