Pins and needles at the time of a pandemic: Learning from the RMG workers through a rapid survey

15, December 2020 | Bangladesh

Authors:

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the world’s economy and, has been the most pronounced public health disaster since the Spanish Flu which took place just about 100 years ago. The ready-made garment sector, along with the migrant workers, has been one of the major drivers of the socio-economic development of Bangladesh in the last 40 years. The pandemic has put the four million workers and their families between the rock and a very hard place. The closedown of all major economies has halted the retail ac�vi�es there. As a result, most major buyers have either canceled or withheld exis�ng orders placed before the local suppliers. According to the BGMEA data, a total value of RMG export orders cancelled or suspended by global buyers has neared $3.15 billion �ll Monday 13th April, affec�ng 2.26 million RMG workers directly and also s�fling backward linkage industries depending on the sector. On the other hand, Bangladesh is facing rising cases of COVID-19 and this has resulted in sector-wide factory closures, with no certainty when they will be reopened.