BGMEA’s sincerity called into question

separate study is showing that BGMEA has hardly implemented any of the accord they signed with the workers.http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/05/31/d6053101085.htm

According to the BILS study, successive presidents of the BGMEA signed at least four agreements with different labour federations but none of those has been implemented fully so far.

Earlier, the garment owners did not also implement the 24-point suggestion offered by the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment in November 2000. The Department pointed out 24 kinds of irregularities in garment industry that went against labour laws and suggested that the irregularities should be addressed to maintain a congenial working condition.

Inspection by the department also found that non-implementation of labour laws resulted in discontent and anger among the workers.

On July 8 in 2001, the government circulated a notification about minimum wages for workers of private sector industries. The notification said minimum wages should be at least Tk 1,200 a month if the number of workers in a factory is up to 10. And minimum wages should be Tk 1,250 and Tk 1,350 if the number of workers in a factory is up to 50 and over 50.

But the government notification was not implemented as New Age Garment Ltd filed a writ against it in August 2001.

Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, assistant executive director of BILS said, “The big problem is that most of the garment owners do not agree to obey labour laws.” The deals already signed are merely an eyewash to bypass the demands of workers, he added.

If BGMEA leaders would have taken effective steps to make its members implement the deals, there would be no workers unrest in Bangladesh’s garment industry, he stressed.