Apparel Online India Magazine April 1st Issue 2018 | Page 17

SUSTAINABILITY
First Wage Board meet held in Bangladesh
amid demand for BDT 16K minimum pay
The first meeting of the Wage
Board formed to formulate a new
pay structure for Bangladesh’s
garment workers was held
recently amid a demonstration
for a minimum wage of BDT
16,000. Among those present in
the meeting were Bangladesh
Garment Manufacturers and
Exporters Association (BGMEA)
President Siddiqur Rahman,
Labour Representatives
Shamsunnahar Bhuiyan and
Fazlul Haque Montu, owner
representative Kazi Saifuddin,
Neutral Representative
Kamal Uddin and Wage Board
Secretary Md Shahidullah.
Meanwhile, outside the meeting
venue, labour representatives
were demonstrating for a
minimum wage of BDT 16,000. 10
minutes before the start of the
meeting, some labour activists
under the banner of Garment
Workers’ Rights Movement
handed a memorandum to the
Wage Board Chairman to press
for the demand of a minimum
wage of BDT 16,000. The meeting
was held at the office of the Wage
Board Committee in Dhaka
recently under the leadership
of the Wage Board’s Chairman
Aminul Islam. Apparel Online
tried to reach the officials in
the running board of BGMEA
regarding the content of the
discussion but both of them
declined to comment over the
issue. Back in January 2018,
Bangladesh Government formed
a fresh Wage Board for the 3.6
million workers in the country’s
garment sector. The Board is
expected to come forward with
recommendations for a new
pay grade for the workers by
July this year. All the while,
demands for a minimum wage of
BDT 16,000 has been prevailing.
BGMEA, on the other hand,
has termed such demands
‘unrealistic’ and has urged all
to refrain from agitating the
workers over the minimum
wage issue. They say the new
pay structure will balance the
capacity of the manufacturers
and also fulfil the needs of the
workers.
GAP aims transparency in supply chain; promotes
digital payment to workers
American fashion brand GAP
Inc. has become the latest to join
‘Better than Cash Alliance’, an
initiative launched by the UN
(United Nation) to fast-track the
transition from cash to digital
disbursements in a bid to reduce
poverty and drive-inclusive
growth. GAP’s decision to become
a part of the initiative, which
already has 60 members, is aimed
at improving the livelihoods of the
garment workers, who make its
clothing at supplier factories. The
retailer is eyeing to completely
digitise the payment modes for
workers by the year 2020.
Around 800 garment
manufacturing factories in 30
countries are the major suppliers
of the US-based fashion retailer.
The implementation of digital
payment systems will also
help in enhancing efficiency
and transparency in the entire
apparel supply chain. Markedly,
digital payment systems, such
as online transfers to bank
account s or mobile wallets, are
already in place at more than 60
per cent of GAP Inc.’s supplier
factories. According to David
Hayer, Senior Vice President of
Global Sustainability at GAP Inc.,
the company aims to speed up
the transition towards a more
transparent workplace for
women and men who make GAP’s
clothes and it’ll be a win-win for
garment workers and factories
alike. In its media release,
Better than Cash Alliance said
that around 80 per cent of the
garment industry workforce
comprise women but they often
live in a cash-only environment
and lack access to various
financial services.
“Electronic wage payment
methods have the benefit of
drawing previously unbanked
workers into the formal
financial structure, providing
women with greater control
over their finances and a safer
way to save, send and invest
their hard earned money,” it
added. Apart from this, P.A.C.E
(Personal Advancement &
Career Enhancement) is another
major initiative undertaken
by GAP to promote financial
literacy and inclusion through
its life-skills education and
training programme for women
garment workers in around
16 countries.
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