Bangladesh: Workers' Rights Advocates Are "Enemies of the State"

This week, a new monthly minimum wage of $43 is taking effect in Bangladesh. But despite the bump, Bangladeshi garment workers remain among the lowest paid workers in the world. That is why they took to the streets this summer to demand at least $72 per month. But their protests were met with severe repression from the government of Bangladesh, and the resulting wage compromise keeps garment workers in poverty. It's the continued attacks on those who speak out, though, which pose the most critical challenges to advocating for improvements within Bangladesh.

The leaders of the Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity (BCWS) were among those branded "enemies of the nation" and targeted by the government for their efforts to ensure decent conditions for workers earlier this year. Change.org readers joined labor rights supporters around the world in speaking out against the arrests of Kalpona Akter, Babul Akhter, and Aminul Islam from BCWS, and the pressure eventually led to their release. However, these brave advocates are still facing trumped up charges and their organization's legal status has not been reinstated.

A new report from SweatFree Communities titled Enemies of the Nation or Human Rights Defenders: Fighting Poverty Wages in Bangladesh highlights the need for continued international solidarity to protect human rights advocates in Bangladesh. As the report states:

Unless the baseless charges against BCWS leaders are withdrawn and the organization’s legitimate function as a human rights defender is restored, efforts to address the pervasive labor rights abuses in Bangladesh’s garment sector will be crippled. The chilling message would be that garment manufacturers can, with impunity, violate the basic rights of their workers and orchestrate the imprisonment of advocates who seek to help workers address these abuses.

The report also goes into detail about the conditions that organizations like BCWS are seeking to change, from low wages to long hours to incredibly unsafe working conditions.

Change.org readers have already made a significant contribution to the struggle of human rights advocates in Bangladesh, but it's clear that our work is not done yet. You can support BCWS by signing the updated petition on Change.org and encouraging your friends to join you. After that, be sure to sign this Change.org petition to ask Walmart to stop exploiting workers in Bangladesh. Finally, visit SweatFree Communities to tell other major companies to use their significant influence to improve conditions for workers in Bangladesh.

Your actions have already made a difference and together we can keep adding to our victories!

Photo credit: International Labor Rights Forum (with permission)