As the labour unrest keeps on going even after accepting all the demands of the workers, its time to RMG manufacturers should work together to solve the ongoing crisis.they said at a discussion of BGMEA members in the capital’s Golf Garden.
Forum, a panel of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) members, organised the event presided over by the panel’s President MA Salam.
Speaking at the event, Nexus Group Managing Director Abdur Rashid Hossaini said those who are engaged in protecting the interests of the neighbouring country are the ones who want to destroy the country’s economy in the name of anarchy in the garment industry.
At the open floor discussion, apparel manufacturers said,
Many other large companies in the sector are facing the same fate due to worker unrest. Amid deteriorating law and order following the change in power, worker dissatisfaction, protests, strikes, and factory closures are raising serious concerns about the future of this sector, which contributes around 85 percent of the country’s export earnings.
With production plummeting, orders shifting to neighbouring countries, revenues shrinking, and dependence on bank loans increasing, many large companies in the garment sector are now facing the risk of permanent closure.
For 10-20 percent of the orders, buyers have already said they don’t need them anymore. Buyers are no longer negotiating new deals.”
They said worker unrest initially started in Ashulia, it is now “spreading to various parts of the country”.
Faisal Samad, former senior vice-president of BGMEA, said, “If there is a problem in one factory today, there is no guarantee that another factory will not face a problem tomorrow. So everyone has to talk about solutions.”
Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu, managing director of Rising Group, said, “What is happening in Ashulia at the moment is not a labour related problem, it is a law and order problem.”
BGMEA former president Rubana Huq Said, If the continue the current crisis, 25 percent buyers thinking shifting order from Bangladesh, she added. Its time all the manufacturers should be unity for the sector ,she added.
This event was hosted by
Mohammad Masud Kabir, Managing Director of Motex Fashion Ltd.
At the event all members opinion received and the a team of Forum leaders will submit a Letter to the Chief adviser.
In the 2022-23 fiscal year, Bangladesh earned $55.55 billion from exports, with $46.99 billion coming from garment exports alone – representing 84.58 percent of total export earnings.
