শ্রমিকের মজুরি বাড়াতে গঠিত বোর্ডের প্রথম সভা এ মাসেই
রপ্তানিমুখী তৈরি পোশাকশিল্পের শ্রমিকদের মজুরি বাড়ানোর জন্য গঠিত নিম্নতম মজুরি বোর্ডের প্রথম সভা ২৪ মে অনুষ্ঠিত হবে।
গত বুধবার নিম্নতম মজুরি বোর্ড প্রথম সভার বিষয়ে নোটিশ জারি করে।
সভাটি অনুষ্ঠিত হবে ঢাকার সেগুনবাগিচায় নিম্নতম মজুরি বোর্ডে সভাকক্ষে। এতে সভাপতিত্ব করবেন বোর্ডের চেয়ারম্যান সিনিয়র জেলা জজ লিয়াকত আলী মোল্লা।
গত ৯ এপ্রিল পোশাকশিল্পের শ্রমিকদের মজুরি বাড়ানোর জন্য নিম্নতম মজুরি বোর্ড গঠন করে প্রজ্ঞাপন জারি করে শ্রম ও কর্মসংস্থান মন্ত্রণালয়।
সাধারণত নিম্নতম মজুরি বোর্ড ছয় সদস্যের হয়ে থাকে। তার মধ্যে চার সদস্যের একটি স্থায়ী কমিটি রয়েছে। তার সঙ্গে যুক্ত হন মালিক ও শ্রমিকপক্ষের দুজন প্রতিনিধি।
এবার মজুরি বোর্ডে মালিকপক্ষের প্রতিনিধি হিসেবে নিয়োগ পেয়েছেন তৈরি পোশাকশিল্প মালিকদের সংগঠন বিজিএমইএর সাবেক সভাপতি মো. সিদ্দিকুর রহমান। ২০১৮ সালের সর্বশেষ মজুরি বোর্ডেও মালিকপক্ষের প্রতিনিধি হিসেবে দায়িত্ব পালন করেন তিনি।
অন্যদিকে শ্রমিকপক্ষের প্রতিনিধি হিসেবে নিয়োগ পেয়েছেন বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় গার্মেন্টস শ্রমিক কর্মচারী লীগের সভাপতি সিরাজুল ইসলাম। তিনি ২০১৩ সালের মজুরি বোর্ডে শ্রমিকপক্ষের প্রতিনিধি হিসেবে দায়িত্ব পালন করেছেন।
এ ছাড়া নিম্নতম মজুরি বোর্ডের চার সদস্যবিশিষ্ট স্থায়ী নিম্নতম মজুরি বোর্ডের চেয়ারম্যান হচ্ছেন সিনিয়র জেলা জজ লিয়াকত আলী মোল্লা। অন্য সদস্যরা হলেন, মালিকপক্ষের প্রতিনিধি বাংলাদেশ এমপ্লয়ার্স ফেডারেশনের উপমহাসচিব মকসুদ বেলাল সিদ্দিকী এবং শ্রমিকপক্ষের প্রতিনিধি জাতীয় শ্রমিক লীগের যুগ্ম সাধারণ সম্পাদক সুলতান আহম্মদ। নিরপেক্ষ প্রতিনিধি হিসেবে আছেন ঢাকা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের অধ্যাপক কামাল উদ্দিন।
মজুরি বোর্ডের প্রথম সভার বিষয়ে জানতে চাইলে আজ শুক্রবার শ্রমিকপক্ষের প্রতিনিধি সিরাজুল ইসলাম প্রথম আলোকে বলেন, সাধারণত প্রথম সভা পরিচিতিমূলক হয়। একই সঙ্গে পুরো কার্যক্রমটি কীভাবে করা হবে, সে বিষয়েও আলোচনা করেন বোর্ডের সদস্যরা। দ্বিতীয় বা তৃতীয় সভায় শ্রমিক ও মালিকপক্ষ মজুরিসংক্রান্ত তাদের প্রস্তাব জমা দিয়ে থাকে।
অপর এক প্রশ্নের জবাবে সিরাজুল ইসলাম বলেন, ‘শ্রমিকের মজুরি বৃদ্ধির জন্য বোর্ডে প্রস্তাব দেওয়ার বিষয়ে আমি ইতিমধ্যে কাজ শুরু করেছি। ইতিমধ্যে কয়েকটি শ্রমিক সংগঠনের নেতাদের সঙ্গে বৈঠকও হয়েছে। তাঁদের পরামর্শ নিচ্ছি।’
তৈরি পোশাকশিল্পের শ্রমিকদের জন্য ১৯৯৪ সালে প্রথমবার নিম্নতম মজুরি বোর্ড গঠন করে সরকার। সেই বোর্ড ৯৩০ টাকা নিম্নতম মজুরি নির্ধারণ করে। ২০০৬ সালে সেটি বৃদ্ধি করে ১ হাজার ৬৬২ টাকা ৫০ পয়সা করা হয়। ২০১০ সালের মজুরি বোর্ডে শ্রমিকের নিম্নতম মজুরি ৩ হাজার টাকা করা হয়। ২০১৩ সালের মজুরি বোর্ড ৫ হাজার ৩০০ টাকা নিম্নতম মজুরি নির্ধারণ করে।
সর্বশেষ ২০১৮ সালের মজুরি বোর্ড পোশাকশ্রমিকদের জন্য ৮ হাজার টাকা নিম্নতম মজুরি চূড়ান্ত করে। তার মধ্যে মূল মজুরি ৪ হাজার ১০০ টাকা।
RMG exports reached $38.57bn during July-April of FY2022-23
RMG exports reached $38.57 billion during the July-April of 2022-23 fiscal year, reflecting a 9.09% increase compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year, according to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
A detailed breakdown of the various categories indicated that knitwear exports reached $20.96 billion, while woven garment exports became $17.60 billion with 8.97% and 9.24% year-over-year growth respectively. Overall, it’s a sign of a steady growth in Bangladesh’s overall RMG export earnings.
Regardless of the overall positive trend, a more detailed inspection of single month statistics reveals a recent decline in apparel export growth.
In April, the country’s RMG exports observed a significant decline of 15.48%, amounting to $3.32 billion compared to April 2022.
The amalgamation of these declines contributed to the overall descending trend in recent months, which stands in contrast to the otherwise positive trajectory for the mentioned period in 2022-23 fiscal year, said Mohiuddin Rubel, director of BGMEA and additional managing director of Denim Expert Limited.
“Our target was $46.80 billion, and we had to ensure a 9.83% growth. There are two months left in this financial year, so in these two months, we have to meet the target of about $8 billion,” he said.
“In April, our export target was $4.07 billion against $3.32 billion target. We exported 18.40% less than our target this month. And compared to this month last year, our exports decreased by 15.48%. This is the lowest single month export this year.”
“The reason for this is that we had fewer working days due to Eid. Exports are less in that month due to the general Eid holidays. Another trend that has been going on is our exports were down last month compared to other months,” said Rubel.
“We realised that our capacity was dwindling. In continuation of that trend, exports have declined this month as well. We have seen negative trends in the Eid holidays,” he added.
“However, it will be clear in the coming month whether this negative trend is due to the impact of the Eid holidays or because of the negative trend that we have been seeing,” Rubel said.
“Hopefully, we will be able to meet the remaining targets in the coming months,” he added.
NBR wants higher taxes for the wealthy in FY24 budget
Wealthy individuals may face higher taxes next year as the National Board of Revenue (NBR) wants to increase the surcharge on their income taxes in the budget for the next fiscal year, finance ministry officials said.
An official of the ministry told The Business Standard that the NBR is likely to propose a 5-10 percentage points increase on the existing surcharges.
A 14-member NBR delegation led by its Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem placed the proposal, among others, to Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal at a meeting at the Secretariat yesterday, the official, who was present at the meeting, told TBS.
The surcharge on income tax payable by wealthy individuals now varies between 10% and 35%.
At present, the surcharge for individual taxpayers whose asset limit is between Tk10 crore and Tk20 crore is 20%. For those with assets between Tk20 crore and Tk50 crore, the rate is 30%. Taxpayers with assets exceeding Tk50 crore have to pay a surcharge of 35%.
The minimum 10% surcharge is payable for individuals owning more than a vehicle or a residential property of more than 8,000 square feet.
Analysts have welcomed the NBR move, saying the super-rich should be taxed more to reduce inequality.
“We will appreciate an increase in the surcharge as it will help reduce income and asset inequality as well as increase revenue,” Professor Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow at Centre for Policy Dialogue, told The Business Standard.
“According to the latest BBS data, income and asset inequality have increased significantly. So, we need to concentrate on equity.”
The economist also emphasised revisiting tax rates and slabs for individual taxpayers to effectively curb inequality.
The government reduced the upper cap of income tax on individuals to 25% from 30% in FY21 amid the outbreak of Covid-19, which benefited the rich and further fueled income inequality.
Talking to TBS, economist Ahsan H Mansur also expressed opinion in favour of increasing taxes on wealthy people. “It will decrease existing inequality,” he said.
“In the given economic situation, wealthy people should take responsibility, and pay higher taxes. From this ground, it is rational to increase the surcharge,” Md Alamgir Hossain, former revenue board member for tax policy, told TBS.
Such an additional tax existed even before the country’s independence, he noted and added that it was then called wealth tax. In 1996, the government rescinded it and introduced the surcharge in FY11 as an alternative. Initially, the surcharge was applicable on individuals having assets worth above Tk2 crore, which was later increased to above Tk3 crore.
Only 15,000 pay surcharge
According to the revenue board, some 15,000 taxpayers paid the surcharge in FY21. It was Tk600 crore in amount.
Economists said the number of surcharge payers is not rational at all when it comes to the country of 17 crore people. “The number is ridiculous. The NBR should work further to identify all the wealthy people,” Professor Mustafizur Rahman said.
NBR officials said wealthy people are low in number because of evaluation methods which allow valuing assets at purchase price, not market rates.
“Valuation of assets at purchase price is rational because it is related to income tax. If we consider market values and taxpayers do not have income from their assets, they will have to sell their assets to pay taxes, which is not logical,” Alamgir Hossain explained.
Exports fell by over 16% in April amid slowdown of RMG orders
Bangladesh’s merchandise exports plunged by 16.52% in April of the fiscal year 2022-23 as apparel demand fell across major markets.
The country’s export sectors earned $3.95 billion in April 2022-23, while it was $4.73 billion in the same period of last fiscal, according to the provisional data of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) of Bangladesh.Export grows 12% in March
“Apparel demand was low in the global markets that’s why every factory is running with less capacity. Besides that, about 12 days were vacations in the appeal industry in the last month as it was the month of Ramadan and Eid Ul Fitr, which is reflected in the export earnings,” Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Vice President Shahidullah Azim told The Business Standard.
“The global market has been facing a low sales volume for the last couple of months, which is reflected in our business,” said Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez, former president of BGMEA.
However, Bangladesh is in a better position than other competing countries as it can produce much value-added yarn locally while the orders fell by 30%. The market will hopefully return to a positive trend by the end of this year, Parvez hoped.
Although Bangladesh’s export earnings dropped year-on-year in March too, the bigger picture shows that exports have risen by 8.07% in the first nine months of the current fiscal 2022-23 compared to the same period of the last fiscal year.
This growth has been propelled by the readymade garments sector, which has seen a 12.17% growth in the same period to $38.25 billion, according to the EPB.Relief for external balance as export, remittance grow
In March, however, exports fell by 2.41% to $4.76 billion, but this was also cushioned by the garments sector, an ever-dependable saviour for Bangladesh’s export economy.
Amid raging global inflation, demand had depressed around the world. People began to cut down on everything apart from basic essentials.
A September 2022 survey by Cotton Incorporated showed that almost two in three consumers in the United States (US) were either buying less clothes for themselves, or were putting off purchase altogether.
The same was the case for countries in the European Union – Bangladesh’s biggest market for apparel exports.
Textile firms bear the brunt of dollar, energy crises in March quarter
Textile and apparel industry in the country incurred losses, and many of them saw lower profits in the January-March quarter of the current fiscal owing to energy shortage, strong dollar and a slowdown in global market demand caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.
The industry entrepreneurs said that the dollar shortage affected the local textile industry as most of them are not able to open letters of credit (LC) for the import of raw cotton despite it becoming cheaper in the global market, affecting apparel prices.
As a result of a fall in demand for textile and apparel finished goods and a rise in production cost, the country’s listed companies in this sector saw a sharp fall in profit during the first quarter, according to the data of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).
The DSE data shows that 45 out of 58 listed companies published their January to March quarter financial statements. Of them, 17 incurred losses while the profit of 16 companies declined compared to the same period of the previous fiscal. Only 12 companies made a profit.
Industry insiders said spinners who are producing diversified yarn instead of basic ones are still getting orders and making a profit amid such a tough time.
Regarding the energy crisis, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) President and Maksons Spinning Mills Limited Chairman Mohammad Ali Khokon said, “The textile sector is facing a hard time as our production cost has gone high due to gas and electricity price hikes. On the other hand imported yarn also flooded the local market.”
“Due to energy shortage and lack of orders, many factories have already shut down and over 40,000 employees in this sector have lost their jobs,” he added.
Citing the National Board of Revenue data, BTMA president said in the third quarter of FY23, Bangladesh imported over 76,000 tonnes of yarn which can be produced by Bangladeshi textile millers.
He also claimed that Indian yarn flooded the local market illegally, while local textile millers are not able to sell their yarn.
Echoing the BTMA president, Square Textiles Director (operations) Taslimul Hoque said the energy shortage affected the textile sector significantly as production costs doubled due to gas price hikes during the first quarter.
He also acknowledged that India’s yarn production capacity is almost ten times higher than Bangladesh’s. They are also facing low demand in their market. That is why, some are focusing on exporting to Bangladesh at any cost.
Taslimul Hoque also mentioned that Square Textiles is producing 22 types of fancy items which helps them to maintain a profit despite other challenges in the market.
Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez, a former Bangladesh Garments Manufacturer and Exporter Association, said, “The global market has been facing a low sales volume for the last couple of months, which is reflected in our business.”
However, Bangladesh is in a better position than other competing countries as it can produce much value-added yarn locally while the orders fell by 30%. The market will hopefully return to a positive trend by the end of this year, Parvez hoped.
He mentioned that Bangladesh still lags in the activewear segment. If the government provides policy support, they could be able to perform better in this emerging item.
According to DSE data, 48 textile and apparel companies’ share prices were stuck at the floor price as their business is not in good shape and 12 companies were traded at below their face value.
