While the perpetual use of short-term contracts creates uncertainties for workers of all stripes, pregnant women are particularly vulnerable. Somalay So, a program officer at labor rights group Solidarity Center, said there have been cases where even inquiring about the premier’s $100 “baby bonus” promise can put a target on workers’ backs for dismissal.

Roughly 2,000 garment workers protested yesterday outside three factories after the owner abruptly shut down operations and fled​, leaving them without severance or pay for the month of January.​ The Solidarity Center’s William Conklin suggested that factories be required to put down a deposit that can be used to pay severance for workers.

The impetus for the Bangladesh Sustainability Compact was the Rana Plaza industrial disaster, which took the lives of roughly 1,200 garment workers. The compact required the fulfillment of several time-bound commitments by the Bangladesh government—labor law reform, protection of the right to freedom of association and ensuring fire and building safety. Jeffrey Vogt argues the compact has not been effective for much of its four years. [READ MORE]