Women paid less than men in RMG sector in Bangladesh: survey

Female workers in the country’s readymade garment industry are paid less than male workers, according to a South Asian Network on Economic Modeling survey.

The study found that a female worker received Tk 45 against one-hour work and she worked 267 hours on average in a month.

On other hand, a male worker received Tk 48 for an hour of work and he worked 270 hours on average in a month.

SANEM, in collaboration with a US-based non-profit organisation Microfinance Opportunities, is conducting a research project on the quality of life of garment workers in Bangladesh.

Around 1,300 selected garment workers had been surveyed every week since April 2020 under the project ‘Garment Worker Diaries’.

The workers were employed in factories spread across the five main industrial areas of Bangladesh — Chattogram, Dhaka city, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Savar.

Three quarters of the survey respondents were women, which roughly represents the composition of labour force in the RMG sector as a whole.

The survey data were collected in January and February of 2022.

Workers spent 295 hours on average in the factory during the 27 working days in January, which is higher than usual.

Excluding the one-hour lunch break, the workers worked 268 hours on average in January and they spent 259 hours on average in the factory in the 24 working days of February.

Workers worked 235 hours on average in February, excluding the one-hour lunch break.

Among them, female workers worked 234 hours on average and male workers worked 235 hours on average.

In both January and February, half of the surveyed workers worked more than the legally allowed 10 hours which accounts for eight regular hours and two overtime hours.

For the work in January, female workers got salary of Tk 12,000 on average in February, the same as in January.

Male workers got salary of Tk 13,000 on average, a Tk 500 increase over the January amount.

In February, 54 per cent of workers were paid through mobile financial services like bKash, Nagad, Rocket and others while 46 per cent were paid in cash.

About 20 per cent of the garment workers reported that at least one member of their household was ill in February.

The illness rate was 26 per cent in January.

News Courtesy:

https://www.newagebd.net/article/168423/women-paid-less-than-men-in-rmg-sector-in-bangladesh-survey