BKMEA, BGMEA urged to explore alternative markets in Eastern countries

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Labour and Employment Advisor Anwarul Iqbal Tuesday urged the country's knitwear and garment manufacturers and exporters to explore alternative markets in the Eastern countries, reports UNB
"The European countries and the USA have so far remained the destinations of Bangladesh garment products. I urge the BGMEA and BKMEA officials to make efforts to explore market in the eastern countries so that it can work as an alternative in case of any crisis in the Western market," he said.
He was addressing a launching ceremony jointly arranged by Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and GTZ at Hotel Sheraton in the morning.
The function, 'Launching of Social Compliance Monitoring Programme and TV Advertise-ments', was addressed, among others by commerce secretary Feroz Ahmed and BGMEA president Anwar-ul-Alam Parvez with BKMEA president Fazlul Haq in the chair.
Advisor Anwarul Iqbal said the government has undertaken massive programmes to boost exports and create skilled manpower as there is widespread unemployment in the country as well as lack of skilled workers.
He said the country's education system and the curricula of its training centres neither suit the national nor the international demands.
The Advisor said the government has formed two committees, one for Labour and Employment Ministry and another for Expatriate Welfare and Oversees Employment Ministry, to identify the scope of manpower export and formulate recommendations for necessary reforms in the curricula of the training programmes being offered by different departments.
"Training should be offered in line with the demands of both national and international markets. It's more necessary to train as per the manpower's demand rather than based on what we know," he felt.
Anwarul Iqbal said BGMEA and BKMEA could come forward to help the government by formulating curricula and providing equipment for training programmes.
He laid emphasis on ensuring due rights of all workers by implementing the tripartite agreement signed among the government, owners and the workers to boost both production and exports.
"The compliance situation in factories is much better than before. But many factory owners are yet to implement the tripartite agreement. Hence, chances for labour unrest still exist. I request the BGMEA and BKMEA leaders to help the government ensure full-fledged implementation of the agreement," the Advisor said.
In the function, the BKMEA presented pros and cons of a 3-year project (2007-09) on 'Social Compliance's Monitor-ing and TV Advertisements'.
BKMEA president Fazlul Haq said the organisation is working to attain the goal of implementing the National Labour Law in all member factories by 2007. "We've divided the Labor Law into 89 points and asked the member factories to implement the law at four stages with their own capacities."
He said the project, already started in February 2007, will be effective to ensure the rights of workers in the BKMEA-member factories and would help improve the workers' efficiencies, productivity in factories and exports.
A BKMEA monitoring team would make scheduled and unscheduled visits to the member factories to take overall social compliance of the whole sector to an acceptable level, Fazlul said.
He said the BKMEA developed a sophisticated software for compliance monitoring that will make contact details of factories, employment size, operation status, factory grading based on piece rate and monthly wages and training details available.
Besides, the BKMEA has made three TV advertisements on three key issues -- minimum wage and on time payment, management-worker relationship and using of personal protective equipment (PPE) -- which would be aired soon, Fazlul Haq said.