Dhaka’s garment workers get new city mayor from own trade

The residents of the Dhaka North City Corporation, a significant number of whom are garment worker, have elected a mayor who is a past president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). Both the garment factory workers and owners had joined hands to get ‘their own man’ elected as head of the city council, who promised to help improve the lives of poor workers living in the city.

In his election manifesto, Mr Annisul Huq, owner of the Mohammadi Group, one of Bangladesh's leading garments manufacturers, has pledged to set up low-cost residences for workers of garment factories and other industrial units.

Mr Huq’s garment units presently have over 8,000 workers and the company now produces over 500,000 pieces of woven garments and 250,000 pieces of sweaters a month. His customers include many world renowned brands like H&M, C&A, Zara, Esprit, Sears, Wal-Mart and Target. The overly crowded city of Dhaka is home to two million garment workers, who contribute directly to earning nearly 80 percent of foreign currency for Bangladesh.

Mr Huq served the BGMEA in different capacities over a decade and is known as a very dynamic person and change-maker. He was also president of the country’s apex trade body, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI). Bangladesh is the second largest garment manufacturer in the world after China and exports good worth around 24 billion US dollars. It has set the target to raise its garment export value to 50 billion US dollars by 2021 when the country celebrates the golden jubilee of its independence. The sector currently employs 3.5 million workers of whom 80 percent are women.

New city mayor for Dhaka's garment workers

Jewel Mia, a garment factory worker in the city’s Badda area, told FashionUnited that Mr Huq has been involved in the trade for many years. He knows the agony of low paid workers and has tried to resolve some of the issues when he was serving the BGMEA as president and in many other capacities. “We spend almost half of our monthly wages on accommodation. So we struggle to cope with increased living costs as we get a poor salary. The new mayor has pledged low-cost accommodation for us. That’s why we campaigned and voted him,” said Jewel Mia.

Another garment worker, Arifur Rahman of the city’s Gulshan area, said that Dhaka was an overcrowded city with everyday newcomers taking refuge here from the countryside. Many of these people also join garment factories to find a livelihood. “We are hopeful that Mr Huq will be able to arrange low-cost accommodation for us and help us newcomers to survive,” he said, adding that none of the former mayors from other sectors did anything for garment workers in the past.

Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, former president of the BGMEA, told FashionUnited over the phone that the country's business community extended 'whole-hearted support to Mr Huq for his election' since he is a ‘self-made man with a clean image’. “I think, as a former president of BGMEA and FBCCI, he will be able to significantly contribute to the garment sector as well as for the society,” he said.

Mr Mohiuddin said the BGMEA is building a low-cost dormitory for garment workers in collaboration with the Chittagong Development Authority, another city council in the country’s commercial capital. “We will also build such low-cost accommodation for garment workers in Dhaka with the help of Mr Huq,” he said. “We will also appeal to the newly elected mayor to arrange for a subsidised transportation system for garment workers.”

Siddiqur Rahman, former vice president of the BGMEA, said: “It’s a good news for us that we got a new mayor from our own sector. After serving our sector, he has now got a big platform to serve the city dwellers. I think he will also contribute to help further improve the sector’s conditions.”

By: Syful Islam, Dhaka