JOURNAL PAPER

Ashadullah, Md., State of Compliance of Bangladesh's Readymade Garment Industry during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Pathway to Future Challenges, Jahangirnagar University Journal of Management Research, 6, pp.103-117, 2023. doi: http://doi.org/10.59185/jujmr.v6i1.12

Abstract: The readymade garment (RMG) industry is the backbone of Bangladesh's economy, accounting for over 80% of the country's export earnings, which employs over 4 million workers. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the industry's operations due to supply chain disturbances, reduced consumer demand, and factory closures. This study aims to investigate the state of compliance of the Bangladesh RMG industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on encountering future challenges. This study surveyed 100 RMG workers to evaluate the 36 compliance issues the government of Bangladesh has already termed as the most important for the industry. The study used a combination of primary and secondary data sources. The study showed that occupational health and safety issues during the COVID-19 pandemic were fantastic, where some issues, including working hours, payment of wages, and conditions of service, were identified as significant non-compliant issues that required further improvement. The findings of this research will provide insights into the challenges and opportunities for the Bangladesh RMG industry in the post-pandemic era and provide some policy guidelines as a pathway to face upcoming challenges.

Keywords: Compliance, RMG, COVID-19, Workplace Safety, Labor Standards

Ashadullah, M., & Oda, H., Investigation on Compliance in Ready-made Garment Factories in Bangladesh, BUFT Journal of Business and Economics, 2, pp.1–19., 2021.

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of the study is to examine the compliance situation of Bangladesh's ready-made garment (RMG) factories. Methodology: For the analysis, survey data was collected from 88-export oriented RMG factories in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, and surrounding districts, including Gazipur and Narayanganj. Two workers from each factory were interviewed to explore the factory’s compliance status. The interviews took place from August to September 2019. The survey questionnaire used the main questions from the compliance assessment tool developed by the International Labor Organization, which contains various issues in compliance with international standards and national legislation. Findings: The study found that Bangladesh's RMG factories' compliance situation, especially the working environment, is improving. However, a highest level of non-compliance has been found in some areas such as trade union issues, payment of overtime, voluntary overtime issues, regular working time, leave facilities, and so on. Hence, significant improvement in these compliance issues is necessary. Limitations: This study has focused on the compliance issues of RMG factories from the workers' perspective. Hence, there is a scope for further study to measure the compliance situation of the RMG factories from the viewpoint of stakeholders. Practical Implication: This study discloses significant aspects of the compliance status of Bangladeshi RMG factories. The findings will provide inputs for policy design aimed at improving the factories’ compliance situation with the international standards. Originality: This study is particularly focused on compliance issues by using ILO formulated assessment tools and one of the studies in the area of Bangladesh RMG factories.

Keywords: Compliance, Labor Standard, Working Environment, Ready-made Garment Industry, Bangladesh

 

Ashadullah, M., An Analysis of Market Positioning and Competitiveness of Bangladesh’s Ready-Made Garment (RMG) Sector: Issues for Export Sustainability, Journal of Regional Information and Development, 10, pp.1–14, 2021.

Abstract:

The purposes of this study are to examine the market position of Bangladesh’s ready-made garment (RMG) products in world exports and analyze its competition with newcomers. Data used are from the Standard International Trade Classification Revision 3 of the United Nations Comtrade database (UN Comtrade) for the period from 2000 to 2015. The empirical analysis employed the method of market positioning matrix (MPM) (Lall and Weiss, 2004) to assess the current position of RMG commodities in the world market, and the normalized revealed comparative advantage (NRCA) index (Yu et al., 2009) to examine international competition with newcomers. The analysis identified that Bangladesh’s top three RMG commodities are “achievers in adversity,” meaning that the export shares of these commodities in the global market increased during this period, even though the growth of the markets for these commodities was stagnant. This implies that the scope for further export expansion of these commodities is limited. The study also reveals that new entrants such as Vietnam and Cambodia have rapidly increased their export shares and their export competitiveness of RMG products. Since the market of the above RMG commodities is not growing faster and newcomers are increasing their competitiveness, this raises a question about the export sustainability of Bangladesh’s RMG commodities. To maintain its position in the global market, Bangladesh’s RMG sector should develop and export higher value-added RMG commodities. Since Bangladesh’s exports depend heavily on limited RMG products, the fall of RMG exports will be detrimental not only to Bangladesh’s export earnings but also to its national economy. Export diversification is absolutely necessary; hence, adequate policies should be implemented.

Keywords: Market Positioning, Export Sustainability, International Competition

Ashadullah, M., An Empirical Analysis of the Competitiveness of the Bangladesh Ready-made Garment Sector: The Impact of the MFA Phase-out and the Rana Plaza Collapse on Export Competitiveness, Policy Science, 28(1), 79–95, 28, 1, pp.79–95, 2020.

Abstract

The objective of this study is to examine the competitiveness of the Bangladesh ready-made garment (RMG) sector. Specifically, it analyzes how the competitiveness of the top five RMG commodities was affected by two events: the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA) phase-out in 2004 and the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013. The RMG sector is the most important contributor to the Bangladesh economy since its beginnings in the early 1980s. At present, Bangladesh is the world’s second largest RMG-exporting country, behind China. The top five RMG commodities accounted for more than 80% of the country’s total exports in 2015. Currently, the sector employs over 4 million workers, with the majority being women who migrated from rural areas. This employment has contributed to the reduction of rural poverty. Thus, it is critically important for the Bangladesh economy to maintain its competitiveness in the export of RMG to the world market. The empirical analysis employs the normalized revealed comparative advantage (NRCA) index, which is built on Balassa’s revealed comparative advantage (RCA) index (Balassa, 1965). Data were obtained from the UN Comtrade and classified by the three-digit level of the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) revision 3 for the period from 1995 to 2015. Empirical evidence reveals that the top five RMG commodities achieved significant competitiveness in terms of the NRCA value and export share.They continue to remain competitive in the world market even after the MFA phase-out and the Rana Plaza collapse. The study also confirms the significant presence of Bangladesh’s RMG sector in the world market. After discussing the status of the Bangladesh RMG sector in the world market, some policies for maintaining competitiveness are presented.

Keywords: Competitiveness, MFA phase-out, Rana Plaza collapse, Normalized Revealed Comparative Advantage
(NRCA), Bangladesh RMG

Ahamed, Md. Mourtuza, Ashadullah M., & Hossain, Sumona, Employee Empowerment: A Study on its Impact on Organizational Effectiveness of Few Selected Banks in Khulna District., Jahangirnagar University Journal of Management Research, 1, pp.71-88, 2018.
Hossen, Md. Miraj, Ashadullah M., & Islam, Rashedul, Green Human Resource Management Practices in Bangladesh: A Study on the Banking Sector, The Jahangirnagar Journal of Business Studies, 7, 1, pp.81-98, 2018.

---

CONFERENCE PAPER

Ashadullah, M., An Empirical Analysis of the Competitiveness of the Bangladesh Ready-made Garment Sector: The Impact on the Competitiveness of MFA Phase-out and Rana Plaza Collapse, The 33rd Japanese Association for South Asian Studies Annual Conference, Japan, October 3-4, 2020..

---