Workers Tell of Poor Conditions

Women workers from Bangladesh spoke of the poor conditions and rights violations they experienced while employed by suppliers of Wal-Mart at a talk sponsored by the Labor and Worklife Program at the Harvard Law School yesterday.

The talk was a part of a national tour of universities and high schools with the National Labor Committee (NLC) in anticipation of a textile-quota lift planned for 2005 by the World Trade Organization (WTO).

With the aid of a translator, Robina Akther and Maksuda, two women workers dressed in traditional garments, spoke about their 14-hour shifts, physical abuse and pay of 14 to 17 cents an hour to an audience of 35 to 40 in Yenching Auditorium.

“The line chief slapped my face very hard. My nose was bleeding,” 18-year-old Akther said, recounting her first week of work when she failed to meet the target of sewing 120 to 150 pieces an hour.

Maksuda, who was only identified by her first name, broke out in tears, wiping her eyes with her dress, while telling the audience how she was kicked in the stomach by her manager during her pregnancy.

“When my baby was born, she had a bruise on her and she cried at the slightest touch,” she said.

Both Akther and Maksuda work for suppliers of Wal-Mart. Sk Nazma, president of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity and a former factory worker, spoke after Akther and Maksuda. Nazma repeatedly called for “solidarity and support” for the 1.8 million workers that the organization represents.

According to NLC Director Charles Kernaghan, Wal-Mart is “the worst company in the world without a doubt” in regulating the working conditions in the factories of its suppliers.

Holding up a Wal-Mart shirt, he explained the company pays 26 cents for the total labor put into the manufacturing of the shirt and still complains that their workers get paid too much.

“The other day, we went into a Wal-Mart and I found the clothes that I sewed,” Akther said, holding up a pair of pants.

She pointed out the back pockets, on which she said she stitched 120 flaps every hour.

While the audience listened and asked questions, the auditorium was still relatively empty. John Trumpbour of the Labor and Worklife Program said it was a much smaller turnout than the 200 to 300 people he expected at their presentation at Boston College later last night.

“It’s hard to get people energized over workers’ issues here at Harvard,” Trumpbour said.

According to the NLC, when WTO lifts its quota developing nations will lose all their work to China and further devastate workers like Akther and Maksuda.

The NLC is preparing a legislation to be released in January, mandating core labor standards for products imported into the United States.

“These companies spend an average of $800 per consumer on advertisement. They get their say, and these workers don’t,” Kernaghan said, emphasizing the importance of this tour.

“Global economy is a human creation; if we choose to change it, we can,” he said.