Labor, Global Supply Chains, and the Garment Industry in South Asia: Bangladesh after Rana Plaza PDF
Preview Labor, Global Supply Chains, and the Garment Industry in South Asia: Bangladesh after Rana Plaza
Labor, Global Supply Chains, and the Garment Industry in South Asia This book argues that larger flaws in the global supply chain must first be addressed to change the way business is conducted to prevent factory owners from taking deadly risks to meet clients’ demands in the garment industry in Bangladesh. Using the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster as a departure point, and to prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future, this book presents an interdis- ciplinary analysis to address the disaster which resulted in a radical change in the functioning of the garment industry. The chapters present i nnovative ways of thinking about solutions that go beyond third-party monitoring. They open up possibilities for a renewed engagement of international brands and buyers within the garment sector, a focus on direct worker empowerment using technology, the role of community-based movements, developing a model of change through enforceable contracts combined with workers movements, and a more productive and influential role for both factory owners and the government. This book makes key interventions and rethinks the approaches that have been taken until now and proposes suggestions for the way forward. It engages with international brands, the private sector, and civil society to strategize about the future of the industry and for those who depend on it for their livelihood. A much-needed review and evaluation of the many initiatives that have been set up in Bangladesh in the wake of Rana Plaza, this book is a val- uable addition to academics in the fields of development studies, gender and women’s studies, human rights, poverty and practice, political science, economics, sociology, anthropology, and South Asian studies. Sanchita Banerjee Saxena is the Executive Director of the Institute for South Asia Studies and the Director of the Subir and Malini Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. Routledge Contemporary South Asia Series 127 Contemporary Literature from Northeast India Deathworlds, Terror and Survival Amit R. Baishya 128 Land-Water Management and Sustainability in Bangladesh Indigenous practices in the Chittagong Hill Tracts Ranjan Datta 129 Dalits, Subalternity and Social Change in India Edited by Ashok K. Pankaj and Ajit K. Pandey 130 Identity and Marginality in India Settlement Experience of Afghan Migrants Anwesha Ghosh 131 Political Transformations in Nepal Dalit Inequality and Social Justice Mom Bishwakarma 132 Fertility, Health and Reproductive Politics Re-imagining Rights in India Maya Unnithan 133 Labor, Global Supply Chains, and the Garment Industry in South Asia Bangladesh After Rana Plaza Edited by Sanchita Banerjee Saxena For the full list of titles in the series please visit: www.routledge.com/ Routledge-Contemporary-South-Asia-Series/book-series/RCSA. Labor, Global Supply Chains, and the Garment Industry in South Asia Bangladesh After Rana Plaza Edited by Sanchita Banerjee Saxena First published 2020 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2020 selection and editorial matter, Sanchita Banerjee Saxena; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Sanchita Banerjee Saxena to be identified as the author of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN: 978-1-138-36680-0 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-429-43003-9 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by codeMantra For my father, who showed me what truly matters Contents List of figures ix List of tables xi List of contributors xiii Preface xvii Acknowledgements xix List of abbreviations xxi 1 Introduction: how do we understand the Rana Plaza disaster and what needs to be done to prevent future tragedies 1 SANCHITA BANERJEE SAXENA PART I Leading to the disaster 19 2 The longue durée and the promise of export-led development: readymade garment manufacturing in Bangladesh 21 SHELLEY FELDMAN AND JAkIR HOSSAIN 3 Off the radar: subcontracting in Bangladesh’s RMG industry 45 SANCHITA BANERJEE SAXENA AND DOROTHEE BAUMANN-PAULY PART II Dealing with the aftermath 63 4 Opportunities and limitations of the Accord: need for a worker organizing model 65 CHAUMTOLI HUq 5 Does third-party monitoring improve labor rights? The case of Cambodia 84 kRISTY WARD viii Contents 6 Spaces of exception: national interest and the labor of sedition 100 DINA M. SIDDIqI PART III Rethinking solutions in Bangladesh 115 7 Bangladesh’s private sector: beyond tragedies and challenges 117 RUBANA HUq 8 Post-Rana Plaza responses: changing role of the Bangladeshi government 131 SHAHIDUR RAHMAN 9 Behaviour of the buyers and suppliers in the post-Rana Plaza period: a decent work perspective 149 kHONDAkER GOLAM MOAzzEM PART IV Rethinking solutions: from an international perspective 173 10 Can place-based network contracting foster decent work in informal segments of global garment chains? Lessons from Mewat, India 175 MEENU TEWARI 11 Emerging solutions to the global labor transparency problem 192 kOHL GILL AND AYUSH kHANNA 12 Fast fashion, production targets, and gender-based violence in Asian garment supply chains 207 SHIkHA SILLIMAN BHATTACHARJEE PART V A way forward 229 13 The evolving politics of labor standards in Bangladesh: taking stock and looking forward 231 NAILA kABEER Index 261 List of figures 8.1 Government programs since Rana Plaza disaster 138 9.1 Distribution of RMG enterprises (%) 151 9.2 Distribution of employment in RMG enterprises (%) 151 9.3 Contractual relationship between suppliers and buyers (%) 152 9.4 Size-wise problems per factory 153 9.5 Year-wise problems according to establishment year 154 9.6 Progress status of electrical problems in first and second reviews 156 9.7 Progress status of fire problems in first and second reviews 156 9.8 Progress status of structural problems in first and second reviews 157 9.9 Distribution of workers according to their academic qualifications 160 11.1 Stakeholders in a typical apparel supply chain 196 11.2 Proposed theory of change 200
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