Govt may take steps to up wages for RMG workers
Two-day MFA Forum confce ends in Dhaka
Star Business Report
The government may soon take necessary steps to increase wages for workers in readymade garment (RMG) sector as foreign buyers are persistently creating pressures for improving the living standard of the labour force."As the present wage scale for the garment workers is more than a decade old, we are going to request other ministries concerned to look into the issue and take necessary measures," Ghulam Hussain, joint secretary of commerce ministry, told a press briefing. The press briefing was convened following a two-day conference on 'Responsible and Competitive Textile and Garment Industry in Bangladesh' jointly organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the MFA Forum at IDB Bhaban in Dhaka yesterday. Tipu Munshi, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Alan Roberts, chair of MFA Forum Bangladesh Group, MA Baset, director of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), and Roy Ramesh Chandra, general secretary of Jatio Sramik League, also spoke at the briefing. Stressing the need to up the living standard of the RMG workers, Alan Roberts said implementation of the local laws regarding garment manufacturing has emerged as one of the main challenges for the government. Bangladesh's RMG sector would be vulnerable as the tariff measures in the US market will be removed after 2008, he said adding that there has been a serious need to address compliance issues in garment plants. Tipu Munshi underscored the need for adopting a uniform code of conduct for the garment sector, adding that around 90 percent compliance requirements match the local laws. Roy Ramesh Chandra said the national minimum wages should not be less than Tk 3,000 per month. MA Baset felt all stakeholders in the sector should be responsible for their respective roles. Ghulam Hussain said compliance issue has become one of the major factors now to survive in the global market. He, however, said different buyers are asking for separate compliance issues that are a big problem for the industry to implement. "We have laws but we need to monitor the implementation." The government has plans to set up several garment 'palli' with all facilities and these can be located at suitable places, he mentioned without giving out any time limit of setting up those.
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