& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Vow to hike RMG prices, workers' wages

Multi-stakeholders Forum-Bangladesh meet ends

Star Business Report
The two-day long seminar on ready made garments (RMG )concluded in Dhaka yesterday with a vow to hike both the prices of the prime exportable item and workers' wages.
“We have proposed to international buyers to enhance the prices of products as the costs of production have risen significantly over the last few years,” Faisal Samad, a BGMEA (Ban-gladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association) and co-chairman of the seminar, told reporters.
The Multi-stakeholders Forum-Bangladesh (MFB), a co-partner of the global MFA Forum, organised the seminar on 'Building Responsible Competitiveness: Bangladesh in the Global Market Place' at a cityhotel.
The issues like RMG workers' minimum wages, hike in the prices of garments and the country's macro-economic situation came up for discussion at the seminar.
MFA Forum was formed in 2005 after the expiry of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA) facilities by the end of 2004.
Despite the increase in production costs of around 15 percent in the last year intense competition in the sector meant producers had been unable to pass the higher costs on to buyers, the seminar was told.
The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data shows in fact, the prices of per unit garment have fallen by between 1.5 percent in the past 12 months.
Faisal Samad said the global MFA Forum and MFB will work on implementation of a proper purchasing practice by the international buyers.
In the seminar the workers' leaders and NGO representatives urged owners of RMG units and the government for more freedom of association and trade unionism to protect the workers'rights.
The demand for uninterrupted supply of gas and power to the garment factories to enhance productivity was also raised by the owners.
"If we cannot increase the productivity we will lose competitiveness. So we urged the government and the buyers to develop training system for the
workers," Samad said.
On the sideline of the seminar, Joyce Kortlandt, policy adviser for labour rights at the Oxfam International, a Britain based global NGO, said the government should allow more freedom of association to the workers and the wage should be increased for them to ensure better price level of Bangladesh made RMG products.
She said the brands should pay more prices for the Bangladesh made RMG products as the costs of production have really gone up over the last one year due to different reasons.
Lauding the food rationing system for the workers, she suggested that this system should be extended. She also said Oxfam can help in this regard if owners and the governmentwant.
She said, "The prices of the locally made RMG products are generally very low where buyers, suppliers and NGOs should sit together to determine the price levels.”
Executives from a significant number of global brands in RMG business attended the seminar from home and abroad.