IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON BANGLADESH GARMENT INDUSTRY: SURVIVAL OF THE LOW SCALE FACTORY WORKERS

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the global supply chain to a great extent. Along with many countries, Bangladesh is also suffering with consequences of this disruption. The biggest industry of the country, the garment industry, is considered the most impacted as it is the second largest export...

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Hlavní autor: Rubayet, Farhana
Médium: Diplomová práce
Jazyk:angličtina
Vydáno: AUW 2025
Témata:
On-line přístup:https://repository.auw.edu.bd/handle/123456789/495
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author Rubayet, Farhana
author_facet Rubayet, Farhana
author_sort Rubayet, Farhana
collection institutional Repository
description The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the global supply chain to a great extent. Along with many countries, Bangladesh is also suffering with consequences of this disruption. The biggest industry of the country, the garment industry, is considered the most impacted as it is the second largest exporter industry in the world. The higher share of the impacts has been applied upon the garment workers and especially upon the low scale factory workers. However, the media portrayal of their survival in these crucial days has not been strong. In this paper, I plan to portray a clear image of the severe impacts on low scale garment workers during the pandemic and highlight how much help they received throughout the journey. Using the snowball sampling process I have interviewed 112 low factory garment workers (28 male & 84 female) and the primary and secondary data are designed with a mix of qualitative and quantitative methodology. The findings suggest that the low scale factory workers have been exploited financially, physically, and mentally in the COVID-19 pandemic. After the frequent lockdowns, on average per hour working wages have been extremely low. While a significant number of workers have suffered immensely, the female workers (especially pregnant and elderly women) were the most vulnerable targets. Unsafe work environment, forced labor, increased harassment in the workplace are the indicators of workers' growing vulnerability during the pandemic. The positions of the state and stakeholders do not portray a clear picture; there are attempts like stimulus packages offered by the Bangladesh government, but not as successful as planned. Even though the stakeholders were expected to handle the situation with utmost gratitude, their actions did not seem fair to the workers. This paper finds out the root causes and concludes that without proper policy dialogue and an advanced research & development sector, obtaining stability and rights is not certain for the vulnerable workers.
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spelling 123456789-4952026-02-18T06:09:52Z IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON BANGLADESH GARMENT INDUSTRY: SURVIVAL OF THE LOW SCALE FACTORY WORKERS Rubayet, Farhana labor exploitation, financial crisis, physical health, mental health, gender based stereotypes, power asymmetry, global supply chains. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the global supply chain to a great extent. Along with many countries, Bangladesh is also suffering with consequences of this disruption. The biggest industry of the country, the garment industry, is considered the most impacted as it is the second largest exporter industry in the world. The higher share of the impacts has been applied upon the garment workers and especially upon the low scale factory workers. However, the media portrayal of their survival in these crucial days has not been strong. In this paper, I plan to portray a clear image of the severe impacts on low scale garment workers during the pandemic and highlight how much help they received throughout the journey. Using the snowball sampling process I have interviewed 112 low factory garment workers (28 male & 84 female) and the primary and secondary data are designed with a mix of qualitative and quantitative methodology. The findings suggest that the low scale factory workers have been exploited financially, physically, and mentally in the COVID-19 pandemic. After the frequent lockdowns, on average per hour working wages have been extremely low. While a significant number of workers have suffered immensely, the female workers (especially pregnant and elderly women) were the most vulnerable targets. Unsafe work environment, forced labor, increased harassment in the workplace are the indicators of workers' growing vulnerability during the pandemic. The positions of the state and stakeholders do not portray a clear picture; there are attempts like stimulus packages offered by the Bangladesh government, but not as successful as planned. Even though the stakeholders were expected to handle the situation with utmost gratitude, their actions did not seem fair to the workers. This paper finds out the root causes and concludes that without proper policy dialogue and an advanced research & development sector, obtaining stability and rights is not certain for the vulnerable workers. 2025-07-09T06:19:39Z 2025-07-09T06:19:39Z 2022-07 Thesis https://repository.auw.edu.bd/handle/123456789/495 en application/pdf AUW
spellingShingle labor exploitation, financial crisis, physical health, mental health, gender based stereotypes, power asymmetry, global supply chains.
Rubayet, Farhana
IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON BANGLADESH GARMENT INDUSTRY: SURVIVAL OF THE LOW SCALE FACTORY WORKERS
title IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON BANGLADESH GARMENT INDUSTRY: SURVIVAL OF THE LOW SCALE FACTORY WORKERS
title_full IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON BANGLADESH GARMENT INDUSTRY: SURVIVAL OF THE LOW SCALE FACTORY WORKERS
title_fullStr IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON BANGLADESH GARMENT INDUSTRY: SURVIVAL OF THE LOW SCALE FACTORY WORKERS
title_full_unstemmed IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON BANGLADESH GARMENT INDUSTRY: SURVIVAL OF THE LOW SCALE FACTORY WORKERS
title_short IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON BANGLADESH GARMENT INDUSTRY: SURVIVAL OF THE LOW SCALE FACTORY WORKERS
title_sort impact of covid 19 pandemic on bangladesh garment industry survival of the low scale factory workers
topic labor exploitation, financial crisis, physical health, mental health, gender based stereotypes, power asymmetry, global supply chains.
url https://repository.auw.edu.bd/handle/123456789/495
work_keys_str_mv AT rubayetfarhana impactofcovid19pandemiconbangladeshgarmentindustrysurvivalofthelowscalefactoryworkers