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Multi-stakeholder safety enforcement: Implications for employment and factories in Bangladesh’s export-oriented RMG industry

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Industrial workplace safety and workers’ rights remain vulnerable in many developing countries. Safety enforcement, wherein existing safety assurance mechanisms are underdeveloped, may impose additional costs, resulting in consequences for workers and industries. This study examines the effects of the post-Rana Plaza multinational stakeholder-led safety measures in the Ready-Made Garment (RMG), or apparel, industry in Bangladesh. A difference-in-difference approach is applied to compare the industry’s size in apparel- and non-apparel-dominant sub-districts (upazilas) before and after the inception of safety enforcement. Dhaka district was closely investigated by linking factories or establishments. The findings suggest that, in the decade prior to the 2013 safety initiatives, places where apparel was the dominant manufacturing industry experienced substantially higher employment growth than those where the industry’s footprint was limited. In the following decade, registered employment and the number of establishments declined in apparel-dominant upazilas, while they increased in other upazilas. Although the industry’s steady export performance over the period indicates an increasing productivity or technological advancement, the results suggest an adverse impact of safety enforcement on employment and the number of establishments.

Source: Safety Science

DOI: 10.1016/j.ssci.2025.107032

Author: Shahida Pervin

Institution: Waseda University

Language: English

Topic: Software Engineering and Design Patterns

Subfield: Development

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Decent work and economic growth, Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Industry, innovation and infrastructure, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,360