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I am [INAUDIBLE] Khan, and I'm
doing a Ph.D. At MIT Sloan.

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Prior to starting the Ph.D.,
I worked as a policy advisor

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with the Dutch
government and Bangladesh

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between 2013 and '15.

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During the course of my
work, I interacted with many

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stakeholders working on
occupational safety and health

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issues at the workplace
and workers' rights,

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particularly in the
Bangladeshi textile sector.

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Amongst the stakeholders,
was Miss Nazma Akter

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a prominent member of the
Bangladesh labor movement.

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In a sector that is
largely dominated by men,

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she stands out as the country's
most respected and influential

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female labor leader.

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She began her working life
at the tender age of 11,

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in a small garment
factory in Dhaka.

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As she grew older, she
started to speak out

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against the injustices
at the workplace.

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For this, she often
faced brutality

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from thugs hired by the factory
managers, and even the police.

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She eventually
left the workforce,

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and went on to starting
the AWAJ Foundation

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with some other coworkers.

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AWAJ Foundation
is an organization

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which fights for workers'
rights and helps settle

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worker disputes in factories.

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The organization has
been active in mediating

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numerous activities on
wages, overtime, holidays,

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and maternity
leave in factories.

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Despite the hardships of
working in the garment sector,

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Miss Akbar is not against
garment factories,

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which she believes empower
women by giving them

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greater choice and opportunity.

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However, she is
resolutely against

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exploitative and dangerous
working practices,

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and strives to ensure that
women get treated fairly.

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I had the opportunity
to speak with her,

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in Bangladesh in January 2016
on a number of current issues

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facing the Bangladesh
labor movement.

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As a worker in
Bangladesh, Ms. Akter

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is vocal on the subject of the
exploitation of cheap labor

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by the first oil companies.

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And eloquently puts
forth the conflict

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between the vested
interests groups

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and Bangladeshi workers
in the factories.

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Thank you to MIT to
give me the opportunity.

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As you know, the most of
the production country

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where producing the garments
is the buyers an international

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and fresh and original.

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They're coming to me
because of the cheap labor.

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Especially the Bangladesh is
the cheapest all over the world.

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So that means that globally,
people are addressing us.

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[INAUDIBLE] and pull and pull.

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So, if you're addressing
this kind of world,

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there is no human interaction,
there is no worker [INAUDIBLE],

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there is not decent
working conditions.

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This is the global
problem who is created

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by the global people and
global business community

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and the legislation.

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So that need to be addressed.

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How people have to get the
decent working condition.

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A decent working condition.

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Living condition.

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Because that is very
needed to for us.

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And in many cases the
Bangladeshi and other branches,

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the business people are so
powerful in the parliament,

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in the government.

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Also, they're highly educated.

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That is the problem with this.

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The politics is always
favored for the big business.

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Secularism and globalization
is a big, bad impact

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for the general people and
for the working people.

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So how we have to
get the equal rights.

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And we have to be thinking
about the respect and dignity.

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Not only the profit and profile.

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Because capitalism
has only two results.

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One is profit.

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Another is the control.

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So they have both,
and we are hungry.

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So we need to stop the hunger.

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And we need to be decent.

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And ensure the nutrition.

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She goes on to elaborate on
the specific challenges she

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faced in her work, and the kind
of disputes she has observed.

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As you know, the workers
has main fundamental right

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to collective bargaining
that negotiation

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and the union right.

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Which is very challenges
and difficult for us,

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because when the workers
are organize the union,

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most of the case there
are finding that union

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busting from the men is meant.

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As is the local politician,
and local people.

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And their fear, they're
given threat, they're beaten,

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they're given the different
types of pressure, and abuse.

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And they file a false case.

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And this is very
difficult to organize.

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And as activist, and leader, we
are also facing problem also.

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With as many cases as I told
before, [INAUDIBLE] powerful,

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and they also the
only ones that's

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involved in the
parliament and the power.

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So that kind of
difficulty we are facing.

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In many cases,
they're so difficult,

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and challenges many
workers are the facing.

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They are also--

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[INAUDIBLE] one or
two countries safe

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again, because it's very
threatened what they're like.

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So, these are the challenges
we need to ensure.

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And corruption is it
one of the big problems,

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and government is not serious
about the workers issues,

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than the business profit.

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So we want to build
a relationship

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and worker-management
dialogue in same platform.

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It will be helpful for
the productivity, as well

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as the workers' happiness.

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So if that begin, the
sustainable development

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comes after.

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We built one part,
only the manufacturer

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are taking their own
decision, their won things.

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It will not work, because
the manufacturer always

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want [INAUDIBLE].

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Maximum things, like when we are
asking for the workers benefit.

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That is honest minimal things.

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So how we have to
get the maximum.

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And how we to get that.

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[INAUDIBLE]

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The Rana Plaza incident,
where over 1,100 workers

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died when their
factory collapsed,

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resulted in many initiatives--

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both within
Bangladesh, and abroad.

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And money poured in
from many sectors.

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When I asked her what she
thought of those initiatives,

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she was skeptical.

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She also had high
expectations from the meeting

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of the sustainability compact
held in Bangladesh in 2016.

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The compact was an agreement
signed between the governments

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of Bangladesh, the
EU, and the US,

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following the Rana
Plaza collapse,

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in an effort to improve
working conditions

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in the textile sector.

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After Rana Plaza collapse,
lots of initiating

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taken by Bangladesh,
and all the world.

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It is so many meeting,
so many seminars,

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so many things agreeing, and so
many funded and support we got.

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But the real things, and
real effort was not done.

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Many cases, we found many
days is not that much.

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So our request, the money should
be utilized the right person,

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workers as the industry.

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But in many cases,
it's not working.

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In many cases, found
is like an eyewash

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or trying to be
useful in this use.

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As you know, the third
Compact Sustainability meeting

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will be held on 28th of
January, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

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We are expecting-- to
the Compact meeting--

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the Bangladesh
government, and you'll

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get an American delegate.

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Already you know the
sustainable development goals.

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There are 17 goals.

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The goal number 8
is a decent one.

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So we wanted the decent
ones-- addressing

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and how to implement.

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And we want to be living with--
we want freedom of association

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and fundamental rights.

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And we want better
workers-management relations.

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And people are very poor--

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want a better living condition,
as in these safety issues.

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When I asked her
about how to improve

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worker-employer relations,
she had important insights

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about how to build relationships
that benefit both parties.

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If we really want a functional
workers-management relation,

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that is--

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that part, we need to
educate all of them.

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And also we need to create a
workers-management relation

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culture, because that
is the big problem.

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And management needs
to be positive thinking

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and positive way to
accept the issues.

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Because always they are
thinking we are invested--

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we are not listening to anyone.

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The workers have
to be listening.

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So that type of culture
and motivation--

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also need, as the global
suppliers and the buyer

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have also responsibility to
ensure these kind of things.

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But in many cases we
found they are absent.

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So everybody needs to
be working together.

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As the workers representative,
we need a constructive union.

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And also management
has to be constructive,

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as does the buyer.

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So-- and government should
be supporting all of them.

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I think this way
we can overcome.

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If there was one party to
initiate it, it will not work.

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She ends with a strong
message to the new generation

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in the West--

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the current and future
consumers of textiles,

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who will play an important
role in determining the future

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of global supply patterns.

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As you know, most of the goods
are produced by the young boys

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and girls.

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And that is the important
issue, because they

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don't get proper education
and proper food and nutrition.

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That is why they need
to be voluntarily

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early retirements because
of the malnutrition

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and high production pressure.

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My request to all
the young consumers

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who will be the next
generation leaders

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of taking that responsibility--

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you have to respect your
young friends and colleagues

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who are working
in Bangladesh, how

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to ensure their [INAUDIBLE]
end of their life,

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and workplace safety
and other issues.

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Because the young
generation can take

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all that initiating, because
you are the consumer.

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And you are the right people.

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So please try to be ensured
and while carefully to safe

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working conditions and
decent living conditions.