Bangladesh: The True Cost of Cheap Commodities

Often times in developed countries such as the Unites States, we don’t stop to think of where or how the things we buy are made. We simply purchase  and enjoy, without thinking of the consequences. Companies, in turn, take our ignorance as freedom to do as they please. They move factories to developing countries where they pay workers little to nothing, avoid health code regulations, and take advantage of poor human rights laws. This is a global health issue and an inequity. Therefore it is important for us to consider these issues, not as their issues, but as  ours. An excellent way to do this is to consider the Millennium Development Goals. The two goals that are most relevant to the discussion of  cheap commodities are Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, as well as Promoting gender equality and empowering women (http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/) When considering the scope of problems facing the global community, workers’ safety may not seem as pressing an issue as the HIV/AIDS epidemic or other high-profile health concerns. Yet, every human life is valuable and no violation of human rights and well being is insignificant. It is important to have a global perspective because what happens in developing countries is a reflection of how social determinants of health impact individuals as well as the global community. We all like paying $5 for a T-shirt, and turn a blind eye to it’s true cost.

Currently there are about 3.6 million people who are working in Bangladesh’s clothing industry (Wohl, 2013).  Six months ago there was a collapse of a factory in Bangladesh, killing 1,127 people (Bloomberg, 2013). There has been talk of having each of these factories inspected, but people cannot agree with how that inspection should look (Bloomberg, 2013).  

Rana Plaza collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh (Bloomberg, 2013).  

North American members of the alliance to inspect factories have started some factory inspections, an estimate of about 50% of these factories have been inspected (Wohl, 2013).  Though 50% is an improvement, there is still a long way to go before the working conditions in Bangladesh should be considered “acceptable”. As long as factories go uninspected, there will be workers’ lives lost and in danger.

Of the 3.5 million people who work in Bangladesh factories, 85% are women (Metcalf, 2013). Impoverished and financially unstable, these women agree to work in any conditions in order to support their families and try to escape poverty. With extremely limited job opportunities, poor Bangladeshi women consider themselves fortunate to be earning income, even if it means working 16 hours a day without a day off in conditions that are not suitable for any human being.  According to Mushamat Sokina Begum, a survivor of the recent factory building collapse in Bangladesh, several hundred workers were compacted in a room with only four small air conditioning units. Some of the workers smoked and cooked food in the same room, since they were not allowed to take any breaks or even have a moment to take a few breaths of fresh air. Not only are these workers constantly being subjected to verbal abuse and pressure from the management, but from time to time they have to endure physical abuse as well (Ornstein, 2013). The salary is so meager that it only allows them to get by from paycheck to paycheck, with no prospect of saving extra for unexpected expenses. Frequently, the factory owners delay the paychecks by a month or two, leaving people without any means of sustaining themselves. “Why should I be envious of rich people?” said Sokina Begum, “I don’t expect to be rich one day. But we should at least receive our wages on time” (Ornstein, 2013). 

This is a detrimental problem in Bangladesh factories, and greatly affects the safety of  factory workers. Poor conditions, building collapses and fires ravage their way through the country destroying more than lives. Since 2006 alone, more than 600 workers have been injured in a factory fire and hundreds more have been injured (http://www.laborrights.org/sweatshop-fires-in-bangladesh). These preventable fires are due to inadequate fire protection. Companies cut costs by having “exit doors” that don't actually work and fail to provide fire fighting tools (http://www.laborrights.org/sweatshop-fires-in-bangladesh). This clearly impacts the workers health. Even those that survive the fire are often injured. Second and third degree burns, carbon dioxide poisoning, and other physical injuries that can occur in this traumatic experience are all very serious and could be life threatening. Injuries such as these can keep people out of work for months. This means little to no income, no way to support oneself or family, and inability to afford adequate health care to treat those injuries. There are also mental health issues that come with working in conditions such as these. The anxiety of putting one's life in danger every day is crippling. Yet to not go to work would mean letting your family go hungry. This creates chronic anxiety which has extremely negative impacts on the body and can cause physical health problems. As long as there are poor safety and working conditions in Bangladesh factories, there will be poor health in the working community.

Before more workers are lost or hurt in situations like these, Bangladesh must improve garment factory working conditions. Building collapses, fires, bad conditions, poor treatment to workers, low payments and communicable and non-communicable diseases (since they are working in poorly-ventilated, cramped environments, they are at increased risk of getting diseases from sick other workers) all lead to decreased quality of life. However, things can be done to improve this. First, companies should have reasonable working space/stations with clean cloths to protect workers from unseen disease and chemicals. Second, they should develop plans to fix hazardous problems in order to prevent fire and other chemical leaks. Last but not least, they should increases wages, because about 76% of people are living with $2.00 of income per day (VOA, 2013)- especially those who work in garment factories . Moreover, they should be training workers to be able to respond adequately in emergency situations. In order to make changes to the above problems, international representatives could come together. An example of this is the UN partnership with industries from Bangladesh, since most companies are not able to continue their work without buyers’ interference. UN has partnership with Bangladesh’s garment industries to improve working condition of people who work in factories. They plan to increase the safety of companies and also have the program train workers, supervisors and managers to increase workplace safety including prevention of violence (UN News, 2013).   

Garment worker Shulie has now moved to the new, safer factory (Bayley, 2010)

By: Health Junkies, Fall 2013