Workers Unrest in Garment Industries in Bangladesh: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

The present study was conducted with a view to explore the reasons behind workers’ unrest in garment industries and to suggest measures that may be taken for minimizing these unwanted incidents. It was a combination of qualitative and quantitative data. Data were collected from 120 workers, 40 managers, 4 owners of four garment industries (two experiencing and two not experiencing unrest within last five years), and 3 leaders of owners’ association. Results revealed that the major cause of unrest related to wage and timely payment. The other important reason included unhealthy relationship between workers and managers/supervisors. Production halt, unemployment problem and loss of revenue were the negative impact of unrest. The physical and psychological work environments of factory ‘A’ (having experience of unrest), ‘C’ and ‘D’ (having no experience of unrest) were much better than factory ‘B’, one having experience of unrest. Job satisfaction of workers with respect to job facet of ‘supervision’ differed significantly by industries experiencing unrest and those not experiencing unrest. Based on study findings, some recommendations were made to minimize workers’ unrest in future.

Keywords: Workers’ Unrest, Garment Industries, Physical Work Environment, Psychological Work Environment and Job Satisfaction

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