Industrial Disputes
Industrial disputes are conflicts, disorder or unrest arising between workers and employers on any ground. Such disputes finally result in strikes, lockouts and mass refusal of employees to work in the organization until the dispute is resolved. So it can be concluded that Industrial Disputes harm both parties employees and employers and are always against the interest of both employees and the employers. An industrial dispute is simply a disagreement between employers and workers. Industrial disputes are manifested in strikes (withdrawal from work by a group of employees) and lockouts (refusal by an employer or group of employers to permit some or all of their employees to work). These disputes are mostly represented by trade unions. It is a disagreement between workers and management over pay, working conditions, hours of work, etc., especially one that includes strikes (workers refusing to work).

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Causes of Industrial Disputes
The causes of industrial disputes can be broadly classified into two categories: economic and non-economic causes. The economic causes will include issues relating to compensation like wages, bonus, allowances, and conditions for work, working hours, leave and holidays without pay, unjust layoffs and retrenchments. The non-economic factors will include victimization of workers, ill treatment by staff members, sympathetic strikes, political factors, indiscipline etc. Wages and Allowances Since the cost of living index is increasing, workers generally bargain for higher wages to meet the rising cost of living index and to increase their stan dards of living. In 2002, 21.4% of disputes were caused by demand 20.4% during 2003 and during 2004 increased up to 26.2%. In 2005, of higher wages and allowances. This percentage was wages and allowances accounted for 21.8% of disputes. Personnel and Retrenchment The personnel and retrenchment have also been an important factor which accounted for disputes. During the year 2002, disputes caused by personnel were 14.1% while those caused 2003, a similar trend could be seen, wherein 11.2% of the disputes were caused by personnel, while 2.4% and 0.6% of disputes were caused by retrenchment and layoffs. In year 2005, only 9.6% of the disputes were caused by personnel, and only 0.4% were caused by retrenchment.

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Indiscipline and Violence From the given table, it is evident that the number of disputes caused by indiscipline has shown an increasing trend. In 2002, 29.9% of disputes were caused because of indiscipline, which rose up to 36.9% in 2003. Similarly in 2004 and 2005, 40.4% and 41.6% of disputes were caused due to indiscipline respectively. During the year 2003, indiscipline accounted for the highest percentage (36.9%) of the total time-loss of all disputes, followed by cause-groups wage and allowance and personnel with 20.4% and11.2% respectively. A similar trend was observed in 2004 where indiscipline accounted for 40.4% of disputes. Bonus Bonus has always been an important factor in industrial disputes. 6.7% of the disputes were because of bonus in 2002 and 2003 as compared to 3.5% and 3.6% in 2004 and 2005 respectively. Leave and Working Hours Leaves and working hours have not been so important causes of industrial disputes. During 2002, 0.5% of the disputes were because of leave and hours of wor k while this percentage increased to 1% in 2003. During 2004, only 0.4% of the disputes were because of leaves and working hours. Miscellaneous      The miscellaneous factors include: Inter/Intra Union Rivalry Charter of Demands Work Load Standing orders/rules/service conditions/safety measures  Non-implementation of agreements and awards etc.

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Effects of Industrial Disputes
Effects of industrial disputes in their own business like lower production, communication ga p between employ and employer, tension, strike, lock out etc.  Unrest and unnecessary tensions engulf the hearts and minds of all the people involved laborers and senior management.  There is economic loss due to conflicts because conflicts may result in strikes and lockouts. This causes low or no production resulting in industrial loss.

 Industrial losses may cause economic depression because many industries are interlinked. A problem in one industry may drastically affect another industry.  The lives of low-level laborers become worse when they are out of work. They may be the only working members of the family, and their joblessness may lead everyone in the family to poverty.  When industrial conflicts get out of hand, they become a threat to peace and security. Workers may resort to violence and indulge in sabotage.

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Garments Industry of Bangladesh
For Bangladesh, the readymade garment export industry has been the proverbial goose that lays the golden eggs for over fifteen years now. The sector now dominates the modern economy in export earnings, secondary impact and employment generated. The events in 1998 serve to highlight the vulnerability of this industry to both internal and external shocks on the demand and supply side. Given the dominance of the sector in the overall modern economy of Bangladesh, this vulnerability should be a matter of some concern to the policymakers in Bangladesh. Although in gross terms the sector’s contributions to the country’s export earnings is around 74 percent, in net terms the share would be much less partially because the backward linkages in textile have been slow to develop. The dependence on a single sector, no matter how resilient or sturdy that sector is, is a matter of policy concern. We believe the policymakers in Bangladesh should work to reduce this dependence by moving quickly to develop the other export industries using the lessons learned from the success of apparel exports. Support for the apparel sector should not be reduced. In fact, another way to reduce the vulnerability is to diversify the product and the market mix. It is heartening to observe that the knit products are rapidly gaining share in overall garment exports as these products are sold in quota-free markets and reflect the strength of Bangladeshi producers in the fully competitive global apparel markets. Preliminary data and informal evidence indicate that this sector seems to have weathered the devastating floods relatively well. The industry is one hundred percent export-oriented and therefore insulated from domestic demand shocks; however, it remains

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vulnerable to domestic supply shocks and the smooth functioning of the banking, transportation and other forward and backward linkage sectors of the economy. The DhakaChittagong road remains the main transportation link connecting the production units, mostly situated in and around Dhaka and the port in Chittagong, where the raw material and the finished products are shipped in and out. Despite increased dependence on air transportation, trucks remain the main vehicles for transporting raw materials and finished products for Bangladesh garment exports. The floods disrupted the normal flow of traffic on this road. Eventually, this road link was completely severed for several days when large sections of the road went under water for a few weeks during the latter phase of the floods. This delinking of the road connection between Dhaka and the port in Chittagong was as serious a threat as one can imagine for the garment exporters. The industry responded by calling upon the Bangladesh navy to help with trawlers and renting a plane from Thai Air that was used to directly fly garment consignments from the Dhaka airport to the Chittagong airport several times a day. Like other 3rd world countries Bangladesh is a developing country. Her economic development depends firstly on agriculture and secondly on industry. Although Bangladesh is not developed in industry, it has been enriched in Garment industries in the recent past years. In the field of Industrialization garment industry is a promising step. It has given the opportunity of employment to millions of unemployed, especially innumerable uneducated women of the country. It is making significant contribution in the field of our export income.

Historical Background of the Garment Industry
Once the cloth of Bangladesh achieved worldwide fame specially muslim and jamdani cloth or our country was used as the luxurious garments of the royal figures in Europe and other countries. The British rulers in India did not develop our cloth industries at all. Rather they destroyed them and imported cloths from England. Garment Industry Large-scale production of readymade garments (RMG) in organized factories is a relatively new phenomenon in Bangladesh. Until early sixties, individual tailors made garments as per specifications provided by individual customers who

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supplied the fabrics. The domestic market for readymade garment, excepting children wears and men's knit underwear (genji) was virtually non-existent in Bangladesh until the sixties. Since the late 1970s, the RMG industry started developing in Bangladesh primarily as an export-oriented industry although; the domestic market for RMG has been increasing fast due to increase in personal disposable income and change in life style. The sector rapidly attained high importance in terms of employment, foreign exchange earnings and its contribution to GDP. Most importantly, the growth of RMG sector produced a group of entrepreneurs who have created a strong private sector. Of these entrepreneurs, a sizeable number is female. A woman entrepreneur established one of the oldest export-oriented garment factories, the Baishakhi Garment in 1977. Many women hold top executive positions in RMG industry.The hundred percent export-oriented RMG industry experienced phenomenal growth during the last 15 or so years. In 1978, there were only 9 export-oriented garment manufacturing units, which generated export earnings of hardly one million dollar. Some of these units were very small and produced garments for both domestic and export markets. Four such small and old units were Reaz Garments, Paris Garments, Jewel Garments and Baishakhi Garments. Reaz Garments, the pioneer, was established in 1960 as a small tailoring outfit, named Reaz Store in DHAKA. It served only domestic markets for about 15 years. In 1973 it changed its name to M/s Reaz Garments Ltd. and expanded its operations into export market by selling 10,000 pieces of men's shirts worth French Franc 13 million to a Paris-based firm in 1978. It was the first direct exporter of garments from Bangladesh. Desh Garments Ltd, the first non-equity joint-venture in the garment industry was established in 1979. Desh had technical and marketing collaboration with Daewoo Corporation of South Korea. It was also the first hundred percent export-oriented company. It had about 120 operators including 3 women trained in South Korea, and with these trained workers it started its production in early 1980. Another South Korean Firm, Youngones Corporation formed the first equity jointventure garment factory with a Bangladeshi firm, Trexim Ltd. in 1980. Bangladeshi partners contributed 51% of the equity of the new firm, named Youngones Bangladesh. It exported its first consignment of padded and non-padded jackets to Sweden in December 1980. Till the end of 1982, there were only 47 garment manufacturing units. The breakthrough occurred in 1984-85, when the number of garment factories increased to 587. The number of RMG factories shot up to around 2,900 in 1999. Bangladesh is now one of the 12 largest apparel exporters of the world, the sixth largest supplier in the US market and the fifth

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largest supplier of T-shirts in the EU market. The industry has grown during the 1990s roughly at the rate of 22%. The growth of the industry in terms of number of units and employment generation is shown in table - 1 below: Table 1: Growth of the industry and Employment: Year 1983-84 1988-89 1993-94 1998-99 2003-04 2008-09 Number of Garment Industries 134 759 1839 2963 3957 4825 Employment in Million Workers 0.040 0.317 0.827 1.500 2.000 3.100

[Source: BGMEA] At present there are about 5000 garment industries in the country and 75 percent of them are in Dhaka. The rest are in Chittagong and Khulna. These Industries have employed fifty lacks of people and 85 percent of them are illiterate rural women. About 76 percent of our export earning comes from this sector. The country's RMG sector, to a creditable level has relieved Bangladesh from over populous unemployment burden through providing the largest employment next to agriculture, transport, and trade and industry sector. This sector has uplifted the neglected section of the population, thus radically transforming the socio-economic condition of the country. Such empowerment and employment raised awareness regarding children education, health safety, population control disaster management only so for. It is an epoch making event in the history of Bangladesh.

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Contribution of the Garments Industry
RMG business started in the late 70s as a negligible non-traditional sector with a narrow export base and by the year 1983 it emerged as a promising export earning sector; presently it contributes around 75 percent of the total export earnings. Over the past one and half decade, RMG export earnings have increased by more than 8 times with an exceptional growth rate of 16.5 percent per annum. In FY06, earnings reached about 8 billion USD, which was only less than a billion USD in FY91. Excepting FY02, the industry registered

significant positive growth throughout this period

In terms of GDP, RMG’s contribution is highly remarkable; it reaches 13 percent of GDP which was only about 3 percent in FY91. This is a clear indication of the industry’s contribution to the overall economy. It also plays a pivotal role to promote the development of other key sectors of the economy like banking, insurance, shipping, hotel, tourism, road transportation, railway container services, etc. A 1999 study found the industry supporting approximately USD 2.0 billion worth of economic activities (Bhattacharya and Rahman), when the value of exports stood at a little over USD 4.0 billion. One of the key advantages of the RMG industry is its cheap labor force, which provides a competitive edge over its competitors. The sector has created jobs for about two million people of which 70 percent are women who mostly come from rural areas. The sector opened up employment opportunities for many more individuals through direct and indirect

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economic activities, which eventually helps the country’s social development, woman empowerment and poverty alleviation.

Exporting Condition of Garments Industry
The Ready-Made Garments (RMG) industry occupies a unique position in the Bangladesh economy. It is the largest exporting industry in Bangladesh, which experienced phenomenal growth during the last 20 years. By taking advantage of an insulated market under the provision of Mul ti Fibre Agreement (MFA) of GATT, it attained a high profile in terms of foreign exchange earnings, exports, industrialization and contribution to GDP within a short span of time. The industry plays a key role in employment generation and in the provision of income to the poor. Nearly two million workers are directly and more than ten million inhabitants are indirectly associated with the industry. Over the past twenty years, the number of manufacturing units has grown from 180 to over 3600. The sector has also played a significant role in the socio-economic development of the country. The Agreement on Textile and Clothing (ATC) introduced in 1994, aimed at bringing textiles and clothing within the domain of WTO rules by abolishing all quotas by the end of 2004. It provides an adjustment period of 10 years, so that countries affected by the MFA could take the necessary steps to adjust to the new trading environment. Liberalization of trade following the Uruguay Round agreement presents opportunities as well as challenges for a developing country like Bangladesh in RMG sector. In the PostUruguay Round period, traditional instruments of trade policy such as tariffs, quotas, and subsidies will become less feasible and less relevant. In a liberalized trade regime, competition among textiles and clothing exporting countries is likely to become intense. The objective of this paper is to identify the prospects of RMG industry after the MFA phase out by analyzing the current scenario along with different policy measures and the available options in order to be more competitive in the new regime. The export made by Garments Industries of Bangladesh is improving year after year except some of the year. Strike, layout, shutdown of company, political problem, economic

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problem, inflation etc. are the prime cause of decreasing export in this important sector. But above it, Readymade Garments Industries is the leading sector in export sector.

Year 1991 – 92 1992 – 93 1993 – 94 1994 – 95 1995 – 96 1996 – 97 1997 – 98 1998 – 99 1999 – 00 2000 – 01 2001 - 02 2002 – 03 2003 – 04 2004 – 05 2005 – 06

Export (in US $ million) 624.16 866.82 1182.57 1445.02 1555.79 2228.35 2547.13 3001.25 3781.94 4019.98 4349.41 4859.83 4583.75 4912.12 5686.09

Percentage change 32.49 38.88 36.43 22.19 7.67 43.47 14.11 17.83 26.01 6.29 8.19 11.74 5.68 7.21 15.83

Position of Bangladesh is exporting product in USA is not very satisfactory but this situation is better than any other condition of the previous time. But if our Government take some essential law and break out the wall of biasness then the position of Bangladesh in Garments sector would be hope to better.

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Industrial Disputes in Garments Industry of Bangladesh
Garments sector is struggling with a number of problems. Conflict between owners and workers, labor unrest, shortage of gas and electricity, poor infrastructure, poor port facility, lead time complexities, conspiracy of home and abroad, advancing competitors in the quota free international market are some of them which are posing a great threat to its survival. In recent time, labor unrest in the RMG sector has been a matter of serious concern. Almost every day electronic and print media cover news of labor unrest in RMG sector in one place or another across the country. Fixing new minimum wage for the garment workers and issue of implementing the new wage structure have been the prime causes of recent labor unrests across the country. The unrest takes shape of violence and vandalism. The agitated workers come to the street and go storming on vehicles and garment factories. The attacked factory is declared closed; many labor leaders are arrested, many workers lose jobs or suffer from uncertainty; losing interest in the uncertainty, the international buyers cancel their orders and divert to another market. The industry comes to a deadlock situation. There are, mainly, four parties involved in apparel industry: government, factory owners, international buyers of finished garments, and workers. Of four parties, the first three are immense beneficiaries, while workers remain deprived. Government receives a handsome amount of revenue from this sector. Buyers, who get garment products at the cheapest possible price, make huge profits in international markets. Most of the local factory owners make adequate money out of this business to build palatial houses in posh area of capital, have their children educated and treated abroad, ride luxury cars, spend holidays at tourist resorts across the world. But garment workers, who make all these profits and benefits possible for other three parties, are to live a sub-standard life for years. The wage they get is low. Very often they do not get their salary, overtime bills and bonus in time. Their recruitment system is hiring and firing as they do not get any appointment letter and at any time they can be dismissed by owners for any reason. Being maltreated by owners and midlevel officers, working long hours in a congested room without sufficient rest, lack of recreational opportunity, nutritious foods, medicine, right to legitimate protest against ruthless exploitations, etc. are their daily destiny. They don’t have any access to the decision making process. Factory building collapse, fire accident, stampede

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render many dead and injured. Nevertheless, if any worker protests against owners or management, he/she is threatened by various types of harassment such as dismissal, arrest or even physical assault by the hired hooligans of owners. There are allegations that a vested group is behind the violence in garments industry. Some Human-right-based NGOs are alleged to instigate the work-force in the name of their rights and privileges without knowing the actual capacity of the owners. Very often, agitating workers are aided by outsiders. Nowhere in the world is labor as cheap as in Bangladesh. It is one of the main factors for flourishing of this sector in Bangladesh. Therefore, foreign conspiracies in instigating labor unrest in garment sector of Bangladesh cannot be ruled out as history records hundreds of wars to capture another market. At every incidence of labor unrest, police is deployed to disperse agitators. The coercive measures of the forces rather deteriorate the situation. Concerned groups engage themselves in blame game and do not waste time to put their readymade comments. Party in power always takes it as a subversive act of opposition party to destabilize government. Opposition party labels it as a failure of government and demands resignation. Factory owners blame workers and vice-versa. Very often, after some violent unrest, an inquiry committee is formed to look into the fact. But the fact is that, hardly people come across the investigation report. After some days people forget the issue and things go on as usual.

Causes of Industrial Disputes in Garments Sector
Causes of labor unrest are many. First and foremost is the long-standing grievance of the workers. The growth of RMG industry of Bangladesh much depends on hard work of the labor force. But unfortunately they are deprived of minimum facilities. They are to live a substandard life in city slums for years. The wage they get is low. Very often they do not get their salary, overtime bills and bonus in time. Their recruitment system is hiring and firing as they do not get any appointment letter and identity card of the factory and at any time they can be dismissed by owners for any reason. They don’t know anything about their job contract. Being maltreated by owners and mid-level officers, working long hours in congested environment without sufficient rest, lack of nutritious foods, medicine, right to legitimate protest against ruthless exploitations etc are their daily destiny. They don’t have any access to the decision making process. Factory building collapse, fire accident, stampede

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render many dead and injured. Nevertheless, if any worker protests against owners or management, he/she is threatened by various types of harassment such as dismissal, arrest or even physical assault by the hired hooligans of owners. Common causes of labor unrest in the RMG sector in Bangladesh are discussed briefly below. Most of the labor force of this sector are uneducated and unskilled and have come from rural area simply in search of livelihood. They have to work hard in return for a very poor salary. Institute of Food and Nutrition of University of Dhaka estimated that if a worker toils for eight hours a day, as a stitching operator or helper, he needs 3,200 calories daily. If the worker does two-hour overtime work every day, he requires 3,400 calories, said the study that was submitted to the Minimum Wage Board. A female worker needs a slightly lesser amount of calories. ‘The minimum wage fixed for a worker is not enough to live a standard life when compared with the high cost of living,’ says Razekuzzaman Ratan, general secretary of Samjtantrik Sramik Front. According to him, a garment worker needs about 3,030 calories a day, accounting for a daily amount of Tk. 64.50. ‘Thus a person will need about Tk. 1,935 a month and to maintain a four member family, Tk. 7,740 would have to be spent on food alone. After adding utilities, house rent, transport cost, medicine and outfits, the total amount will stand at about Tk. 14,240 a month. If two members of a family are RMG workers, we believe that the minimum wage should be Tk. 7,120 per person,’ opines Ratan. On the other hand, according to the BILS survey, the minimum wage for a single worker has to be Tk. 5,277 amounting to Tk. 8,452 for a four member family to live a standard life. Rumor plays a crucial role in swelling unrest among the labors. ‘Bonus will not be given before Eid’ / ‘A worker is beaten by the manager’ / ‘A labor leader is arrested’ – these types of rumors ignite the workers and without knowing the fact, the workers sometimes come to the street and involve in vandalism and rampage. Sudden closure of a factory without prior notice to the workers which poses uncertainty and fear of losing job among the workers works as a source of unrest. The coercive role of law-enforcing agencies angers the labors. A common picture in time of unrest is that the deployed police charge the workers and the agitating workers reiterate causing injuries to both side. Filing cases or arresting the agitating workers is a common means to subdue the workers. Nevertheless, the law enforcing agencies are often found to play a biased role against the workers. As the owners are rich and influential, there is hardly any instance of their arrest or police’s taking case against them by the workers.

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Theory of conspiracy regarding labor unrest cannot be ruled out. There may be two types of conspiracy- 1) domestic and 2) external. There exists competition among the factories. The owners or management of a factory may instigate the workforce of its rival factory with some misinformation which results in unrest and disorder in that factory. Hamper of production of a factory as a result of labor unrest may benefit its competitor. Some NGOs financed by foreign donors are blamed to instigating the workers in the name of working for the improvement of workers’ condition. This may be a blue print of some regional competitors of Bangladesh in RMG business. If the RMG sector of Bangladesh can be paralyzed causing labor unrest, foreign investors and buyers divert to another country.

Effects of Industrial Disputes in Garments Sector
Whatever might be the cause of labor unrest in the RMG sector, impact is, beyond doubt, catastrophic. All the four parties- the workers, the owners, government and foreign buyers will be affected. If labor unrest continues, the foreign buyers will cancel their orders and divert to other exporters like, India, China or Cambodia. Hundreds of factories will be closed. Many owners may be bankrupt. Labors, losing jobs will lose their livelihood and many will involve in criminal activities. This will create burden on the existing unemployment problem and increase various types of crimes in the country. The government will be deprived of huge foreign exchange and revenue income. The industrialization process of the country will be impeded. The foreign buyers, who could buy quality garments at a low price and make huge profit in the US or EU market will have to eye on another exporter country from where they have to count a high price for the same garments. Hundreds of businesses, grown based on RMG industry, will suffer. The whole economy of Bangladesh will be adversely affected.

Recent Incidents
Tensions rose in Bangladesh's garment industry over the weekend as factory owners and workers squared off over a new minimum wage for the South Asian country's largest export industry. Tens of thousands of garment workers took to the streets in the capital of Dhaka on Saturday, demanding the government set minimum monthly pay at 8,000 taka, or about $100. Today an unskilled sewing-machine apprentice earns a minimum monthly wage of just 3,000 taka.

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The factory-owners' association said a higher minimum wage could hobble the industry as costs of other inputs to clothing production are also rising, even as demand from many Western markets is weak. Workers blocked a key highway leading north out of Dhaka on Saturday and clashed with police, demanding factories in the area be closed for the day to allow workers to attend the Dhaka rally. Several people were injured, the police said. Labor leaders at the rally held in central Dhaka rejected an offer from the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association to raise wages by just 20%. Labor leader Sirajul Islam Rony, president of Bangladesh National Garment Workers Employees League, said there could be more protests if the workers' demands aren't met. "The industry is the top foreign-currency earner in the country, but the workers are not getting the benefits," Mr. Rony said. "If the owners don't listen to our demands, there will be more unrest in the garment sector." Shahidullah Azim, vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the industry cannot afford to more than double wages. "We are facing many challenges. The buyers are driving down the price. The cost of production is going up. Some of our traditional markets in Europe and America are still struggling to come out of an economic downturn," he said. "We must take care not to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs." In June, Bangladesh's Ministry of Labor and Employment formed a committee with factory owners, workers and government representatives to review wages in the garment sector. The committee is supposed to report back with a negotiated solution by December. Bangladesh's garment industry exported more than $20 billion of clothes in the fiscal year ended June 30 and employs roughly four million workers. About 80% of the people in the industry are women and most of them are from poor, rural areas. The minimum wage was fixed at 3,000 taka a month in 2010. Labor groups are now demanding a big increase to offset the impact of a high inflation rate that has often climbed above 10% in Bangladesh.

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Prominent Western brands such as H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB, Gap Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Tesco PLC that source clothes from Bangladesh have been pressuring the country to improve pay and working conditions in its factories after high-profile and deadly factory accidents over the past year. In April a collapse at a building full of garment factories killed more than 1,100 people, while last November a fire at another factory killed at least 110 workers. In June the U.S. stopped giving Bangladesh duty-free access to its markets, saying the country hadn't done enough to improve workers' rights. Meanwhile, Bangladesh's largest apparel importer, the European Union, also has threatened to revoke its preferential treatment of imports from the country if factory conditions don't improve. The Bangladeshi minimum wage board has, after long negotiations, announced a 76% increase in garment workers’ pay, applicable to all seven pay grades. This has quickly been hailed as a great victory by some observers. The minimum wage increase being granted at this time is a result of particular circumstances. The past year has seen both the Tazreen fire and the Rana Plaza building collapse, bringing the combined deaths of over 1200 workers. These disasters increased pressure on international buyers, local garment bosses and the Bangladeshi government to begin substantial reforms in health, safety and pay to try to restore threatened global consumer confidence and distance the industry from the exploitative sweat shop image it had deservedly earned itself. EU and US buyers, labour organisations and states pressured with carrot and stick; promises of aid to upgrade infrastructure coupled with threats of withdrawing preferential trade tariffs. NGOs and trade unions intensified their campaigns against sweat shop conditions and influenced negative media coverage. Bangladeshi suppliers have been concerned not to lose trade to rival Asian producing nations who could demonstrate better working conditions. The government wants to ensure the stability and growth of the industry central to its economy, which provides over 75% of its export earnings and around 15% of GDP. But the ruling Awami League party is also preparing for a general election in early 2014 and must try to win the votes of the mass of 4 million garment workers (comprised of 85% young women) and the support of the powerful industrial lobby of their bosses. Within this historical context the pay leap is likely to be considered as (optimistically) a oneoff concession by the industry to improve Corporate Image, consumer confidence and ensure stability and increased productivity. (As well as the election prospects of the Awami League.)

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Grievance
Grievance is a feeling of having been treated unfairly, a reason for complaining or being unhappy with a situation, a statement in which you say you are unhappy or not satisfied with something. The term grievance refers to a written statement made according to the grievance procedure included in the collective agreement. It deals with any dispute concerning the interpretation, the application, the administration or the alleged violation of any clause of the collective agreement. The purpose of the grievance procedure


The grievance procedure is at the heart of the collective agreement. It allows the union steward to draw up a grievance on behalf of the members. It is recognition by the employer that members have the right to he heard by management. The procedure can have two to four steps. At each step, representatives of the union and the employer meet. Make sure you know the time limits for each step of the procedure. When a case is settled through a grievance, it can serve as a precedent, or a model on which the merits of similar cases will be assessed in the future. Precedents are usually very important because they establish how the union and the employer will interpret the collective agreement from then on.

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

The Grievance Investigation
Gather the facts from the member who has a complaint. The steward must listen closely to the member who comes with a problem. Get all the facts. Make sure you give the member enough time to give you all the relevant information.
 

Take notes. Ask questions. Use the CEP investigation form.

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At times, a member takes it for granted that you know his or her work well and forgets to tell you important details. To avoid this, follow the five W's method.


Who is involved?

Name of member or group of members. The employee's number, classification, work station, etc.
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What is involved?

Unpaid hours? A violation of seniority rights? Discrimination? Overtime'?


When did it happen?

The required information includes the official date of the grievance, the date of the incident that led to the grievance, the date of the submission of the grievance and the employer's response. Make note of all the important dates related to the incident.


Where did it happen?

Describe as clearly as possible the case history and where it took place. Indicate the shop, the machine, the purpose, the plant, etc.


Why did it happen?

The fundamental reason for the grievance. This question is the key to the grievance, so it must be clearly expressed. The investigation form Whenever you collect information, use the required investigation form. Why?
 

You can forget things. When facts are laid out in black and white, it is easier to determine the merits of the case. When the grievance is completed, you have a file that can be used as a precedent for similar grievances in the future. The investigation report can be used by the negotiating committee when the time comes to renew the collective agreement.

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

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

The difference between winning and losing a grievance can depend on the thoroughness of the information you have collected. When you write your report, remember that others will have to refer to it. The investigation report can always be used as proof to the members of the work you and the union have done for them.



Is the grievance well-founded? It is best to have a thorough discussion with the member before determining whether the Grievance is well founded. If in doubt, consult other stewards as well as union leaders. They can help you make a decision. Do not proceed with grievances that are not well founded. A member may believe he or she has a grievance because of a misunderstanding of the collective agreement. Personality conflicts or a misreading of the collective agreement are not legitimate grievances. Agreeing to lodge this type of grievance may mislead the member and undermine your credibility with the employer. If you are sure that there isn't a valid grievance, tell the member, explain why and show him or her the section of the collective agreement that supports you argument. Be firm but be tactful in order to keep the member's trust. The wording of the grievance Once you have determined that you are dealing with a legitimate grievance, make sure to word it properly. Here are the steps to follow:
  

Obtain the appropriate grievance form. Include all the details required on the form. Define the nature of the grievance, use the least number of words possible and ask for the help of your chief steward if necessary.

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

State clearly the expected outcome. If a financial statement is involved, do not forget to claim interest. Date the document and have the employee sign it. Do not forget to sign it yourself. Submit it to management within the required time limits.

 

Should the member attend the grievance hearing? Always take the member with you, except in special circumstances, e.g. if a member threatens to physically attack the supervisor. If you go to see management alone, the member may believe that the grievance was not presented properly and could end up blaming you unjustly. Together, you can present a better-prepared and more detailed case. Before meeting with the employer, the member should be warned that the steward will talk on his or her behalf. The member should only respond to questions that are asked by the steward. Discourage members from presenting grievances on their own. A member who is not familiar with the collective agreement could he easily influenced and decide to drop the grievance or accept a settlement that would weaken the collective agreement.

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Recommendations
Minimum wage for the garment workers should be regularized and implemented properly. The labor-force needs to shun the path of violence and vandalism. Rather, they can place their rightful demands to the respective authority. The factory owners can hear and address the problems of the labor-force. A ‘Grievance Officer’ in all garment factories can be appointed. Incidents of labor unrest need to be investigated taking stakeholders from all concerned sector. Recommendations of investigation report need to be implemented properly. The real defaulters irrespective of their identity and status can be brought under legal provisions. Intelligence agency may work in garment industry area to avert further unrest and take preventive measure. Both public and private sector should work together to solve the problem of labor unrest. Level of mutual trust, communication and cooperation between the two sectors need to be uplifted. The implementation of above-mentioned recommendations is supposed to help address labor unrest in the readymade garment industry of Bangladesh. However, a number of issues relating to labor unrest in the garment industry of Bangladesh like industrial policy, labor relations, owner-worker relations, trust between public and private sector and conspiracy deserve further attention.

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References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Industrial_Disputes_Act,_1947 http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/industrial-dispute http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_causes_of_industrial_disputes http://industrialdisputesact.blogspot.com/ http://www.rahulgladwin.com/noteblog/business/IS/causes-and-consequences-ofindustrial-disputes.php http://www.iiste.org/Journals/index.php/JEDS/article/view/239 http://forum.daffodilvarsity.edu.bd/index.php?topic=4706.0 http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB100014240527023039839045790910230123035 00 http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB100014240527023039839045790910230123035 00 http://www.ucanews.com/news/bangladesh-factory-owners-snub-wage-proposal/69644 http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2012/08/22/world/asia/20120823BANGLADESH.html?_r=0#1 http://libcom.org/news/highs-lows-wage-rise-new-garment-minimum-wage-20112013 http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2013/09/23/bangladesh-garmentindustry-retailers-must-help/iacAASSQk7AXsWyJ6z7h0K/story.html http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/13/opinion/a-living-wage-in-bangladesh.html http://www.cep456.ca/Grievance%20procedure.htm

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