Amid criticism triggered by largescale terminations of workers in the garment factories, the government and Readymade Garment (RMG) factory owners are devising strategies together on how to keep alive the country’s multi-billion earning business and export industry without sacking workers during and post Covid- 19 pandemic situation.
The government has also asked the factory owners to avoid termination of workers to avert workers’ unrest amid the prevailing pandemic situation.
Awami League General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister ObaidulQuader has also expressed concern over the ongoing workers’ termination in the garment industry and other sectors in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Urging the factory owners not to lay off any workers, he said, “Workers have bought profits to owners during good days. Now in this bad situation, owners should keep their workers in their respective positions. Workers’ termination decisions will provoke dissatisfaction among them which might lead to chaotic situations in this pandemic”.
In a regular briefing from his official residence on Monday, he made such a call to the apparel and textile owners.
On the other hand, the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) in a written statement signed by its Inspector General of DIFE Shib Nath Roy to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporter Association (BKMEA), and Bangladesh Textile Mills Association made the recommendation on Sunday.
The DIFE issued the letter after knowing about the dismissal of 17,579 workers from 67 apparel and textile factories after the Eid-ul-Fitr despite a tripartite agreement that bars layoff and sacking of workers.
The tripartite agreement was made at the 64th tripartite consultative committee meeting headed by State Minister for Labour and Employment MonnujanSufian at Sromo Bhaban on April 25.
The report was prepared based on the DIFE’s 23 zonal office information after the Eid. The workerswere terminated in the labor-intensive industrial zones of Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj, and Chattogram.
Amid widespread criticism after BGMEA president announcement of workers’ termination, now the apex body of the country's apparel industry, in a statement, said the president’s speech did not mean anything like job cut.
BGMEA director Anjan Sekhar Das (Chattogram Region) told The Bangladesh Post that, “We do not want to lay off any of our workers. If we don’t have any export orders, our machine wheels will not run. Hence, we as well as our workers will not be able to survive long in this pandemic”.
“We are very thankful for the government support that we have to save our workers, but it is also a loan which we have to pay later at a reduced interest rate. With this, we will be able to pay their wages until June.
But what will happen next? To survive we urge the government to reduce corporate tax, source tax, and cited some other facilities in the next budget. At the same time we want early goods unloading at the ports, which will help us to increase our work activities,” he added.
South Asian Network on Economic Modelling (SANEM) executive director Dr Selim Raihan said that, “The most established and privileged economic sector in the country is RMG sector. The government is the first to announce an incentive package for the sector, which is related to workers' job wages and job security”.
Finally, he suggested that “Owners should make a realistic and unbiased assessment on the present situation of the sector at the earliest. Based on the assessment, owners along with trade bodies should take decisions on how they will tackle the upcoming situation".
According to BGMEA, the industry has seen a 14 percent decline in growth in the first ten months of the current financial year (July 2019-April 2020) which, it says, is the most negative growth figure for the industry in the last five years.
Also,between the period of May 1 and May 20, the RMG industry recorded a whopping negative 55.7 percent growth, BGMEA said.
RMG orders worth over US$3 billion have been canceled since March this year.