ABSTRACT
The export-oriented garment manufacturing sector in Bangladesh began in the late 1970s following the new Multi-Fibre Agreement. By the 1990s, women accounted for more than 90% of the almost four million workers, and by 2014, garment exports accounted for 81% of the country’s total exports. While rules were introduced over the course of this period, compliance was weak and little oversight was provided to ensure worker safety. This chapter offers an overview of the industry, the policies guiding production and exports, and the building of an industrial labor force to situate post-Rana Plaza interventions, their implementation, and issues of compliance. We offer a long view of the sector to situate Bangladesh manufacturing in the global economy and highlight its changing structure, organization, and conditions of production and compliance.
