29 August 2010

 

 

BGMEA hosted an Iftar party today on 29 August in honor of the ambassadors of the foreign missions in Bangladesh and foreign apparel buyers and their representatives in Bangladesh at the Radisson Water Garden hotel, Dhaka. Around 40 apparel buyers and their representatives in Bangladesh attended the Iftar. Commerce Minister Mr. Farooq Khan, MP; the Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour Mr. Israfil Alam, MP; representatives from the Overseas Correspondents Association of Bangladesh (OCAB) were also present at the Iftar party.

 

BGMEA President Mr. Abdus Salam Murshedy in his speech highlighted on the present situation of the RMG industry and the challenges it is facing. The global economic crisis exerted its negative impact on world apparel imports at the outset leading to drastic price slash. Despite the world economy started to reveal the signs of recovery over the past few months, the price level of apparel imports did not see any sign of improvement yet. On the contrary cost of raw materials has skyrocketed with the cotton price hike in the international market. The overhead expenses have also increased substantially and one of the major reasons has been the intensifying crisis of gas and electricity in the country. While the industry is struggling with all these adversities, the increasing pressure of inflation on workers livelihoods has also become a major concern for the entrepreneurs and it was felt necessary to review the minimum wages. After a series of tri-partite meetings between the government, workers, and owners the minimum wage board announced the new minimum wage with a record increase of around 80% on average. Mr. Murshedy mentioned that such a wage hike has been accepted by the owners only for the cause of workers. He mentioned that a fair wage is predominant for a decent living which cannot be ensured by the manufacturers alone at the present pricing context. The BGMEA chief urged for a fair price from the buyers to jointly ensure a healthy industry and secured society.

 

The Commerce Minister said that the government is aimed to establish a strong foundation for industrialization as per the vision 2021. The vision stands to alleviate poverty through employment generation. He said that the government has equally responsibilities toward the industry and the workers, and he thanked the entrepreneurs of the RMG industry for accepting the new wage structure despite facing all the odds. He said that RMG is one of the most important pillars of the economy.

Director Md. Atiqul Islam conducted the event.