Speakers at a seminar in the city on Tuesday emphasised the proper implementation of labour laws in the country’s export-oriented industries, which will greatly help attract the foreign buyers. They said this at a seminar organised by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB)’s Chittagong office in the city’s Agrabad commercial area. Director of Chittagong Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry Rekha Alam Chowdhury, Deputy Director of Bangladesh Bank Chittagong Pintu Kumar Dey and Deputy Director of EPB Dhaka Anup Kanti Saha addressed the event, with Director of EPB Chittagong Md Alamgir Siddiqui in the chair. A total of 67 participants from different industries and garment factories attended the seminar. Rekha Alam Chowdhury said the foreign importers will be more attracted to the country’s products if the labour laws in the export-oriented industries are properly followed. Since the export of local products is the guiding force of the economy, the laws must be followed. Apart from the steps taken by the government to ensure the implementation of the guidelines of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), both the BGMEA and the BKMEA can take different steps to ensure implementation of the internationally-accepted rules, she said and emphasised the awareness of the workers in the factories about protecting the country’s industries for their own existence. She added the workers must not allow any anti-production activities. Detailing the labour law and its impact on export trade, Anup Kanti Saha said the employers are required to take appropriate measures to protect workers from danger and damage due to fire incidents. It required setting up a first aid box with a trained person and an equipped dispensary with a patient room, doctor and nursing staff for every 150 workers. However, an employer is allowed to terminate a permanent worker without explaining any reason by serving them with a 120-day notice and other workers with a 60-day notice. As for retrenchment, the employer is required to issue a one-month notice and pay wages equivalent to 30 days and a gratuity in case of a year of service if the worker is employed on the service for not less than one year, he said. EPB Director Alamgir Siddiqui said the export earning of the country in the last six months till December 2015 stood at $16083.90 million at rate of 7.84 per cent from the corresponding period of the previous year. He said Bangladesh failed to achieve last fiscal year’s export target in terms of money as it earned $31.20 billion in the 2014-15 fiscal year against the target of $33.20 billion. The export earning set for the current fiscal year (2015-16) is $ 33.50 billion, he said.
