Major clothing brands will not attend annual summit in Bangladesh

Five major clothing brands will not attend the Bengali textile industry’s annual meeting, protesting the country’s abysmal working conditions and the suppression of the labour unions.

Labour unions suppressed

H&M, Inditex, C&A, Next and Tchibo have all decided to follow up on Clean Clothes Campaign’s request not to attend the Dhaka Apparel Summit, even though several were announced as key speakers. The companies altered their stance after seeing how the government and factory owners in Bangladesh had recently taken several measures to (negatively) deal with labour unions.

In December, 34 labour union leaders were arrested after they had appealed and protested for higher wages. Many were held prisoner for more than eight weeks, without any proof of criminal activity. Regardless, they risk long prison sentences. On top of these arrests, 1,500 employees were fired for being part of the protests. “The industry and government seem intent on suppressing anything and anyone striving for better working conditions”, one of the arrested labour union leaders said.

Clear signal

There has been a clear international condemnation of what the Bengali government and factory owners have done and H&M, Inditex, C&A, Next and Tchibo have also taken a stance against this behaviour. These five major textile companies generate billions of euros for the Bengali textile factories and their absence from the Dhaka Apparel Summit is sure to be a blow to the local leaders. 

“With the boycott of the summit, leading brands are sending a clear message to the BGMEA (Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association) and the Bangladesh authorities: Unless all detainees are released, unsubstantiated charges are dropped, and other acts of intimidation and harassment of trade unions are stopped, they cannot credibly participate in a summit on “sustainable growth” of the industry”, Clean Clothes Campaign writes.

Four years after the Rana Plaza disaster, little seems to have changed in Bangladesh. Buildings have become safer, but wages are still extremely low and worker rights are virtually non-existent. Several major chains had already written the Bengali Prime Minister a letter last month, expressing their concern for what was happening across the country. 

The cancellations did already have an effect as the government said it will help people get bail and the terminated employees to rejoin their previous employer, in a bid to appease the fashion companies.