The New Nation - Internet Edition

AS reported in the press, several thousand garment workers were locked in violent clashes with the police force in Tejgaon Industrial Area on Saturday. They injured fifty persons including four police personnel. In addition, they created disturbance in the entire industrial area, where thousands of workers were at work in different factories. The workers of the Nasa Group and the Sepal group at Begunbari in the Tejgaon Industrial Area started demonstrating in front of the factory. They raised demand for increasing allowances for Iftar during current month of Ramzan and for ensuring payment of wages on time.

The overall situation in the garment factories have turned dangerous. Agitating workers have not only stopped production but also damaged the machinery and buildings of factories. They used weapons including bricks and bamboo-sticks to hit management officials and machinery. They even opted for seting fire to stores of finished garment

The agitators stopped the movement of automobiles and barricaded the railway line for hours. The situation turned volatile and the members of the armed forces and the Rapid Action Batalion were deployed by the authorities for tackling the situation. The issues of allowances for Iftar could have been raised in bilateral meetings with the management personnel of factories and resolved with necessary decision taken amicably.

Similar incidents of violent clashes between the industrial workers and their managers and members of law enforcing agencies are taking place in the industrial zones time and again. The owners represented in the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BGMEA) have noted the incidents and presented their version on the labour unrest in garment factories for months. The damages done to the factories were quite heavy and the effect of the damages will be felt in the form of loss of export orders. All concerned including the law-enforcing agencies urged the owners and workers of garment factories to resolve issues like payment of wages and other allowances through bilateral deals.

The assertions of the BGMEA leaders that some quarters have started using the workers to destroy the garment industry have to be taken seriously by the government and dispassionate quarters in the country. Any conspiracy instigated through so-called leaders of the trade unions in the field has to be monitored for necessary action. The uptrend in the investment in garment sector and the increase in export earnings from finished garment are quite impressive. Effective measures have to be taken by the government and the entrepreneurial class for sustaining the growth of the garment sector. Properly motivated workers cannot cause damage to factories and loss of production which may worsen unemployment problems.

THOUSANDS of Bangladeshi workers are forced to work like slaves in different corners of Malaysia. But the officers of the Bangladeshi High Commission in Kuala Lumpur were too sleepy to know that the recruiting agencies neither engaged the workers in regular jobs nor let them come back home. The treatment they were subjected to has been termed as an outright violation of human rights. However, some of the victims had the chance to talk to Bangladeshi TV channels. But neither the Bangladeshi officials in Malaysia nor the authorities of that country came to their rescue. Finding no other way, about 150 workers went on hunger strike in the premises of the Bangladesh High Commission seeking help to take them back to their country.

It was supposed to be a task of the High Commission to look into the problems of the Bangladeshis, talk to the relevant authorities and the recruiting agents to ensure their employment But, instead, the officials allegedly forced them out of the HC premises adding to their sufferings. To look after the Bangladeshi workers is to serve the interests of Bangladesh because the expatriate workers in different countries are the second largest source of foreign exchange after the readymade garement sector. If the High Commission officials had been doing their duties, the problem could have been solved in time.

The government has sent an investigation team to Malaysia to probe the mater and submit a report The delegation was assigned the tasks of taking up the problem with the Malaysian government, ensuring compensation for the workers and making arrangements to bring the stranded ones back. The team has reportedly submited a preliminary report to the government and informed that eighty stranded workers would be given support to return home while the relevant recruiting agency would refund the total money they received from the workers.

The Bangladesh missions in different countries should be asked to regularly monitor and enquire about the well-being of the Bangladeshi workers living in respective countries and take necessary measures if anything goes wrong.

Recently at least 15,000 Bangladeshi workers reportedly lost their jobs abroad as their visas expired and they could not collect air tickets in time. The government may take an overall view of the problem and solve the same under broad policy guidelines instead of addressing it on a piecemeal basis.

Sunita Narain

A journalist recently called me to check if I thought that India had the same food-consumer product record as China. He wanted to know if we face the problems that are plaguing Chinese exports of late: tainted pet food, toxic toothpaste, lead-paint in toys, chemicals in textiles. It got me thinking: of China and of India and more importantly, about the phenomena we call the market The fact is that the US and other parts of the rich world, which are today crying foul about Chinese toxic exports, should have known beter.

They should have known that they were in the business of buying cheap food and cheap consumer products, and that there was something roten with this business. They should have been aware that goods produced in their country are expensive, partly, because they pay for pollution control, surveillance and enforcement of pollution regulations and for new technologies to get rid of newer and newer toxins. So it is in the interest of the rich world to out-source production as it has to feed its ravenous appetite for everything. The economy of the rich world is built on the principle of consuming disposable products-new toys that come with each season or with each new hit movie, and processed food that breaks all pricelines. This madly consuming rich society needs cheap goods for its happiness and to make its economy profitable. But these goods are cheap because the Chinese discount their environment in manufacturing them.

In this market, 'competitive advantage' lies in not paying the price of environmental safety. Then why are we surprised at the recent scandals that exposed toxins in Chinese products. This had to happen sooner than later. Think of the late 1980s, when the US was shocked to find that pesticides it had banned because of their toxicity were finding their way back into food in the country, through imports.

These were the same pesticides that US industries had exported to developing countries, knowing full well that they were illegal and toxic. The circle of poison was complete then, as it is now. The only difference is that this time the exports are not just of materials but of methods of production, which come with incessantly occurring costs to the environment

There is no doubt in my mind that if India is to also become the favourite junk provider of the world-and we are desperate for that-then we will have to do the same. Our competitive advantage, even more than the Chinese who have money to invest in necessary energy and transport infrastructure as well as the power to fix their currency levels in this linked world, will lie in beating down our environmental regulations. The only difference between us and the Chinese is our democracy-that is if we allow it to breathe. Whether Indian industry likes it or not, the internal pressure it gets from consumer and environmental interests is its safety valve.

This pressure is forcing the Indian industry to produce quality food and meet environmental standards, not only for exports but also for sale in domestic markets. It is this, if anything, that distinguishes us from the Chinese, as I said to the journalist who called me. But this pressure will not be able to withstand the desperation to feed the desire for cheap goods in the rich world.

There is also no doubt in my mind that the western world has used environmental safeguards to its advantage-to keep out goods produced in the developing world by claiming that these are unsafe and do not meet stringent quality requirements. Over the years the green stick has been another name for trade protectionism. But it is also clear that the Chinese and the Indians cannot win this game by playing it

It is a game of catch up: who invents the most deadly toxin wins the round. This game works when toxins are invented, used, and found to be deadly. But even as the inventor world stops their use, the toxins are exported to the emerging world-in the name of progress. Now, when the new world uses the same toxin, trade barriers are put up, this time in the name of consumer safety. Not only does the toxin change but even the amount at which a substance is considered a toxin changes.

This requires expensive equipment to test the toxin at minute levels and even more expensive equipment to clean up. In this game of catch-up, the only option is to invest in first producing dirt and then invest in cleaning it up or invest in phasing it out After this, another chemical must be introduced-this is still not qualified to be a toxin but will soon become one. In this business, environmental protection is expensive and never-ending. In this green business, we cannot win.

It is for this reason that we must change the rules, if not the game itself. We cannot keep arguing that our trade advantage lies in undermining environmental safety. We must argue instead that the environment is our competitive advantage. It is our advantage only if we can learn not to discount it but to use it We must build our industry and agriculture by learning from the expensive mistakes made by the western world. We can beat them, not by playing their game of catch-up, but by reinventing our economic pathway.

We can practice agriculture today without first using the toxins that need to be cleaned up later. This will mean reinventing the rules for organic and safe food production. We can produce cheaper goods by cuting out the unnecessary and expensive toxins that will need cleaning up tomorrow. We can close this circle-not the circle of poison but of nectar. It is not just our choice, but our necessity. Let us be clear.

(Sunita Narain is the Editor of the Down To Earth magazine published by the Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi, India)

Md. Masum Billah

As a regular reader of English dailies and being a development worker of Brac central education programme any article regarding social, political or education development hardly escapes my atention and they receive my atentive reading unless I am seriously preoccupied with some other important business. Zaraf Sobhan, the assistant editor of the Daily Star has narrated his visit to two Chinese cities namely Kunming and Dalian and indicated the lessons Bangladesh can learn from China. My visit to Kunming and Beijing in 2005 leads me to endorse the views expressed by Mr. Sobhan. Really Kunming is a city lying only two hours plane journey from Dhaka but gives an impression of lying it many hours away from Dhaka. Sparkling clean, soundless and planned and non-crowded roads will definitely draw the atention of any city dwellers of Dhaka who is constantly bothered about sound pollution and plagued with troublesome and nasty traffic jam. Really a quite changed scenario appeared before our eyes on the way to our hotel from Kuning airport almost western style boys and girls closing each other but nobody bother about them along the city streets which proclaim their specially enhanced beauty with highbred roses and other flowers. Your ear will be pleased to hear the comfortable sounds, not a least bothering or noise will make you disturbed. Hundreds of cars and vehicles run along the city streets but no shrill cry. How is it possible? Cannot the city of Dhaka or our other city metropolitan traffic police follow the device they use? Kunming is nor Europe, precisely Asian part Even then, how they expose so much sophisticated traffic and health-friendly environment? Our environmentalists and police officials, I believe receive training and practical demonstration and visiting opportunities to these health friendly cities. Why don't they try to introduce their device in our cities?

Another thing caught my atention in Kunming that is almost all the houses have been brought under solar energy system. This networking saves the city from experiencing the troublesome and boring load shedding like Dhaka city. I visited one of the biggest banks in Kunming but no crowd came to my sight As soon as we went there to endorse the dollar, immediately it was completed. Not only that, many counters were waiting to offer help. The same thing I witnessed in Beijing as well. The bigger banks with lesser crowd was seen due to their excellent banking system. What about our state owned bank? Waiting hour after hour to make a fifty taka exchange or a bank draft How slow and incompetent banking service they offer even in this age of computer makes us really tired and disgusting. I remember in a state owned bank at Farmagate I went to make a pay order of one hundred taka but I had to wait more than one hour and when I asked them about the cause of their being so slow, the officer in charge felt complacent and told me that I was lucky enough to get this service in this branch in one hour and thirty minutes here. I would have to spend more time to do the same thing in another branch. How strange! Our private banks have started giving some commendable service which is still not up to world standard. Besides, we are bound to go to state owned banks for paying our utility service bills which kills much of our valuable time every month. No authority gives a litle thought to this mater. They never think of changing this age old ineffective and the most unscientific system. We can learn these things from China.

I traveled to Stone Park probably 250 kilometers north of Kuning city crossing through Chinese villages and hilly areas which gave me a brief idea about the agricultural development of China. Another thing drew my atention that the village road or rail-crossings also see over-bridges to avoid any traffic jam and save time. These things pose the sign of development and road to development

Over exercise of democracy sometimes causes blockade to economic development China enjoys one step further opportunity. Our democracy showed 'opposition for the sake of opposition'. No genuine or reasonable protest we could show in our practice of democracy. The writer wants to give a hint that Chinese development can be atributed partly to their one-party state though he not fully appreciates it He says, "Certainly there advantages to a one-party state with limited rights to oppose the government Sure it must be nice to be able to draw a line between two points and say: go build a road hue." Mr. Sobhan seems to speak in favour of the present political system of China. His language goes, "Democracy, as it is commonly understood, may take time to establish itself. But the culture of questioning and argument and dissent is alive and well." I think the culture they have established does not go far away from the practice of democracy.

The culture which enhances and encourages the development and country go ahead faster than usual pace does not show room for severe criticism. Of course, the Tienanmen Squre tragedy of 1989 reminds us the robbing of human rights. We do believe China has by this time proved more reasonable in showing human rights. My visiting the Tienanmen Squire reminded me the sad incident took place there but the humming of people gave me the quite normal and changed view of the Square. "But it should not be overlooked that parts of China that are doing the best are precisely those which have the greatest autonomy and not just economic autonomy but political autonomy too.

The parts of China those are most open to the outside world and receptive to new and foreign ideas. The parts where the old style communist social and economic order is being swept aside." I fully endorse this views of the writer.

The writer hints moderate democracy or socialism stands as the prerequisite to economic and social development which the developed states or parts of China witness. The old style socialism or the democracy we embraced stand in the way of progress and development The ugly shape of democracy or leading it to wrong direction brings miseries for the country which we practiced and exercised for so long years. We must learn a lot from these developed parts of China how miracles happened in their economic and social sectors being a huge populated country.