Editorial
Exploitation of RMG workers continues
That numerous garment factories continue to exploit their workers and that the relevant authorities act in a rather adverse manner to these people is evident from the reports published in New Age on Tuesday. The reports point out that a good number of factories still do not abide by the tripartite agreement that provides for appointment letters, regular payment of overtime and wages by the first week of every month, maternity leave and weekly overtime among other things. These factories also do not abide by the minimum wage as decided upon by a commission which was allegedly manipulated to favour the owners in the first place. As if exploitation by the owners were not enough, the law enforcers seem hostile to the workers as well; the recent unrest at Uttara is a glaring example. While the garment workers took to the streets demanding arrears for three months and subsequent clashes with the law enforcers led to the death of one female worker, the police have lodged cases against hundreds of factory workers. We do acknowledge that there are many compliant factories; however, as recurrent protests by workers suggest and surveys by labour rights organisations point out, the number of aberrant factories is quite formidable.
The garment industry remains a lifeline for the country, in terms of foreign exchange earnings as well as the large number of employment that it generates, especially for women, who account for about 90 per cent of the two million people directly employed in the sector. Thus, it becomes the responsibility of the government to regulate the industry and ensure that laws and regulations are followed as far as the factory workers’ interest is concerned, which is essential for sustainable growth and bright future of the sector. We would like to remind the government of its stern warning issued to the owners’ association of the garment factories that legal action would be initiated if factories do not abide by the 10-point agreement or the minimum wage structure. We only expect that the government would follow up its warning with an equally stern action against the aberrant factory owners.
We also point out that garment manufacturers and exporters association, the owners’ club, which generally defends its members, have lost their moral right to do so, especially when the comments of a former vice president of the manufacturers’ association quite clearly points to his non-compliance as well. It has become a moral and professional responsibility of the association to ensure that all factories abide by the rules and themselves recommend stern measures against those that do not.
As we have repeatedly mentioned in these columns, a sustainable and robust garment industry can only be ensured with good industrial relations that have remained absent in this sector for long, especially because the workers are actively discouraged to form unions that can bargain for their rights and privileges to begin with.
Free primary education is not free
Primary education which is expected to be free and compulsory is not yet compulsory in this country and, in practical terms, it is not free either. This is equally true in respect of government primary schools. The improved rate of enrolment and progress in achieving gender parity which were demonstrated as developmental milestones might come to nothing if primary education cannot be made truly free, and dropout rate remains as high as it is. As enrolment is not universal, it can be presumed that those left out are the underprivileged and those who drop out are mostly the underprivileged too. Though in theory government primary schools are free guardians have to spend money to keep their children in school.
A report by the Education Watch Bangladesh and the Campaign for Popular Education, as cited in a news item in yesterday’s New Age, estimates that a household has to spend Tk 2,544 a year for giving government primary education to a child and it has to spend around Tk 900 less if it opts for community primary school. Significantly, public spending on a government primary school student is Tk 1,766 a year, which is less than what is spent on a student by her or his family.
It is clear that if there is no school fee it does not follow that education is free. Guardians have to spend on books and exercise books, school uniform and other charges. In theory primary school textbooks are also free but all students do not get the books free and on time. Although sale of these books in the market is prohibited, a section of publishers in collaboration with some district-level government officials and some unscrupulous traders illegally send the books to the market, it is alleged. It was also reported sometime ago that a syndicate of traders and National Textbook and Curriculum Board-enlisted publishers were managing the illegal trading in textbooks. The high dropout out rate among the poor students is therefore not surprising. As was noted by the economist Kholiquzzaman Ahmed, the poor standard of primary education in Bangladesh was due to massive corruption and weak administration.
The statistics on enrolment, dropout, etc gives no idea about the quality of teaching. More sincerity and devotion are expected from teachers to raise quality of education at the primary level. Teachers and school administration must be made accountable for the high rate of dropout. Many other deficiencies are to be addressed. One reason for the poor quality of teaching may be that school time in our schools in terms of hours per year is the lowest in Asia — 440 hours for classes 1 and 2, and 720 for classes 3 to 5. In all the regional countries schools run for longer hours and for more days in a year. It may not be possible to extend school hours as schools are run in two shifts but holidays and vacations can, of course, be curtailed in order to make it up.
High on promises, low on return
Immediately after its installation, hot on the heels of the proclamation of a state of emergency, the military-backed interim government talked tall about introducing rule of law, governance and transparency, which, it said, would ensure social and economic justice for the people at large and lead towards not just economic growth but also development of the nation. Four months on, it has very little to show
for, writes Tanim Ahmed
THERE was a general sigh of relief when the military-backed interim government assumed office on January 12, after the proclamation of a state of emergency the day before, although fundamental rights of the people had been suspended. There was a general aspiration that the interim government of Fakhruddin Ahmed would institute sweeping reforms and put things on the right track and that a better democratic polity would come about, as an anti-corruption drive by the military and police forces had began simultaneously.
The interim government, besides reinstating the rule of law, eliminating corruption and nepotism, was expected to prepare a credible voters roll and make the Election Commission genuinely independent and neutral as it had become quite controversial. Indeed, in his first address to the nation on January 21, Fakhruddin outlined a number of goals for his government that also included combating crime and controlling prices of essential commodities.
It was expected that the drive against black money, corruption and crime would lead to a peaceful society where the rule of law would prevail and justice for the people would be ensured. In a civilised society improvement in the lives of the masses can only be measured by the effect state policies have on the lives of the most deprived. The advancement of civilisations is marked by its respect for the individual and the military-backed regime’s performance must also be judged by its ability to accommodate even the rarest exception, or benefit the poorest individual or the most persecuted community. The achievements of this government should then be measured in terms of its effect on the poorest lot, both in terms of social and economic justice.
That two key figures of the current regime, its chief adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed and the chief of army staff, Lieutenant General Moeen U Ahmed, have both, at least on the surface, stated their belief and commitment to ensuring both. They have asserted their position to advocate poverty reduction and more importantly to reduction of disparity and inequity. Both have stressed on eliminating the omnipresent corrosive corruption that is also destroying the social fabric and moral values.
Fakhruddin stated his government’s commitment to controlling the prices of essential commodities and fighting corruption, among a rather long to-do list, in his very first address to the nation on January 21, within nine days of assuming office. He also called for an end to disparity, speaking at the inauguration of the month-long book fair, Ekushey Boi Mela, on February 1. Moeen, during his much-analysed, much-discussed and much-controversial speech of April 2 at a conference of political scientists, recognised that one had to strive to overcome economic inequalities. He had begun his speech by saying that the path to freedom and development was not an easy one. He said poor governance of the political regimes had thwarted economic growth, and had it not been for this pathetic state of affairs, income per capita would have broken the $1,000 barrier, if not at least reaching double the current level of a lowly $482. He claimed that the $1,000-mark was still attainable by dint of the reforms being initiated by the interim government.
Taken together their speeches imply the military-backed regime’s commitment to the rule of law, good governance and transparency by fighting corruption and combating crime. This would in turn presumably ensure social and economic justice for the people at large and thus lead towards not just economic growth but also development of the nation. Given the state of emergency where the fundamental human rights — freedom of speech, association, movement, thoughts or even conscience — are suspended and given the government’s commitment, its four months have hardly shown any result thus far. If anything, a host of decisions of the current regime have increased the misery and suffering of the general populace instead of making their lives better.
While food remains among the universally accepted human rights, and while the government itself is constitutionally obligated to ensure food for the people — besides shelter, clothing, security, education and employment among others — food prices have consistently increased. According a report, published in New Age on May 11, inflation reached 7.43 per cent in March from 5.94 per cent in January. Experts predicted that it would continue to rise further, eroding the real income of the people which had not increased accordingly. Some of them have suggested that the real inflation might actually be closer to the double digits. According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, prices of all essential food items have increased in the four months since the military-backed regime took over. The only exceptions in this case were sugar, red chilli and onion.
Prices of essentials have been among the major concerns for a few years now. The last elected government, run by the BNP-Jamaat alliance, fired three commerce ministers for their failure to control the prices of essential items. But the crux of the problem, traders’ syndicates, remained untouched. It became all the more evident after Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, the third commerce minister of the BNP-led government, took office on April 26 last year. With two of his predecessors given the sack for the same reason, Hafiz immediately pledged to rein in the essentials’ prices within a month. That did not happen.
When he failed, Hafiz changed his tone and pointed out that powerful syndicates were manipulating the prices. In fact, prices, according to newspaper reports, soared by up to 60 per cent within three months of his taking office. Hafiz also thought that the finance ministry should act on the matter as it was the competent authority to recommend a reduction of import tariffs, which Saifur Rahman, the finance minister at the time, dismissed by saying that tariff reduction was not really effective. Instead, he suggested that the syndicates were the main problem and should be dealt with. Hafiz had also mentioned publicly that the syndicates had been identified by the intelligence agencies and the relevant departments would be directed to take up the matter but later changed his position and suggested yet another addition to the elephantine cabinet of the previous government, saying there should be a separate ministry overseeing the prices of essentials.
According to the Daily Star of May 18, a report of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, a research organisation, based on records of the National Board of Revenue, found that a strong cartel accounted for a substantial share of the imports. The report said the top five importers accounted for importing 96 per cent raw sugar, 46 per cent refined sugar, 67 per cent crude soybean oil, 60 per cent crude palm oil, 49 per cent wheat, 37 per cent rice, 31 per cent lentil, and 31 per cent onion of national imports till March of this fiscal year. While the centre’s report did not mention any names, a number of reports in other newspapers have done so.
Presumably the previous elected government could not take any action against the cartels due to their proximity with influential political quarters. Although the current government has committed itself to engender the plight of the general populace, it has yet to show any results as regards food prices. The current situation also implies the incumbents’ ignorance about the existence of the syndicates, which would be ridiculous to presume. Obviously then, one has to presume that the military-backed regime is unwilling to act against the syndicates and thereby rein in food prices.
Among the first moves that the regime undertook was a massive demolition drive on illegal structures. The slums and squatters were demolished rendering thousands of poor people homeless in a matter of days defying a High Court ruling against such a move. Many of the residents there claimed that they had not even been notified of the drive in advance. Coupled with the demolition drive, came the eviction drive of hawkers from the pavements, which in turn deprived thousands more of their means of livelihood. It remains clear that the government did not have any plans to rehabilitate the large number of people who would lose their shelters and livelihoods as a result of the two drives undertaken by the army-led joint forces. While the shanties and roadside stalls were razed to the ground or summarily evicted, large concrete buildings, erected on controversially acquired government land or those violating construction codes stand tall, making a mockery of the entire exercise.
Apparently, the agencies and forces engaged in the demotion and eviction drives do not possess the required equipment to demolish some structures. According to recent reports, another court injunction is apparently the reason behind the current regime’s inability to demolish certain buildings although there is no lack of intent. That the military-backed incumbents chose to defy one court injunction and respect another, especially when it concerns the interests of two different classes of people, only betrays its preference for the status quo of the elites, which clearly contradicts the pronouncements of the key office-bearers of the current regime.
Another initiative that the current regime took up as soon as it assumed office was fighting corruption and taking action against patrons of crime and black money holders. It must have been as part of this mission that high-profile politicians and businesspeople with close political ties were rounded up and sent to jail. Although there had been much talk about rigorous investigation into their personal finances and source of funds, there have hardly been any cases incriminating the individuals directly. Meanwhile, these high-profile individuals have been charged with extortion of large sums of money, which common sense suggests should be difficult to prove in the court of law. Common sense also suggests that extortion from individuals is only a miniscule portion of the misdeeds that the politicians or those close to them had done during different political regimes.
It was naturally expected with the anti-corruption drive of the incumbents and the activities surrounding the National Revenue Board that tax evasion would be strongly discouraged with compelling examples by way of heavy penalties. That has hardly been the case. According to a report in the Bangla daily Ittefaq, the current government is faced with a large revenue shortfall before the declaration of budget. In fact, revenue collection is expected to fall short of even the revised target, which was reduced by 20 per cent. The report says tax collection has decreased by 27 per cent, which would require heavy domestic borrowing. The pathetically low ratio of tax compared to the GDP has been a major problem for successive governments. Their failure to significantly increase the tax net, due to political compulsions, has also been a major impediment, which the apparently apolitical military-backed incumbent should not have but appears to have nonetheless.
While indirect taxes, mostly in the form of value-added tax, have increased in volume direct taxes, in the form of income tax, have remained comparatively low. Indirect taxes, paid by the population at large, regardless of their wealth, are expected to contribute 21 per cent while direct taxes, paid by the rich depending upon their income, are expected to pay only 12 per cent of the government’s expenditure (budget for 2006-07).
Default loan collection has dramatically increased, with the help of an initiative taken up by the army-led joint forces, as reported in Shamokal on May 11. The report said default loan collection has increased by 100 per cent for some banks between January and March compared to one year ago but the rate of increase was more like 30 and 70 per cent over that of last year. Although it might be a welcome news on the surface, leading one to think that filthy rich loan defaulters are finally paying up at the sight of olive green fatigue, it turns out from the report that an overwhelming proportion of the amount collected is from small entrepreneurs and farmers while the large loan defaulters have hid behind their court stay orders.
Between January 1 and April 15, the Sonali Bank recovered Tk 196 crore in default loans, says the report. But the top 40 loan defaulters only paid Tk 2.07 crore, while agriculture loans, mostly small loans, accounted for Tk 92 crore. During the same period, the Janata Bank recovered Tk 105 crore but failed to collect a penny from its top 20 defaulters. The Agrani Bank collected Tk 175 crore, in which the top 20 defaulters paid Tk 2.26 crore and agricultural loans accounted for Tk 82 crore. The Rupali Bank collected Tk 28.60 crore, in which the top 20 paid Tk 38 lakh but Tk 15 crore came from default agricultural loans.
It is painfully obvious that the brunt of the default loan collection drive, aided by the military, has been borne by quarters that are the poorest, while the richest sections have been allowed to hide behind their legal instruments and no visible pressure has been mounted against them to pay up. The preference to favour the elite and further persecute the poorer sections is once again clear.
As for agriculture, the previous boro season witnessed a typical fertiliser crisis across Bangladesh which elicited an equally typical response from Geetiara Safiya Chowdhury, the adviser in charge of industries, claiming that the crisis was media hype, and not as acute as was reported. While there were no major complaints regarding power supply for irrigation during the peak agricultural season, more recent reports indicate that the power supply to rural areas outside the major metropolises remains low and the suburban townships spend most of the time during the day and night without power up to 12 hours every day.
Power generation, as has been pointed out and accepted, cannot be increased overnight. But a report in the Daily Star indicates that the current regime’s initiative may not pay off and might in fact be subject to similar foul play as before. The report states that power sector tenders are restricted to 33 companies that had pre-qualified in January 2006, during the tenure of the previous BNP-led government, and allegedly includes one Orion Power Company Ltd of the Orion Group, owned by the ‘scamster’ Obaidul Karim.
On April 21 the military-backed incumbent regime cancelled two-year-old tenders for nine small independent power plants totalling 190 megawatts and asked the authorities to float new tenders because their had been questions regarding the transparency in the tendering process. But similar questions do remain regarding the transparency and rationale of the new tendering process.
While power generation remains low with frequent load shedding the current regime is making preparations to increase power tariff for a second time within two months, presumably at the behest of the multilateral lending agencies that are planning to fund large power projects in Bangladesh.
According to a new proposal of the Power Division, as reported in New Age on May 16, the power prices would increase by almost 27 per cent for those consuming up 100 units a month, but the increase would only be seven per cent for those consuming between 101 and 400 units, and 4.4 per cent for those consuming over 400 units per month. Whereas the smallest consumers should be cushioned and protected from the sudden power tariff hike, the government is proposing that those very sections should be the ones bearing most of the burden.
That this might in fact become reality with the government ignoring other means to reduce the losses of the power agencies was manifest in the incumbent’s manner of initiating a fuel price hike. On April 2, the very day that Moeen U Ahmed delivered his speech pledging his commitment to overcoming inequalities, New Age reported that the government had decided to increase fuel prices to reduce the losses of the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation without even considering the possibility of eliminating an import tariff of 30 per cent that the corporation pays to the government.
The incumbent had decided to increase kerosene and diesel by 21 per cent while those of octane went up by 15.5 per cent and petrol by 16 per cent. It is common knowledge that diesel is largely used in heavy vehicles and any shift in its prices would readily have an effect on transport fares and cost of transportation for essential commodities, thus increasing the living expenses of the common people. Kerosene is also commonly used by the general populace for a number of household purposes and would also affect their lives adversely. But, on the other hand, octane, which is mostly used by the elite, saw its prices increase by the lowest proportion. The current government’s neglect and apathy towards the poorer sections of the population once again became apparent.
The current regime, however, has not made any visible and worthwhile efforts to generate employment or increase the real income of the poorer sections of the populaces. It appears that the current regime is no better than the politically elected ones that preceded it as far as a slum dweller of Dhaka or a marginal farmer of Chapainawabganj is concerned. The only difference is that before they could protest and bring out processions voice their concerns. Now they cannot.
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