Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed urged foreign buyers and retailers on Thursday to raise the prices of ready-made garments (RMG) products while sourcing apparels from Bangladesh to help address compliance issues in the country's RMG industry.
"Since Rana Plaza collapse, a lot of progress has taken place in the country's RMG sector over the past two years in ensuring fire safety, workers' rights and workplace environment," said the minister.
He was addressing a high-level conference - 'RMG Industry and Beyond: Bangladesh - Framing the Future' - at a city hotel.
The Royal Danish Embassy organised the programme, in cooperation with the government of Bangladesh, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), marking the second anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster and the launching of a new strategic sector initiative.
More than 200 participants, representing various government, non-government and development organisations, businesses and labour bodies, took part in the conference.
Danish Minister for Trade and Development Cooperation Mogens Jensen inaugurated the programme.
He praised Bangladesh for its achievement in the RMG sector and stressed the need for sharing the learning from the last two years' multi-stakeholder cooperation in the sector, and applying those in other sectors, like - shipbuilding and leather.
"The country, the international community and the RMG sector have set new standards and introduced new forms of cooperation, which have not previously been seen anywhere in the world. Bangladesh is already framing the future." The Danish minister also said Bangladesh has progressed substantially in compliance issues. He, however, highlighted the urgency to continue the efforts for implementing compliance issues in all factories.
He also focussed on the need for more social dialogue to have a sustainable growth in RMG and beyond.
"To be the number one supplier of RMG products, the country needs to fulfil all conditions of compliance issues."
The Danish minister emphasised the urgency for massive transformation of the country's apparel sector to overcome the challenges and make it more compliant.
"A successful transformation of the RMG sector will not only enhance its competitiveness in global clothing market, but also make it more sustainable," he added.
Tofail Ahmed said after the Rana Plaza collapse, some amazing and unbelievable things have happened. Brands, development partners like EU, owners and the government - all have come together to transform the apparel industry.
Bangladesh's progress in the said areas is continuing, he said and cited examples of appointing inspectors, forming labour unions, setting up database and increasing wages for RMG workers.
Bangladesh amended the labour law, allowing full freedom of association to the workers. The government is now working to amend the EPZ (Export Processing Zone) law, so that the workers in the specialised zones can form trade unions, he said.
"Labours are now happier," said the minister, urging the buyers to raise the prices of RMG products, so that the workers can lead a more comfortable life.
"The government has increased the wages for the RMG workers by about 77 percent recently to help them lead a decent life. If you, the retailers, do not pay at increased rates, apparel makers cannot cope with the challenge of increased wages."
A minimum increase in rate can ensure smooth implementation of compliance issues, he also said.
He pointed out that the government is trying its best to diversify export products and expand markets to sustain in the competitive global market.
The conference was also addressed, among others, by Foreign Minister A H Mahmood Ali, State Minister for Labour and Employment Mohammad Mujibul Haque, and BGMEA president Atiqul Islam.
The BGMEA president thanked all stakeholders, including the development partners, to help transform the RMG sector into a new standard.
"To materialise the goal, we are still executing various short, middle and long-term plans," he added.
mzrbd@yahoo.com
Tofail urges buyers to raise RMG prices
FE Report | Published: March 20, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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