BGMEA suggests 84-day maternity leave for workers
Garment makers suggested the government allow 84-day maternity leave for workers instead of the proposed 112 days for maintaining smooth production at factories.
Providing 112-day maternity leave is illogical because leave in some other countries is of a shorter tenure, the garment makers' platform, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said in a statement.
Maternity leave is 60 days in Malaysia, 90 days in Indonesia and Korea, 84 days in India and 60 days in the Philippines (in case of the mother delivering by Caesarean is 78 days), according to the statement.
The tendency of not rejoining the workplace will increase, if workers are allowed longer leave with financial benefits for a long term, it said.
As a result, the productivity at factories will be affected which will ultimately impact the national economy because at present more than 80 percent of garment workers are female, according to the statement.
Moreover, the production of a piece of clothing item is completed by a group of workers on a division of labour basis. Long-term leave of a worker or some workers should mean a disruption in production.
The division of labour in garment production means a worker makes the body of a shirt, another worker makes the arms, another makes the collar, another worker stitches the buttons, in a long process that continues until the finished product comes out.
The production at the factories, that is, the whole process will suffer if any worker remains absent for a long time, the statement said.
The statement said a vested quarter is trying to create anarchy in the readymade garment sector by disseminating fabricated news quoting the BGMEA president on maternity leave.
“The BGMEA has already expressed its opinions on maternity leave for garment workers to the labour and employment ministry,” the BGMEA said.
A vested quarter is trying to create anarchy in the RMG sector at a time when the sector is struggling to maintain an upward trend in production and export despite troubled economic conditions in two main export destinations: Europe and the US, BGMEA said.
The garment cutting and making (CM) charges declined 10-12 percent this year for the ongoing financial meltdown along with inadequate supply of gas and power in the industrial units and for weak infrastructure.
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