Enhancing Resilience for Garment Workers in Bangladesh
Summary
In 2025, Winrock International committed to enhancing economic resilience for more than 1,600 garment workers in Bangladesh by 2029. Winrock will conduct broad-based participatory research on the impacts of trade policy shifts on Bangladesh’s ready-made garment (RMG) industry workers and orchestrate multi-sectoral dialogue focused on direct response measures across government, civil society, and business. The project will also strengthen existing channels for reporting human trafficking and other forms of exploitation. Winrock and partners will take a localized approach in proximity to RMG manufacturing hubs to heighten awareness and strengthen referrals to social protection and economic development services and enhance access to tools on safe migration and trafficking prevention and reporting. Winrock will also deliver psychological support, career counseling, and emergency relief, including cash transfers and food aid, to affected individuals. Finally, the initiative will increase overall resilience for garment workers by providing skills training, placements in alternative jobs, entrepreneurship training, and access to capital.
Approach
To increase economic resilience of over 1,600 garment workers in two Export Processing Zones of Bangladesh (Dhaka and Chittagong) , Winrock commits to:
Conduct participatory research on the impacts of trade policy shifts on Bangladesh’s RMG industry workers Forge a multi-sectoral dialogue and response with government, civil society and business leaders
Strengthen channels for abuse reporting by leveraging and expanding, as needed, existing mechanisms, such as the Amader Kotha Helpline and BGMEA Hotline Work in communities around RMG manufacturing hubs to strengthen awareness and referrals to social protection and economic development services, as well as access to tools on safe migration and trafficking prevention and reporting
Promote dignity by delivering psychological support, career counseling, and emergency relief (cash transfers, food aid) to affected individuals
Increase resilience by providing skills training, placements for alternative jobs, entrepreneurship training, and/or links to capital
Winrock will implement this commitment by partnering with local researchers and RMG-related organizations to conduct participatory research, capturing the impacts of trade policy changes on workers. Winrock will facilitate multi-sectoral dialogue, including with international partners to ensure coordinated responses that protect worker rights, and leverage existing projects, Ashshash and Fight Slavery and Trafficking in Persons Activity to link individuals to trauma-informed psychological support and career counseling, prioritizing the needs of women and girls. Local training providers will deliver skills training in high-demand sectors, while business associations will connect trained workers to decent jobs in sectors such as telecommunications and IT, electrical-mechanical engineering, healthcare, hospitality, food/beverage, travel, leather production, and sustainable agriculture. Winrock will promote worker resilience by enhancing abuse reporting channels within government and civil society organizations, launching safe migration and trafficking prevention campaigns, and supporting women-led entrepreneurship through mentorship and access to capital.
This approach emphasizes business partnerships, cross-sectoral cooperation, and centers women and girls as primary beneficiaries.
Action Plan
PHASE 1: Mobilization (Months 1-6) Research: Conduct research on the impacts of potential tariff scenarios (current rates, planned rates, unpredictably changing) in consultation with workers, associations, buyers and brands. The research will assess how tariff changes affect business decisions on purchasing, pricing, wages, working conditions, risks for TIP and gender-based violence, and market demands for alternative employment sectors in Bangladesh (informs actions for Phases 2 and 3) .
Service Provision: Map social protection services and resources in communities with high concentration of RMG workers (Dhaka, Chittagong) for referral to psychological support, career counseling, and emergency relief (small cash transfers, food aid) for workers facing hardship, ensuring accessibility in rural locations (e.g. telehealth counseling) .
Multi-Sectoral Dialogue: Convene national and international business leaders, Bangladesh government, worker organizations and civil society to co-create a coordinated response.
Grievance Mechanism Review: Assess existing complaint channels, including Amader Kotha Hotline for worker safety.
PHASE 2: Training and Service Rollout (Months 7-12) Mitigate TIP/Exploitation Risks: Create and distribute information on available protection and employment services, safe migration practices, and how to recognize trafficking risks, including through utilization of existing Winrock tools (e.g. Smart Navigator, SafeStep) .
Income Generation: Informed by career counselling, provide skills training, internships, and job placement in high-demand sectors (e.g. gig economy, climate-resilient aquaculture, bamboo products) . For those with entrepreneurial interests, provide training and value chain linkages through local partners.
Grievance Mechanism Activation: Support enhancements and partner with factories and existing initiatives to su. pport outreach, ensuring safe reporting channels.
PHASE 3: Economic Reintegration (Months 13-24) Job Placement: Link trained workers to decent jobs.
Entrepreneurship Expansion: Support launching micro-enterprises, providing mentorship and linkages to capital in collaboration with local enterprises.
Ongoing Awareness Campaigns: Disseminate safe migration and trafficking prevention messages leveraging existing Winrock tools and partnerships with factories.
PHASE 4: Evaluation and Scaling (Months 25-30) Impact Assessment: Evaluate the effectiveness of the project, convene partners to share findings and explore scaling successful approaches
Background
Bangladesh’s readymade garment industry (RMG) , which accounts for nearly 85% of the country’s export earnings and employs approximately four million workers, is facing severe challenges due to the U.S.’s newly-imposed tariffs on Bangladeshi goods (2025, New York Times) . Since the initial 37% tariff was introduced in early April 2025, significant disruptions have already manifested, including buyers requesting discounts from Bangladeshi factory suppliers or shifting orders out of Bangladesh to lower cost exporters (Business & Human Rights Centre, 2025) . Tariff-related uncertainty and economic strain are expected to force factories to implement cost-cutting measures, including layoffs, reduced hours, wages, and employee benefits (e.g. daycare at factories) , and potential lowering health and safety standards. As women comprise 53% of the RMG workforce and research shows that women invest in families nutrition and education, in addition to lost livelihoods, these events will have significant child food security and wellbeing in RMG worker families (Ethical Trading Initiative, 2025; FICCI, 2025) . The vulnerability of women and affected families to exploitation and domestic or cross-border trafficking will increase as they consider coping strategies, including labor migration.
A multisectoral response that brings together workers, factories, associations, unions and international companies, and buyers is urgent and critical to reducing the negative impacts of the volatility and protecting human and labor rights. In addition, alternative livelihood pathways are needed for RMG workers. Winrock has developed a model for economic empowerment in Bangladesh that leverages partnerships with accredited training service providers and private sector companies to provide decent work opportunities for populations at heightened risk of exploitation. Winrock’s approach also incorporates a micro-enterprise development track supported by technical and business training and market linkages. The model spans multiple industries, including telecommunications, IT, electrical-mechanical trades, healthcare, hospitality, food and beverage, travel, leather production, and sustainable agriculture.
Progress Update
Partnership Opportunities
To complete and scale the commitment, Winrock seeks connections with leaders of large apparel retailers who source in Bangladesh to engage in collective responses and support affected female workers. The multi-sectoral dialogue will help surface partners with high levels of interest and secure commitment for further collaborations. Connections with countries that seek Bangladeshi labor (Malaysia) can support expanded safe migration channels as an alternative to employment in the garment industry.
Linkages to skills training and gig work platforms can support increased employment opportunities, skills acquisition or mentorships for displaced workers.
Winrock is also seeking connections to social media and communication platforms such as Facebook to scale the reach of safe migration, trafficking prevention messages and awareness of grievance mechanisms, for innovative provision of remote mental health and career counseling.
These resources will enable Winrock to scale its commitment, reaching more workers with sustainable, dignified employment solutions.,With this commitment, Winrock offers 25 years of experience and deep expertise in counter-trafficking, supporting survivors, preventing unsafe migration, and advancing ethical recruitment and labor practices. Winrock’s commitment is strengthened by insights from individuals with lived experience who support design and implementation of initiatives.
Through over 40 years of continuous presence in Bangladesh, Winrock has garnered an extensive network of local partners among government stakeholders, vocational training institutions, and service providers. Winrock’s global partnership network includes international associations such as the Consumer Goods Forum, Better Work, Business for Social Responsibility.
Winrock also brings extensive experience in fostering multi-sectoral dialogue among state, civil society, and business leaders, ensuring coordinated action for worker protection. For example, Winrock’s Asia CTIP Activity convened annual “Evidence2Action” summits with over 600 participants in Asia and the United States to foster cross-sector collaboration, discuss emerging trends and common challenges, and share evidence and good practices.