Ready Made Garment factories resume ops at Ashulia

Dhaka, June-23-Star Online Report: Some 250 readymade garment factories in Ashulia resumed operation Wednesday morning as the owners decided to reopen the factories after a one-day closure. The workers joined their work at about 8:00am and the situation was quite normal till writing of this report at 11:30am.  Earlier on Monday, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) decided to close all apparel units in Ashulia for an indefinite period in the wake of labour unrest for the last few days. The workers started demonstrations demanding Tk 5,000 in minimum wages. The manufacturers kept all readymade garment units shut on Tuesday as per their decision but later in the day they decided reopen the factories on Wednesday after a series of meetings with ministers, lawmakers, worker representatives and officials of law enforcement agencies. “We have decided to resume operation upon an assurance of security from the government,” Abdul Salam Murshedy, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, told a press briefing Wednesday evening.

BNP, Jamaat fuelling RMG unrest: Awami lawmakers
INDEPENDENT-(23-06-10)-Staff Correspondent: Pro-government MPs have alleged that opposition BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami are fuelling the violent garment unrest to get the workers involved with the June 27 countrywide general strike.
They called on owners and labourers to work together to resolve the unrest.
The deputies made the allegation in the discussion on the proposed budget at the parliament yesterday. Narsingdi-3 Awami League MP Jahirul Haque Mohan said, "BNP and Jamaat are creating unrest in the readymade garment sector. They are trying to involve the workers in the hartal by fuelling the unrest."
"They are continuing their efforts to tarnish the image of the government," he alleged. He also said, "We will not let the industry be ruined as long as a single garment owner lives." Urging the workers for restraint, Mohan said, "Please calm down. Have a little patience. Your wage with all dues will be paid after the implementation of the government’s new wage structure." Sylhet-3 AL MP Mahmud-Us-Samad Chowdhury said, "Garment owners have become helpless. Efforts are on to destroy our garment industry." Reserved woman MP Roushan Jahan Sathi demanded introducing trade union in the industry. "Wage will have to be set in consistence with current price of commodities," she demanded.
Kurigram-3 Jatiya Party MP Mayeedul Islam said, "We need to formulate a coal policy to facilitate coal extraction. We have plenty of coal in northern region of the country." "We can meet our power demand for 20 years with coal," he said. "We will have to adopt open-pit mining method if we want to develop the country." "It will neither damage the environment nor the land," he claimed
State minister for cultural affairs Pramod Mankin, and MPs Nazrul Islam Babu and Rafiqul Islam, among others, took part in the budget discussion 

Garment Sector in dire straits
DAILY STAR-(23-06-10)-Staff Correspondent: The shutdown of all garment factories in Ashulia yesterday has given rise to fear of economic losses in the manufacturing sector, although the owners have decided to reopen today.
Apparel entrepreneurs said they were caught in a double bind, as they were forced to keep their factories closed in the wake of a labour unrest, but the shutdown has cut into production. As a result many run the risk of missing delivery deadlines. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said days of violent protests created "panic and anarchy", and forced factories to close. Angered by the shutdown, thousands of workers blockaded roads for hours and vandalised vehicles in the industrial hub near the capital yesterday. The workers turned up for work, and began protesting the shutdown, and attacking law enforcers, said police. The labour unrest stemmed from the workers’ demand for hiking their minimum monthly salary to Tk 5,000 from the current Tk 1,650. Now the owners might have to send shipments by air to meet the deadlines, which is costly, said Delwar Hossain, deputy managing director of Ha-Meem Group, a leading garment company hit by the labour unrest. Another garment exporter said he might have to bear an additional spending of $36 lakh to send shipments by air to two buyers. It costs $4.5 per kilogramme to ship garment products by air, and the freight charges must to be borne by the garment factory owners, not buyers. Sector leaders said economic loss from the shutdown of about 250 factories will be huge. BGMEA President Abdus Salam Murshedy said he did not have an exact amount of the loss caused by the shutdown. But another BGMEA official said the loss might run into millions of dollars, as now it might be nearly impossible for many factory owners to meet the delivery deadlines. According to a report from drapersonline.com, a fashion news website, international buyers Marks & Spencer, H&M, and Zara are facing the threat of severe delays in stocking deliveries following the closure of garment factories in Bangladesh. Ifty Islam, managing partner of Asian Tiger Capital, an investment bank, said the minimum wage in Bangladesh’s garment sector is the world’s lowest. The cost of living has been increasing 10 to 15 percent a year, but salaries have not been adjusted, he added. "The owners must compromise, and need to cut profit to raise workers’ wages to a level which is acceptable."  The only solution is to increase wages for workers, but it will squeeze the profit margin for garment factory owners. So, foreign buyers should understand that they need to raise order prices as well, Ifty Islam said. "We all should pay a little more. It will be a good balancing act."