Call for restarting closed state-owned jute mills, factories
Monday, 1 December 2008
FE Report
Speakers at a seminar Tuesday called for restarting the country's old state-owned jute mills and other factories that were closed in recent years amid increasing privatisation and competition. They also recommended formulation of a more flexible national industrial policy which would accommodate both public and private sectors.
In the midst of growing concern over the welfare issues of the workers and employees in the wake of globalisation, the speakers also called for adopting a more progressive and effective labour policy to safeguard the rights of the employees and enacting the labour laws in light of the ILO Convention.
The call, which was part of the consolidated recommendations of the regional seminars organised by Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) and Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) as part of a short-term project, was formally made at a national seminar on "Impact of Globalisation and Economic Reforms on the Industry and Labour Market in Bangladesh: Position and Role of Trade Unions".
Chairman of Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Rehman Sobhan was present as the chief guest in the seminar. President of BEI Farooq Sobhan chaired the event.
"Globalisation was meant to be the free flow of capital, goods and labour," Rehman Sobhan said. "But what we have witnessed so far is the free flow of only capital from developed world to the developing one, while the vision of the free movement of the labour force is yet to be realised," he observed.
With a view to ensuring the rightful share of the employees in the industry, Rehman Sobhan recommended the establishment of a trust or equity fund for the labourers in every business entity.
"The system of providing adequate share of profits to the employees are in place in almost 50 to 60 per cent of the industries in Europe," he said.
Pinpointing the benefit the emerging economies like China and India have gained from the globalisation process, Sobhan said Bangladesh has started to receive it but is yet to fulfil its potential as an outsourcing destination as the industries from the developed and the emerging economies have started to relocate their units to this part of the world.
"However, entrepreneurs in the export-oriented industries like garments which have largely replaced jute as the country's main foreign exchange earner with the rise of globalisation, often overlook the low-wage condition of their labour forces to keep their importers satisfied with the low production cost they have got to offer," Rehman Sobhan said.
Mentioning the recent uncertainty over the export performance of the garments sector in the midst of global recession, he also recommended diversification of the export items and the export destinations.
Stressing the need for proper training of the labour forces to prepare them for increasingly competitive domestic and global markets, Farooq Sobhan observed that the welfare issues of the employees must be addressed in all export oriented industries with the adoption of ISO 26000 internationally.
He also said following the final report of the project, BEI and BILS jointly would like to present the prepared recommendations to the newly elected government next year.
Recollecting the massive unemployment caused by the closure of Adamji Jute Mill, a symbol of the glory of the country's jute sector a few years back, speakers at the seminar suggested gradual and very careful privatisation of public sector enterprises.
Speakers at a seminar Tuesday called for restarting the country's old state-owned jute mills and other factories that were closed in recent years amid increasing privatisation and competition. They also recommended formulation of a more flexible national industrial policy which would accommodate both public and private sectors.
In the midst of growing concern over the welfare issues of the workers and employees in the wake of globalisation, the speakers also called for adopting a more progressive and effective labour policy to safeguard the rights of the employees and enacting the labour laws in light of the ILO Convention.
The call, which was part of the consolidated recommendations of the regional seminars organised by Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) and Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) as part of a short-term project, was formally made at a national seminar on "Impact of Globalisation and Economic Reforms on the Industry and Labour Market in Bangladesh: Position and Role of Trade Unions".
Chairman of Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Rehman Sobhan was present as the chief guest in the seminar. President of BEI Farooq Sobhan chaired the event.
"Globalisation was meant to be the free flow of capital, goods and labour," Rehman Sobhan said. "But what we have witnessed so far is the free flow of only capital from developed world to the developing one, while the vision of the free movement of the labour force is yet to be realised," he observed.
With a view to ensuring the rightful share of the employees in the industry, Rehman Sobhan recommended the establishment of a trust or equity fund for the labourers in every business entity.
"The system of providing adequate share of profits to the employees are in place in almost 50 to 60 per cent of the industries in Europe," he said.
Pinpointing the benefit the emerging economies like China and India have gained from the globalisation process, Sobhan said Bangladesh has started to receive it but is yet to fulfil its potential as an outsourcing destination as the industries from the developed and the emerging economies have started to relocate their units to this part of the world.
"However, entrepreneurs in the export-oriented industries like garments which have largely replaced jute as the country's main foreign exchange earner with the rise of globalisation, often overlook the low-wage condition of their labour forces to keep their importers satisfied with the low production cost they have got to offer," Rehman Sobhan said.
Mentioning the recent uncertainty over the export performance of the garments sector in the midst of global recession, he also recommended diversification of the export items and the export destinations.
Stressing the need for proper training of the labour forces to prepare them for increasingly competitive domestic and global markets, Farooq Sobhan observed that the welfare issues of the employees must be addressed in all export oriented industries with the adoption of ISO 26000 internationally.
He also said following the final report of the project, BEI and BILS jointly would like to present the prepared recommendations to the newly elected government next year.
Recollecting the massive unemployment caused by the closure of Adamji Jute Mill, a symbol of the glory of the country's jute sector a few years back, speakers at the seminar suggested gradual and very careful privatisation of public sector enterprises.