The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The Ministry of Commerce asked the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Knit Manufacturers and Exporters (BKMEA) leaders to solve the wage enhancement issue of workers within four to five days to stop unrest export-oriented garment sector in the eve of Eid-ul-Fitre.

"We have asked the BGMEA and BKMEA to sit together with workers organisations leaders to solve the wage problems. It is not possible to the government to solve the problem alone," Commerce Secretary Firoj Ahmed said after attending a meeting with the garment leaders on garment sector's compliance issue at his ministry.

Commerce Secretary presided over the meeting, said BGMEA and BKMEA were given a guideline to resolve the problem through discussion.

There might be labour unrest at different garment factories on the issue of salary enhancement ahead of Eid festival, he admitted.

The Commerce Ministry asked the local law-enforcing agencies to be careful against any move to create unrest in the garment factories, he said.

The commerce ministry organised yesterday's meeting to discuss and review

the progress on the implementation of 8-point compliance for the country's garment sector.

Ahmed noted that there has been significant improvement in the implantation of the compliance issues in the readymade garment (RMG) sector.

He said Already 99 percent garment factories have introduced the government declared minimum wages for the workers.

He ruther said that it was fond that about 11 percent garment factories could not meet the 8-point compliance fully.

"But, both BGMEA and BKMEA assured us that they would strengthen their monitoring on the implementation," he said.

The country's garment workers have been demanding a 20-percent wage hike since the government had announced a dearness allowance (DA) for the public-sector employees.