Dispute Settlement as Regards Minimum Wages in Garments Industry: [the Case Study of Bangladesh]
Abstract:
As my main goal of the proposed research is to settling down dispute regarding minimum wages in Garments Industry, I wanted to know if a change in focus from minimum wages to living wages could be achievable. The question will unfortunately remain unsolved at the end of the essay. To predict the future would be impossible. Instead three possible scenarios are presented. The likelihood of each and every scenario is later discussed. The conclusions at the end of the essay are based on an analysis of the theories presented and the interviews proceeded.
The starting point of my research is the relocation strategies of corporations, which are outlined in the background chapter. This chapter also contains information about the garment industry in Bangladesh. The main research question is if there can be a shift from minimum wages to living wages in Bangladesh. In order to bring clarity to the question, three sub questions have been used.
The first question looks into: How wages are determined in the export-oriented garment industry in Bangladesh ?
The second question: Concerns the corporations’ responsibility for their workers.
The third, and last: Question addresses how cultural dimensions influence the corporations and how wages are set? To find the answers to the sub questions I divided the research into four main topics: “Wages – Minimum and Living Wages”, “Morality, Ethics and Business Ethics”, “Employees as Stakeholders of the Companies” and “The Cultural Dimension”. The topics are dealt with in separate chapters.The chapters contain a theoretical overview, as well as the information gathered from the interviews.
The chapters are followed by a further analysis of the empirical findings. The chapter on wages contains an in-depth explanation of the difference between minimum wages and living wages. In the conducted study all workers were paid the minimum wage in coherence with the law. This wage was however much lower than what the definition of a
As my main goal of the proposed research is to settling down dispute regarding minimum wages in Garments Industry, I wanted to know if a change in focus from minimum wages to living wages could be achievable. The question will unfortunately remain unsolved at the end of the essay. To predict the future would be impossible. Instead three possible scenarios are presented. The likelihood of each and every scenario is later discussed. The conclusions at the end of the essay are based on an analysis of the theories presented and the interviews proceeded.
The starting point of my research is the relocation strategies of corporations, which are outlined in the background chapter. This chapter also contains information about the garment industry in Bangladesh. The main research question is if there can be a shift from minimum wages to living wages in Bangladesh. In order to bring clarity to the question, three sub questions have been used.
The first question looks into: How wages are determined in the export-oriented garment industry in Bangladesh ?
The second question: Concerns the corporations’ responsibility for their workers.
The third, and last: Question addresses how cultural dimensions influence the corporations and how wages are set? To find the answers to the sub questions I divided the research into four main topics: “Wages – Minimum and Living Wages”, “Morality, Ethics and Business Ethics”, “Employees as Stakeholders of the Companies” and “The Cultural Dimension”. The topics are dealt with in separate chapters.The chapters contain a theoretical overview, as well as the information gathered from the interviews.
The chapters are followed by a further analysis of the empirical findings. The chapter on wages contains an in-depth explanation of the difference between minimum wages and living wages. In the conducted study all workers were paid the minimum wage in coherence with the law. This wage was however much lower than what the definition of a