Promoting women trade union leaders in Bangladesh

TUC Aid is supporting the National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF) in Bangladesh to run a women's leadership development programme.  

NGWF profile

NGWF is one of the largest trade union federations in the garment sector with 42 registered factory unions and 1221 factory committees.  Total membership is 48,175.  57% of members are female (27, 651 members) and 17 out of 30 members of the Central Executive are female including the Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer.

NGWF is an affiliate of IndustriALL. They have been one of the key unions helping to develop and coordinate the implementation of the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety.

NGWF President Amirul Haque Amin addressed TUC Congress 2013 in Bournemouth. He launched the TUC’s campaign for all UK high street retailers to sign the Accord.

What problem is the programme designed to address?

• Frequent harassment of women workers in factories
• Widespread hostility of factory managers in garment sector towards trade unions – cases of violence against trade unions are common
• Lack of female union members with the confidence and skills to negotiate with management on issues around harassment, OHS, wages, hours etc
• Lack of women in leadership positions in Bangladesh trade unions
• Very low union density in garment sector – only 1.6% according to the ILO​
• Labour law in Bangladesh requires 30% of factory to be union members to be granted legal recognition – this requires unions to have effective organising at factory level.​

Programme activities

This programme will give women the skills and confidence to take leadership positions in their union so they can bargain for decent conditions and respect at work through running two levels of training, as outlined below:

Stage 1: New membership and worker training

Participants: NGWF female members who are already active in their union

Duration: 1 day

12 sessions run with 25 participants in each– training 300 participants over 6 months

Topics covered:

• Issues workers are facing around health and safety, pay and conditions
• Basic Rights under the new Labour  law

Stage 2: Volunteer & Organizers Training

Participants:  half of those who participated in Stage 1 training who NGWF believes would benefit most from further training.

Duration: 3 Days,

6 sessions will be run with 25 participants in each – training 150 participants over 6 months.

      Topics covered:

• Organizing
• Law relating to gender equality and discrimination
• Position of woman workers in the family

The programme will run for six months after which an external evaluation will be conducted to assess best ways to support future follow-on activity.