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Workers in garment factories in Bangladesh, which have reopened despite a nationwide coronavirus lockdown, have said their lives are being put at risk as they are forced to return to work in cramped conditions where mask-wearing and physical distancing are not enforced.
Directives by the Bangladesh government stated that garment factories, which supply some of the biggest brands in the world and produce 84% of the country’s total exports, would be allowed to resume operations, but only if they maintain physical distancing and the ban on public transportation.
However, speaking to the Guardian, workers at garment factories in the industrial areas of Gazipur and Ashulia, on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka, said the only new measure was hand-washing at the entrance, and that no physical distancing measures had been enforced inside the factories. Overcrowded buses were bringing them into work. Many said they had been worried about returning to the factories, but had no choice, fearing they would lose their jobs.
One 19-year-old, who irons clothes in a garment factory in Ashulia, said workers had to go on strike to get the bare minimum protective measures of hand-washing stands and reusable masks.
“We resumed working last Sunday and on the first day, there was no change in the factory,” he said. “I saw in the news that they promised protective gear like masks and social distancing, but our factory didn’t give us anything. We paid for masks from our own pocket,” he said.
“We just wash hands once while entering to the factory, that’s it,” he added, shaking his head in disbelief. “And there’s no social distancing or anything of that sort. Everything is exactly as before.”
A 20-year-old machine operator, Shefaul, said the garment factory owners were trying to “deceive” workers.
“We know things are getting worse,” said Islam. “People are falling sick even inside the factories during work hours. But the management tells us that everything is safe and completely under control, which is a blatant lie.” The Guardian could not verify which clothing brands the factory was supplying.
The decision to reopen the garment factories has been a divisive one. While there is still a relatively low number of coronavirus cases in Bangladesh – about 10,000, with only 187 deaths – the country has one of the lowest testing rates in the world.
Meanwhile the garment industry is the country’s single biggest revenue generator, worth about $34bn and employing more than 4 million people in 4,500 factories. But it has been hit brutally by coronavirus, already losing $3.5bn in cancelled or suspended clothing orders from brands including Topshop, Asda, Urban Outfitters, Sports Direct, New look and Peacocks in the past two months.
The dozens of Bangladesh factories supplying Debenhams are in particularly dire straits after the coronavirus downturn sent the department store into administration and unable to pay for millions of pounds worth of ordered garments now sitting in factories and ports. According to suppliers in Dhaka, the chain has requested an “unaffordable” discount on some of the goods sitting in ports.
In a statement, Debenhams said: “Like all fashion retailers, we have had to make some very tough decisions in relation to our supply chain. We are trying to deal with all those affected as fairly and openly as possible. As we have said, suppliers who continue to work with us during our administration period will be paid to terms.”
The financial brunt of the cancellations and withheld payments has been borne by the workers, with more than 150,000 denied their wages in March. After the factories initially halted production in mid-March, thousands of workers took to the streets to protest that they were starving.
It was this pressure to revive the garment industry, as well as to prevent orders going to factories in Vietnam or Cambodia instead, that led to the decision to reopen the factories at the end of April, with more than 1,000 now back in operation.
Workers wearing face masks in a Dhaka garment factory, 2 May 2020. Photograph: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP via Getty Images
But Sarwer Hossain, a workers’ rights leader based in the Savar district of Dhaka, said the decision to reopen the factories without enforcing proper safety measures was putting the lives of hundreds of thousands of garment workers, their families and communities in grave danger.
“You can see with your own eyes how crowded the place is,” said Hossain, gesturing at the bustling roads and marketplace around the factories. “It’s even more crammed inside. The majority of the reopened factories didn’t take adequate social distancing or other preventive measures. Only a handful of factories I’ve visited have disinfectant booths and proper temperature checks at gates and provided face shields, gloves and frequent hand washing.”
Ayesha, 24, a machine operator, spoke of her fear of being back at work but said she “had no other option”.
“When my line chief called and asked me to start working again, I asked him: ‘Why are you doing this? Do you want to get us killed?’” said Ayesha. “He told me if we don’t show the world the factory is ready and working, the orders will go to Vietnam, Cambodia or some other places and eventually we will all be kicked out of our jobs anyway.
“I am not scared of dying,” she added. “But I’m worried if I become the carrier of the virus to my family. I won’t be able to forgive myself.”
