Apparel Online Bangladesh Magazine February Issue 2019 | Page 18

COVER STORY TO ADVERTISE GOING TO A GOOD EVENT? Contact Rani Mahendru [phone] (512) [email protected] Send your industry gossip, photos and news to [email protected] at Taka 8,000, following which the agitated garment workers decided to call off their protest and go back to work. “The revised wage board is effective from December 1, 2018 and will be adjusted from February this year,” maintained Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, an industry insider and ex-BGMEA President. Imrul Anwar Liton (extreme right), Managing Director, Lyric Group with friends at Uttra Club, Dhaka Bangladesh alone but for the subcontinent as a whole. On the other hand, union leaders see the turn of events as an outcome of the so-called disconnect between the workers and the labour leaders. “Any crisis in the industry should be resolved through a joint effort by the union leaders, factory management and the Government and the workers are to be conveyed the message. It helps quell any unrest in a healthy garment sector,” observed a labour leader. Speaking to media, Organising Secretary of the Garment Workers Trade Union Kendra Khairul Mamun Mintoo alleged that the Government and the factory owners did not allow any mainstream union activities in Ashulia and Savar areas over the last two years. As a result, the gap between the unions and the workers widened and during the peak of the latest unrest, the leaders failed to play any part in resolving the situation. As per Amirul Haque Amin, President, National Garment Workers Federation, weaknesses in terms of leadership also added to this situation. “Around 350 unions for more than 4,500 active garment factories are too scanty,” maintained Amirul, speaking to the media while underlining that the number of active union leaders in more than 4,500 Though the unfortunate turn of events has now been brought under control, the damage was already done. The more than a week’s disruption of regular activities has definitely pushed the industry back by miles both in terms of business growth and development, repercussions of which would only be known in the days to come. garment factories stood at 750 after the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013 but the number of such active unions is around 350 now. “The Government and International Labour Organization have recently been advocating for social dialogues for resolving the conflicts in the sector. But I still believe there is no alternative to trade unions in lowering the conflicts,” he said, adding, “Healthy practice of trade unionism can resolve 90 per cent of the conflicts.” But there is no bar in forming trade unions, said the President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Md Siddiqur Rahman. He observed, “If workers want, they are allowed to have unions as per the labour law. Even they can apply for unionism through online applications,” and added, “The Government has relaxed the minimum participation requirement of workers in formation of union to 20 per cent from the previous 30 per cent to encourage it.” With things showing little signs of improvement, it was now the Government’s turn to step in. It convened a tripartite meeting (involving workers’ representatives, factory owners and Government officials), which reportedly decided to hike wage in six grades while leaving the minimum monthly pay unchanged 18 Apparel Online Bangladesh | FEBRUARY 2019 | www.apparelresources.com Even Siddiqur Rahman assured that no action would be taken against the innocent workers amidst rising concern of the workers against any retaliation from the factory owners once things go back to normal. “No innocent garment worker would be suspended. In our tripartite core committee meeting, we agreed that no innocent worker will lose job,” he assured following claims by labour leaders in Ashulia and Savar that as many as 1,411 workers have been laid off from 16 factories. The ILO Country Office in Bangladesh in a statement welcomed the decision to revise the wages. “We acknowledge the genuine efforts of all parties, led by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, to work towards settling minimum wages at an appropriate level and to reach a consensus. Through this tripartite process of dialogue, confidence is being built and we call upon all parties to help the industry resume its activities,” said Tuomo Poutiainen, ILO Country Director for Bangladesh. Though the unfortunate turn of events has now been brought under control, the damage was already done. The more than a week’s disruption of regular activities has definitely pushed the industry back by miles both in terms of business growth and development, repercussions of which would only be known in the days to come. “It is difficult to specify the amount of loss due to the unrest as many factories were affected and some of them were vandalised severely. I can only say the amount is huge,” observed a sombre BGMEA President, apparently worried about the industry’s immediate future and naturally so.