BGMEA has requested foreign brands and buyers to ensure fair prices of garments for the sake of living wages and sustainable development of the industry. The request was made in separate letters sent to all such brands and buyer representatives that source garments from Bangladesh.
The letter made a special request to implement the increased rates from next December sent on Thursday detailed the overall situation of the garment sector and highlighted several arguments in favor of increasing rates.
BGMEA president Faruque Hassan said that the new minimum wage will be announced in the country’s garment sector within this year. He also said that this time the wages will increase quite well compared to the previous trend of wage growth and the overall inflation of the last five years.
Faruque Hassan said in the letter that the rate of inflation is high everywhere in the world. In this situation, the Minimum Wage Board is reviewing the wages for the workers. But the board is independent, with equal representation of workers, owners and independent observers. President of BGMEA said, “Wage Board works independently. Because of this, it is difficult for me to estimate how much the wages will increase.”
At the same time, Faruque Hassan requested to increase the price of clothes to the buyers considering the quality of life of the workers and inflation. He requested a reasonable increase in the price of the clothes shipping from December 1 this year.
The garment sector is now under pressure due to inflation and increase in production costs including gas, electricity, fuel, transportation, and other costs. Central banks of major apparel importing countries have adopted contractionary monetary policies to curb inflation. This has reduced the demand for clothing at the consumer level. Falling demand on the one hand, and rising production costs on the other have made it difficult to maintain uninterrupted supply. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs are trying hard to survive.
The letter said, in this situation, it is requested to consider a reasonable price increase from next December for the continuation of the supply chain, sustainable development of the industry and above all for the livelihood of the workers. Price increase are crucial to implementing the new minimum wage.
In the letter addressing the buyers, the BGMEA president said that the ‘zero tolerance’ policy has been adopted in the industry to improve the working environment of the garment sector and ensure safety at the workplace. Entrepreneurs have invested huge amounts of money in improving the working environment and infrastructure of the factory. Bangladesh has made world-recognized progress in this field.
BGMEA is committed to giving utmost importance to sustainable development in line with the SDG vision in this journey of forward-looking industry. Bangladesh now has 202 LEED-certified garment factories, of which 73 are Platinum-rated for the highest point. A clear sustainability vision is underway to decarbonize the industry and adopt circularity by 2030, which is aligned with the industry’s priorities and complements the values.
Appreciating the support and cooperation of some big brands, the BGMEA President said they are working with BGMEA to transform the industry on a large scale. Such cooperation is further needed to seize the areas of potential.
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