A Day in the Life of a Garment’s Worker
Garments industry is the main prop of our national economy. The industry is mainly run by 1.5 million of workers, 90% of whom are female workers. A garments worker, however, cannot lead a happy and secured life. S/he faces the problems of her/his physical as well as financial insecurity.
Most of our garments industries are located in various venues and corners of Dhaka city. The garments buildings are not properly ventilated and the security measures are not sufficient enough. Again, the working conditions of garment are not hygienic. The workers suffer from a variety of problems but the saddest thing is that they are paid low.
A garment worker needs to attend her/his work by 8:00 am. In the factory, she or he continues to work without break until 1:00 pm. Then, s/he has half an hour break for launch. She or he after eats her lunch with the food s/he desires at that time. S/he has, in fact, often to attend overtime duty which may extend to around 10:00pm.
No doubt a garment worker has to do the longest shift in comparison with other jobs. However, the salary s/he receives for this is quite low and hence undignified. The noisy and crowded environment cause serious problems to a garment workers. Still, they have to work as per target everyday. The workers, however, cannot raise any complaint against any exploitation by the authority. Many of them even do not receive their salaries, however little, in due course to time. Then, they are sacked even without notice. A garment worker’s daily life is very tedious and boring. S/he has hardly any comfort or peace in mind. Ceaselessly s/he has to continue to work to fulfil the target given by the authority. No doubt a garment worker leads an undignified life.