Global Journal of Human Social Science, E: Economics, Volume 22 Issue 7

The empirical evidence suggests that labor rights have not yet been established in the RMG industry, with the last one took place in January 2019, between the workers and authorities over pay grades. Bangladesh is committed to secure labor rights for the well-being of laborers by ILO membership. But the result observed in the RMG industry is simply unsatisfactory which mostly shows the breach of such commitment(s). Researchers, journalists, and labor rights activists claim that the damage would not happen if the government could have formulated and implemented a comprehensive and effective labor law that would incorporate labor rights in the RMG industry. Thus the realities on the ground demand fresh scrutiny and answer to the existing barriers and find some ways to make the RMG textile industry more sustainable. II. I ntroduction The Readymade Garments industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in Bangladesh. The UK (Parker, 2011) is one of the most vital markets for this industry from Bangladesh including but not limited to Marks and Spencer, H&M, Next. Eighty percent import of the UK (Parker, 2011) is generally done from the South Asian region. Initially when this industry has been started to be in operation total share of export was just .0.02 (Bhattacharya & Rahman, 1999) percent but that share has become 67.92 (Bhattacharya & Rahman, 1999) percent within only twenty years and this rise demonstrates the growth of this industry simultaneously. Despite this growth due to the nature of our economy or other heterogeneous reason, this industry is viewed as a starter (Saxena, 2014) in the south Asian region. And this to be in starter can be well linked with the taking of condition (M. R. I. Khan & Wichterich, 2015) of our economy. The expansion of the industry can be illuminated by the availability of low-cost labor, particularly women, and simple technology essential for the industry (Khosla, 2009), and also by the substantial support provided by the government, including duty drawback facilities, tax holidays, cash assistance, income tax rebates, creation of export processing zones and zero tariffs on machinery inputs. (Ahmed, 2009; Muhammad, 2007; USAID, 2007; Rashid, 2009). Due to being an overpopulated country as well as a developing state, Bangladesh has abounded with labor and most of them including both males and females are ready to work with the minimum they are offered. The expansion of the Ready-Made Garments sector in this country is closely associated with such an abundance of cheap labor as well. The current scenario of this sector is both frustrating and optimistic. The frustration comes when we are taking the safety issues, CSR 3 III. L iterature R eview initiatives, environmental pollution into consideration, and the optimism come when we are taking the growth of this sector under consideration as well. And a clear imbalance is observed in the core of these two and the sustainability of this sector depends on how this imbalance is treated. The stakeholders of the RMG industry are dissimilar – employees, government, the community in which it functions, media – and businesses have restricted resources and capabilities to meet their demands (Freeman, 1984). Knowing these stakeholders, their power and interests, and having a good relationship with them is critical for better management, strategic planning, and long-term sustainability of the industry. However, RMG industries in developing countries have traditionally been driven by multinational buying companies and their requests (Islam and Deegan, 2008) rather than managing relationships with other key stakeholders, particularly the employees. Research directs the presence of a conflict between international buyers’ purchasing practices – claim for lower-priced products within a short period – and their persistence in obeying with codes of conduct (Barrientos, 2013). Many suppliers involve in reckless business practices that favor the first at the cost of the second, such as lowering wages, saving costs, and making workers engage in overtime (Lund-Thomsen and Lindgreen, 2014; Ruwanpura and Wrigley, 2011; Tokatli et al., 2008). Major Bangladesh laws such as the Company Act 1994, Bangladesh Labor Law 2006, Environmental Conservation Act 1995, and Environmental Preservation Policy 1997 are not adequately focused on compliance with CSR (Nasrullah and Rahim, 2014; Rahim, 2012). As a result, the corporate regulation framework is not yet in a position to stimulate the well-being of stakeholders other than the government and shareholders (Rahim, 2012). Due to the cheap labor and tangible capital is considered as one of the primary sources of competitive advantage, China, currently, the largest global textile and garments exporter has been facing a shortage of workers due to elevated labor costs, forcing it to shift into heavy and high tech industries instead of garment manufacturing (Textile Today, 2017). It has significantly increased competition among other textile manufacturing countries however the international retailers are still trying to maintain profit margin similarly by finding cheaper locations to outsource their garments. Despite China, Sri Lanka, and 3 CSR- Corporate Social Responsibility Volume XXII Issue VII Version I 78 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2022 © 2022 Global Journals E Exploration of Barriers and Success Factors of Sustainability of the Bangladeshi Textile Industry at Various Stakeholders’ Level from Social, Environmental and Economical Concern