[🇧🇩] Textile & RMG Industry of Bangladesh

[Saif]

All sides for 9% raise in minimum garment wage

A state-run annual increment and wage review committee yesterday recommended that the government raise the minimum wage of garment workers by 9 percent.

www.thedailystar.net

All sides for 9% raise in minimum garment wage

photo: Star/file

A state-run annual increment and wage review committee yesterday recommended that the government raise the minimum wage of garment workers by 9 percent.

The workers had been seeking 10 percent to address yearly inflation in the country while staging demonstrations in August and September over an 18-point demand.

However, the garment factory owners offered 8 percent during recent tripartite meetings organised by the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

One such meeting yesterday settled on 9 percent, according to an agreement signed by the committee's Chairman Md Sabur Hossain alongside representatives of the workers and factory owners.

The labour ministry will now have to finalise the rate and issue a circular to bring it into effect.

A tripartite meeting yesterday settled on a 9 percent increase to the minimum wage for garment workers, according to an agreement signed by Md Sabur Hossain, increment and wage review committee chairman, as well as workers' representatives and factory owners

This will enable workers to receive revised salaries based on the increment from January next year.

Other benefits will also take into account the annual increment as per the Labour Law (amended) of 2006, the agreement said.

In previous years, the increment was fixed at 5 percent.

Over 99 percent of factories under the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) have implemented the previous minimum wage, as promised by the factory owners, according to a report from the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

In late November last year, the minimum wage board finalised Tk 12,500 as the minimum monthly salary for garment workers.

According to the report, at least 2,121 factories out of 2,140 had implemented the minimum wage by October this year, with the remaining 19 yet to comply.​

 

[Saif]

Bangladeshi garment workers at risk from extreme heat: study

Workers in some of the world’s biggest garment manufacturing hubs in Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Pakistan are increasingly exposed to extreme heat as climate change pushes temperatures up, a report found on Sunday, a problem multinational retailers and brands will have to help address.

www.thedailystar.net

Bangladeshi garment workers at risk from extreme heat: study

Workers at a garment factory are making jeans in Dhaka. Photo: Reuters

xWorkers in some of the world's biggest garment manufacturing hubs in Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Pakistan are increasingly exposed to extreme heat as climate change pushes temperatures up, a report found on Sunday, a problem multinational retailers and brands will have to help address.

New European Union regulations make retailers selling in the bloc, like Inditex, H&M and Nike, legally liable for conditions at their suppliers, putting pressure on them to help fund improvements to cool factories they source from.

In Dhaka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh and Karachi, the number of days with "wet-bulb" temperatures - a measurement that accounts for air temperature as well as humidity - above 30.5 degrees Celsius jumped by 42 percent in 2020-2024 compared to 2005-2009, researchers at Cornell University's Global Labor Institute found.

Above that threshold, the International Labor Organisation recommends as much rest as work in any given hour to maintain safe core body temperature levels.

The report identified only three retailers - Nike, Levi's, and VF Corp - which specifically include protocols to protect workers from heat exhaustion in their supplier codes of conduct.

"We've been talking to brands for ages now about this issue, and they're only now starting to turn their attention to it," Jason Judd, executive director at Cornell University's Global Labor Institute, told Reuters.

"If a brand or retailer knows that temperatures in a production area are excessively high or doing damage to worker health, then they're obligated under this new set of rules to do something about it," he added.

The EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive came into force in July and will start applying to large companies from mid-2027.

Fixes to cool factories could include better ventilation and water evaporative cooling systems, instead of energy-intensive and expensive air conditioning that would increase manufacturers' carbon emissions.

Some factory owners would likely be willing to make such investments themselves, given how heat stress significantly impacts productivity, Judd said, but the EU rules highlight brands' responsibility to address the issue too.

The report also urged retailers and brands to invest in higher wages and health protections so that workers can manage the risk of missing work days due to heatwaves.

Extreme heat and flooding could erase $65 billion in apparel export earnings from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan and Vietnam by 2030, research from asset manager Schroders and the Global Labor Institute found last year.​

 

[Saif]

US Trade Representative, BGMEA discuss RMG issues

US Trade Representative Brendan Lynch and Trade Policy Analyst for South and Central Asia Emily Ashby met with the leadership of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association at a hotel in Dhaka on Tuesday...

www.newagebd.net

US Trade Representative, BGMEA discuss RMG issues
Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha . Dhaka 10 December, 2024, 22:33

New Age file photo

US Trade Representative Brendan Lynch and Trade Policy Analyst for South and Central Asia Emily Ashby met with the leadership of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association at a hotel in Dhaka on Tuesday.

The meeting focused on key issues of bilateral trade, with particular emphasis on the US-Bangladesh Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement.

Administrator Anwar Hossain led the BGMEA delegation. Other members of the delegation included former BGMEA president Faruque Hassan, former senior vice-president Abdullah Hil Rakib, BGMEA support committee members InamulHaq Khan Bablu, Asif Ashraf and ANM Saifuddin, said a press release.

During the meeting, BGMEA Administrator Anwar Hossain provided an overview of the remarkable progress made by Bangladesh’s readymade garment industry in recent years.

The BGMEA leaders also highlighted progress made by the industry in workplace safety, workers’ rights, labour law reforms, and environmental sustainability.

They also reiterated the industry’s commitment to continuing its efforts to ensure that the RMG sector grows responsibly while meeting international standards.

Both the US and BGMEA representatives expressed commitment to continued collaboration, working towards a more sustainable and worker-friendly future for Bangladesh’s RMG sector.

The meeting underscored the importance of productive dialogue through TICFA to further enhance bilateral trade and investment opportunities.​

 

[Saif]

Unrest in RMG sector created: M Shakhawat

Labour and employment adviser M Shakhawat Hussain has said the industrial sector is going through some sort of unrest. In particular, the unrest prevailing in the readymade garment (RMG) sector was created. The ousted government and their friend nation together are creating some problems. The...

en.prothomalo.com

Unrest in RMG sector created: M Shakhawat
Staff Correspondent
Dhaka
Updated: 11 Dec 2024, 19: 56

Labour and employment adviser M Sakhawat Hussain File photo

Labour and employment adviser M Shakhawat Hussain has said the industrial sector is going through some sort of unrest.

In particular, the unrest prevailing in the readymade garment (RMG) sector was created. The ousted government and their friend nation together are creating some problems. The workers too are creating some problems without understanding.

M Shakhwat Hussain made the remarks at an event titled ‘Nagorik Utsab’ organised on voter awareness and civic activism. The Hunger Project Bangladesh and Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (SHUJAN) jointly organised the event at Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) auditorium in the capital’s Agargaon on Wednesday.

Referring to the anarchy in the RMG sector, M Shakhawat Hussain said, “The workers are not creating the problem. They are being used to create problems. It is quite unfortunate. We have to be aware of those who are instigating to create unrest inside the country from outside.”

He also talked about the national election. He said, “So far, the country witnessed four national elections which were more or less acceptable globally.”

Criticising the three national polls held under the Awami League government, the labour adviser said, “You don’t need to go abroad to learn how to ruin an electoral system. These elections were the last nails on the coffin of democracy. We have already seen the consequences. Each and every infrastructure has been destroyed.”

“The general election was considered a festival once. However, the people of the country were deprived of their voting rights. A credible election must be participatory, which means the voters have an active participation in the polls,” he added.

He hoped that the next election will be an exceptional one.

Shakhawat Hussain further said, “Those who will participate in the upcoming polls might have taken lessons from the last three elections. If they hadn’t, that would be unfortunate.”

SHUJAN acting president justice MA Matin said, “We have to raise awareness among the people. People have some birthrights. When the spirit of democracy is prevalent, there is no need for governance and law. When that spirit is dead, then even the laws won’t be enough to uphold that spirit.”

SHUJAN secretary and chief of the reform commission on the electoral system, Badiul Alam Majumder said, “Everybody has some liability for where we are standing today. In this case, politicians have more responsibilities. They didn’t fulfill their commitments. Justice Habibur Rahman said the country was in the hands of gamblers.”

He went on saying, “A reform within the political parties is quite essential to get rid of this situation. And it should not be imposed on them; rather the political parties should come forward with some reform initiatives. However, no attempts will be successful if the citizens do not raise their voice as they are the owners of the state.”

Badiul Alam further said they were expecting the caretaker government system to be resumed through a court verdict on 17 December. Everyone should act as watchdog so this system does not get discarded ever again, he said.​

 

[Bilal9]

9% salary increment for RMG workers, effective from 1st December, 2024​

BTJ News Desk
11/12/202401
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Government of Bangladesh has announced a 9% wage increment for ready-made garment workers, effective from 1st December. This decision follows extensive negotiations between employers, workers, and government representatives, aiming to resolve wage-related unrest in the garment sector.

The agreement was finalized during the fifth meeting of the committee on minimum wage revaluation and annual wage increases, chaired by Additional Secretary Md. Sabur Hossain. Initially, workers demanded a 10% increment while employers proposed 8%. A consensus was reached at 9%, with all parties signing a joint declaration.

The meeting included representatives from various stakeholders, including the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), and labor unions. Labor Secretary AHM Shafiquzzaman emphasized that the decision aligns with the previously agreed 18-point plan to enhance labor standards in the sector.

Union leader Babul Akhter urged workers to return to work and maintain production, emphasizing unity against potential conspiracies. The wage increment reflects a collaborative effort to address workers’ demands and stabilize the industry, contributing to improved labor conditions in Bangladesh’s vital RMG sector.