Bangladesh Garments Industry

RMG workers’ minimum wage fixed at Tk 1,662

bdclimate — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 12:41:25 +0000

from here:

http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/10/06/d6100601033.htm

bdclimate — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 10:51:55 +0000

Latest Updates

http://www.financialexpress-bd.com/index3.asp?cnd=8/24/2006§ion_id=1&newsid=35384&spcl=no

Price hike of products … who is telling the truth?

http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/09/18/d6091801096.htm

Fix minimum wage not full pay scale – BGMEA

Both workers and owners reject proposals – More time needed

National Wage Board proposes a tiered and phased approach to wage rises

bdclimate — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 00:21:33 +0000

the national wage board could not come to a consensus on wage rises during a 7 hour long meeting today (sept 12), which perhaps isn’t surprising to observers and participants. the overwhelming emotion right now is possibly the palpable fear of yet more violence as a result of this dispute, which is damaging to the RMG sector and its workers. no one is arguing that wage rates need to increase, but we seem to be unable to separate the facts and the statistics from the politics. we seem to be unable to acknowledge our interconnectedness in profit making and accountability. we seem to be unable to engage in industrial dispute with any degree of maturity. while we were trying to win the argument behind the cause, we have sacrificed the cause itself. watch this space for more unfolding drama.

details here

-shahpar

RMG owners wait with bated breath for meeting at 2 p.m. BST today

bdclimate — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 12:01:30 +0000

more news coverage of the Wage Commission meeting today in Dhaka here

Will the deal happen tomorrow?

bdclimate — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 00:38:44 +0000

Tomorrow marks the three month of the signing of the tripatriate deal. The minimum wage issue was supposed to be resolved by tomorrow. Let’s hope that a deal is signed. We really need to move past these issue to prepare for China’s entering the fray in 2008.

Here is a frank write up by Annisul Huq on the current deadlock.

Three fantastic features

bdclimate — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 23:16:06 +0000

Dr. Naushad Faiz lays it all out with three comprehensive feature on the future of the industry.

One dead, 50 hurt in two devastating fires

bdclimate — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 22:49:01 +0000

One dead, 50 hurt in two devastating fires

Open fire on workers?

bdclimate — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 23:07:27 +0000

Minister quite incredibly asks

Commerce Minister Hafizuddin Ahmed yesterday asked the garment owners to open fire in case of attacks on their factories in future.

“Sometimes you have to be tough. You can wait for one or two incidents and then straight fire on the attackers to save your factories,” he said referring to the recent labour unrest in the readymade garment sector.

The minister was speaking as the chief guest at a meeting with the garment owners at Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) office in Dhaka.

RMG wage board meeting ends without results

bdclimate — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 22:52:13 +0000

In a bid to reduce the misunderstanding between the garment owners and workers, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) representative Annisul Huq submitted financial accounts statements of seven factories covering two to three years and urged the other board members to check if those factories can afford the pay raise.

“The accounts I submitted in the meeting can be audited by any party including wage commission,” Huq, also former president of BGMEA, told The Daily Star yesterday.

Minimum wage Tk 1,230 is being proposed for a new worker for six to nine months because a worker is usually upgraded after working this period, he explained.

The board will sit again next week to discuss the issue further.

Worker representatives in the meeting placed a pay structure with seven grades, sources said.

The workers are demanding a minimum wage of Tk 3,000 basic, which will add up to Tk 4,850 with house rent and other allowances while grade one total with all allowances will be Tk 24,000.

More here

Minimum wages for RMG workers to be finalised by Sep 15

bdclimate — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 23:45:41 +0000

Minimum wages for the garment workers would be finalised by next September 15. The fourth meeting of the “Social Compliance Forum for RMG” held in the conference room of Commerce Ministry Wednesday was informed, report agencies.
The meeting was also informed that a huge progress has been made in the implementation process of the tripartite agreement that has been signed last month to protect the interests of labour of this sector.
Commerce and Water Resources Minister Hafizuddin Ahmed presided over the meeting. Implementation of social compliance in the readymade garment (RMG) factories and recent violence in this sector came up for discussion in the meeting.
The minister said the government is working sincerely to ensure congenial atmosphere in the RMG sector in the greater interest of the country’s economic progress.
“Normalcy has already been restored in the RMG sector, as the government has taken immediate steps after the recent labour unrest in this sector,” he said, adding that production is going on in full swing in all factories.
Commerce Secretary Feroz Ahmed, Labour Secretary Syed Sujauddin Ahmed, Executive Chairman of BEPZA Ashraf Abdullah Yousuf, BGMEA President Tipu Munshi, chief of Forum Golam Hossain, Joint Secretary General of Sramik Dal M Anwar Hossain, coordinator of MFA forum Jonathan Rose, women leader Shirin Akther, representative of foreign buyers Arnd Bornemann and concerned officials and representatives of different ministries and organisations attended the meeting.
The meeting decided to launch training programmes for workers, supervisors and managers to educate them on compliance and improve management quality as well as efficiency of production.
The meeting also decided to include representatives from three more buyers of different regions of the world in the forum, as currently one member from EU represents the forum.
After the meeting, Commerce Secretary Firoz Ahmed told journalists that UNDP, SEDF, MFA Forum have already proposed to support the training programme and the forum would have to take responsibility of implementing it.
He said the committee headed by DG of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) would monitor the activities.

Financial Express