The government is worried with retailer groups from both sides of the Atlantic as their activities for improving safety and labour rights through some agreements became a ‘noose around the neck’ of the country’s burgeoning readymade garment sector. This was stated by finance minister AMA Muhith after associations like BGMEA, BKMEA and BTMA alleged during a meeting with him at the secretariat on Monday that manufacturing cost was going up because of implementation of the conditions under the agreements. The government has allowed Accord Group, created by retailers from the European Union, and the Alliance of North American buyers to evaluate compliance issues in Bangladesh’s readymade garment industry subsequently after collapse of Rana Plaza that killed more than 1,300 workers in 2013. Muhith observed that the activities by the Accord and the Alliance were ‘polite ways’ to dampen the advancement of the country’s RMG sector. ‘It is unfortunate’, he said. BGMEA president Atiqul Islam who was among the associations leaders attending the meeting said cost of running a factory was going up to Tk 5 crore to Tk 10 crore due to stiff conditions attached by the Accord and the Alliance. On Sunday, Tofail Ahmed said Bangladesh had addressed all the conditions that had been raised by the international community following the Rana Plaza building collapse but the retailers groups were creating obstacles in the factories in the name of social audit. After a meeting with visiting Dutch foreign trade and development cooperation minister Lilianne Ploumen on Sunday, Tofail told reporters that the Accord, the platform of European brands and retailers, was engaged in some activities which were beyond its jurisdiction. Lilianne Ploumen has identified fair prices of the products, unauthorised sub-contracting and rights of workers as the main challenges for the country’s RMG sector. She urged the government to allow workers to get actively engaged in trade unions. Muhith assured the association leaders of holding meetings with the prime minister, the commerce minister and the industries minister to address the growing concerns about hurting the country’s leading export earning sector. The finance minister also assured the RMG industry leaders of considering their demands like keeping export tax at 0.30 per cent, retention of zero per cent duty for import of capital machineries and extension of 10 per cent rebate on the income tax for RMG factories for another five years. Export tax has been proposed at one per cent in the recently announced budget. The businessmen said the RMG exports would be affected because of the new budgetary proposals after its growth slowed down in the outgoing fiscal. The country’s export earnings in 11 months of the outgoing financial year grew only by 2.80 per cent to US$ 28.14 billion from US$ 27.37 billion in the same period of FY 2013-14. The target for July-May period fell 6.01 per cent short due to a sluggish growth in the export of readymade garment products to the established markets. Political unrest and deprecation of the Euro against the US dollar have been blamed for the slow down of the export growth by the RMG industry leaders.
