& 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

BGMEA eats humble stimulus pie

Star Business Report
After a spell of criticism from different quarters, BGMEA yesterday backtracked on its previous demand for Tk 3,000 crore from the government to pay salary and bonus to garment workers before Eid.
The apex trade body for garment makers and exporters also instructed the owners to pay salary and bonus to the workers from their own fund before the festival.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) came under fire for its president's recent comment on payment of salary and bonus.
BGMEA President Abdus Salam Murshedy at a press conference on September 3 urged the government to give Tk 3,000 crore from the government's stimulus package ofTk 5,000 crore to pay the RMG workers' salary and bonus.
At the press meet Murshedy had said if any labour unrest breaks out due to the government's inaction in giving the package, the owners should not be held responsible for it.
After dissemination of the news, criticism poured in for such a demand to pay the workers before Eid.
Later, the BGMEA issued a statement on Sunday, saying that there is no room for misunderstanding as the BGMEA only repeated its earlier demand for government fund to revamp the sector.
For further clarification, the trade body yesterday called another informal press conference.
At the briefing Acting President of BGMEA Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin regretted the way the comment was made at the press conference on September 3, where Murshedy demanded the amount to pay their workers before Eid.
"Actually we didn't demand the money to pay our workers before Eid, we wanted the amount for the survival of the sector," said Mohiuddin.
"I am sorry for such a statement," he said, adding that it is the obligation of the owners to pay their workers.
"Paying the workers is our duty and obligation for running the industry," Mohiuddin said. He said the owners must not deprive the workers.
The BGMEA has been urging the government for giving stimulus package to the garment sector over the last one year to tackle the fallout of global recession, the acting BGMEA boss said.
"The president's statement came out of frustration as the government was not responding to the owners' demands despite having several meetings with it and its departments concerned," he said.
"The expression of the content was just out of frustration," Mohiuddin said.
He said the owners felt insecure, as the government did not hold the second meeting of the taskforce committee on recession impact despite the garment sector's recent negative growth in exports.
Moreover, BGMEA faced pressure from the general members at a recent meeting as many owners were nearing to close down their facto-
ries amid poor work orders from international buyers due to the recession, he said.
Mohiuddin said they have no intention to blackmail the government.
He said the garment industry is no longer an individual property -- now this industry is the national asset, as more than three million people are directly employed in the sector and hundreds of banks and financial institutions are running with the thriving garment business.
I lowever, the government's announcement of the stimulus package of Tk 5,000 crore in the national budget for fiscal year 2009-10 inspired the garment entrepreneurs.
Faruque Hassan, vice president of the BGMEA, said the governments of the competing countries have already announced several stimulus packages for their apparel sector to offset the impact of the global recession.
"The competing countries started getting benefits from such financial supports during the recession as they are receiving more work orders now," Hassan said.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister AMA Muhith downplayed the owners' demand for Tk 3,000 crore to pay salary and bonus to their workers before Eid, saying it was their 'tactic' for realising money from stimulus package.
He said the garment factory owners are capable of paying their workers' salary and bonus.
"We have statistics that they made profit this year, it may be lower than the previous years," Muhith said.