Textiles and jute ministry has taken an initiative to set up a legal cell to handle a backlog of 2,103 long-pending civil and administrative cases being faced by various departments and agencies under the ministry. Sources said the move has been made with an aim to protect public property under the ministry. “We’re facing hundreds of cases to protect public property worth over Tk 1,000 crore but we have no legal cell. We’ve already communicated with public administration ministry for opening a legal cell. It’ll be easy to monitor these cases strongly if we can open it soon,” said an official. Mirza Azam, state minister for textiles and jute ministry, told daily sun that no other ministry is facing such a logjam of cases like his ministry. “We’re cordially trying to dispose of the cases but with some complexities. We found some problems among officers and lawyers concerned. Many of them have been removed. We hope to successfully handle the cases soon.” The junior minister said the process is on to establish a legal cell headed by a joint secretary to monitor these cases.It was learnt that offices under the ministry are running the cases with the help of 167 lawyers but there is no arrangement to evaluate their performance. But officials concerned said the ministry has taken steps to evaluate performance of lawyers and officials, assigned to deal these cases. Available statistics show departments under the ministry are dealing with 460 property-related and 1,435 administrative cases. The ministry is dealing 352 cases on a priority basis. According to an official record, Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation is dealing with the highest 1,242 cases. Of them, 263 are being dealt on a priority basis. The corporation has engaged 57 lawyers to deal with the cases. The ministry has directed BJMC lawyers to run property-related cases first. It was learnt that BJMC has removed at least three lawyers for low performance. Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation is facing 334 cases and has engaged 54 lawyers for legal battle. BTMC has also engaged Yusuf Hossain Humayun as a specialist lawyer to engage in the legal fight for it. Bangladesh Jute Corporation is facing 235 cases against various parties with the legal aid of 40 lawyers. The ministry’s liquidation cell is facing 27 property-related cases with only one lawyer while Adamjee Sons is operating eight cases with two. Textiles directorate is facing seven cases and the state-appointed lawyers are operating these cases. In addition, 25 cases are being faced by Bangladesh Sericulture Development Board, 12 by Bangladesh Handloom Board, 206 by Jute Directorate and seven by Bangladesh Sericulture Research and Training Institute. In the meantime, the ministry held four meetings to find ways to dispose of the cases soon. Chaired by Mirza Azam, the meetings were held on December 8 in 2014, February 2 in 2015, April 12 in 2015 and May 12 in 2015. The ministry made a decision to develop software for keeping records and updates of all the cases, monitor lawyers’ activities and evaluate working capacity of the officials involved. In the April 12 meeting, it was decided to reconsider engagement of lawyers who are dealing with the cases of liquidation cell, BJC and Adamjee Sons. Contacted, Textiles and Jute Minister Emaz Uddin Pramanik told daily sun that his ministry is trying to protect the state’s interest so that giving utmost attention to handling the cases. The ministry will evaluate performance of lawyers and officers dealing with the cases to ensure expected outcome, he added.

Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) yesterday held an emergency meeting with the leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) regarding to maintain law and orders in Ramzan in the city. In the meeting the CMP commissioner directed the BGMEA leaders to pay the salary and bonus to the apparel workers before July 15 as no untoward incidents took place during the month of Ramzan. The CMP commissioner also asked the BGMEA  leaders to inform the police without any delay to avoid the incident of vandalising vehicles in the name of realizing demand, road barricade, sabotages in garments, and transportation problem of garment workers. In the meeting, the CMP commissioner asked them to seek help of CMP carrying money during the Ramzan to avoid any unexpected incident. At the meeting the high officials of CMP and all the Officers in-Charge of CMP, and Ershad Ullah, former first vice president of BGMEA, Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, former first vice president,  MA Salam, former first vice president and Shahubuddin Ahmed Minto, former first vice president of BGMEA, MA Wahab and  Nazrul Islam director of BGMEA among others were present.

Fashion retailers are opening new outlets in the city, pinning hope on sales during the Eid festival, insiders said. Retailers of clothing, footwear, jewelries, cosmetics and kidswear are among the racers to open such stores across the city. Leading retailers like, Menz Club, Kids Club, Semco Gold, Nabarupa, Leelabali, Rich Man, Zara, Rupom, Needs, Stardust, Dash, Time Zone, Jarwa House, Archies Gallery, Gems Jewelery, Smartex,  Bay Emporium, Cat’s Eye, Dorjibari, Artisti, Lubnan and K-Life are among the retailers those opened their new showrooms in the city to cope with the increased demand of fashion items ahead of holy Eid. Insiders said more than fifty per cent of their yearly profits they do during the month of Ramadan for which al most all of them try to expand business ahead of the holy month. “Cause of our affordable prize range, trendy design and quality product builds long lasting relation & partnership with the customers for which we have a plan to expand our reach to every cities of the country” Managing Director of Rich Man, Nazmul Hoque Khan told the FE. “Opening new store in Police Plaza and in Tokyo Square is part of our expansion plan. If we can open the outlets before Ramadan will add extra blessings to our fate,” he added. Before opening the new two showrooms, Rich man is running its showrooms in Metro Shopping Mall, Rapa Plaza, Rifles Square, Gulshan Avenue, Uttara, Sylhet & Chittagong. Another such retailer is Menz Club that retails colourful and trendy clothing for the youngsters with casual and formal clothes and accessories in all outlets in Dhaka, Khulna, Sylhet and Chittagong has opened three outlets in Dhaka and one in Sylhet recently. “We wanted to launch all our new outlets before Ramadan so that shoppers at least became aware of the brand,” S U Hasan, a director of the company said that the company is working hard to open tow new stores in Sylhet and Chittagong before Eid. Showroom manager of Jarwa House, a leading gold ornament retailer said they used to expand their reach every year. “So opening of new stores ahead of Eid is our part of regular plan of expansion which would add extra value in our business,” Md Hasanul Bari, showroom manager of newly inaugurated outlet at Police Plaza told the FE. “Opening of stores before Eid helps us a lot to sustain in market,” he added. Beximco-owned Yellow, Bata and Jennys, one of the fastest growing footwear brands, also opened stores at different points across the city with in the last two months. Bay Emporium, Gems Jewellery and Stones and Nabarupa have also inaugurated their largest stores between April and May. Mahmood Hasan, sales associate of Nabarupa said their plan is to give local consumers a choice to buy international standard products at far lower prices. Kay Kraft, a popular boutique brand, has opened a store in Jamuna Future Park, re-launched its store in Aziz Super Market and shifted its store in Mirpur to a new and spacious building recently. “Lots of people live in Mirpur. So, we want to cater to them as well,” said Khalid Mahmood Khan, of the brand. He said the sales are good so far, and hopes it would get better as the festival nears. However, retailers said their festival sales started increasing. “Though customers arrival has not yet significant, but overall sales is satisfactory. Sales is gradually increasing,” Abu Ahmed, a sales girl of Stardust said.

A fund set up to compensate the victims of the Rana Plaza factory collapse has finally reached its 30-million target, the UN’s International Labor Organisation (ILO) said this week. With all the funding now secured, the last families still awaiting a payout will receive their money “In The Coming Weeks”, said the ILO, which chairs the Rana Plaza coordination committee. The committee, which was established in 2013 and represents all industry stakeholders, had estimated it would need 30 million (26.5 million euros) to fully and fairly compensate the families of the over 1,100 garment workers who died and some 1,500 others who were injured in the country’s worst ever industrial accident. By April 24, on the second anniversary of the disaster, the committee had raised 27 million and was able to pay compensation to 70 per cent of the more than 2,800 claimants, the ILO said in a statement. “Further donations, including one significant sum, pledged late last week meant that 30m had now been reached and all payments can be made,” it added. The development was welcomed by Director-General of ILO Guy Ryder. “This is a milestone but we still have important business to deal with,” he was quoted as saying in the statement. “We must now work together to ensure that accidents can be prevented in future, and that a robust national employment injury insurance scheme is established so that victims of any future accidents will be swiftly and justly compensated and cared for.” A host of western retailers had clothing made at Rana Plaza, including Italy’s benetton, Spain’s mango and the British low-cost chain Primark. All three were among a number of international brands that contributed to the compensation fund.

With the beginning of holy Ramadan, people have already started planning about the ensuing Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest religious festival of the Muslim community in the country. The local boutique houses, in view of the Eid shopping bonanza this year, have designed to introduce new patterns of dresses in line with the ever-changing taste of consumers. Local boutiques normally use local fabrics to make dresses for the men, women and children. But this year, they are offering western dresses for Eid fashion with local fabric as per consumers’ demand. Anufa, Manager of Smartex Fashion House, said, “This year we are offering western dresses to the consumers using local fabric. For global communication, people these days want to have tastes of different culture from across the world.” Indian fashion is considered traditional in the subcontinent, hence, she said, they are emphasising on western fashion this year. Kay Kraft, a local brand, is offering a variety of new sarees, shalwar-kameez sets, tops, panjabis, fatuas, shirts, T-shirts, children’s wear, gift items and items ahead of the Eid. This year Kay Kraft is introducing new pattern in traditional design This boutique house has a plenty of dresses with blue, green, magenta, red and black colure. This year’s saree collection of the shop consists of handloom taant sarees designed by Kay Kraft that have block prints, screen prints, embroidery, appliqués and other handiworks. Fashion house Charka has introduced some new and exceptional collections for the upcoming Eid. The clothes have been designed with different cuttings and patterns for use in women’s Saree, shalwar-kameez and kurta. The fashion house this year has emphasized on green, light green, pink, violet and black colour for the consumers. In the saree section, half silk, muslin and koti have got preference. Fashion house Banglar Mela has given more concentration on colour and fabric in their production for this Eid. They focused on the use of cotton to ensure comfort for the customers. For men, Banglar Mela has designed long, medium and short panjabis that ranges between Tk 950 and Tk 5,000. They are also offering fatuas and half shirts for the men and the price range is between Tk 750 and Tk 2,000. For women, this year’s collection of sari is mainly in organza silk, andy silk, half silk, andy-cotton blend and Tangail clothes. These saris will cost from Tk 2,000 to Tk 10,000. This year, all fashion houses have focused on comfortable cloths due to the ongoing hot weather. Considering this, fashion house Anjan’s will present clothes mostly on cotton and voile. Besides traditional shalwar kameez, sari and T-shirts, western style fatuas have been introduced ahead of the Eid. Different designs with block, screen print and embroidery have been done. The cost of the summer products ranges from Tk 900 to Tk 5,000.

Global cotton production will fall 5 percent year-on-year to around 113 million bales in 2015-16 mainly due to a drop in cultivation in China, a major producer, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. “Production is expected to remain flat or decrease for all major producers, with the largest reductions of about 2 million bales each expected for the United States and China,” a recent report of the USDA said. China’s production is expected to fall to 28 million bales (480 pounds make a bale) as producers respond to the government’s new policies. Responding to sharply lower prices, world consumption is projected to exceed production by three million bales in 2015-16, drawing world stocks down to 107 million bales, the equivalent of 92 percent of projected global consumption, the report said. However, Hissam Khandker, director of Delcot Enterprises, a leading cotton importer, said Bangladesh will not be affected by the drop in production due to the existing high stocks held globally and locally. Cotton consumption in Bangladesh will continue to grow as more spinning mills are being set up and the demand for yarn increases from domestic weavers and knitters, he said. “There is a large stock of cotton globally, which will exceed consumption despite lower productions this year. The prices of cotton will not be affected even in the next year as we have enough stocks,” he said. Bangladesh’s cotton consumption will rise 4.08 percent in fiscal 2015-16, riding on higher demand from local spinners and foreign investors in the textile sub-sector, London-based Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said in a forecast. Consumption will increase to 1.02 million tonnes despite poor safety standards, mainly due to a shift in investment in the textile sector from India and China, the EIU said. In Bangladesh cotton imports registered 8 percent growth to 5.6 million bales in fiscal 2013-14 and 6 percent the previous year. Currently, Bangladesh imports around $2 billion worth of cotton a year, according to Bangladesh Textile Mills Association. In recent times, cotton prices in the international markets declined significantly due to the release of older stocks by China, the largest cotton-consuming country. The current prices are at a five-year low of 60-65 cents per pound.

A fund set up to compensate the victims of the Rana plaza factory collapse has finally reached its 30-million target, the UN’s international labor organization (ILO) said this week, report agencies. With all the funding now secured, the last families still awaiting a payout will receive their money “In The Coming Weeks”, said the ILO, which chairs the Rana Plaza coordination committee. The committee, which was established in 2013 and represents all industry stakeholders, had estimated it would need 30 million (26.5 million euros) to fully and fairly compensate the families of the over 1,100 garment workers who died and some 1,500 others who were injured in the country’s worst ever industrial accident. By April 24, on the second anniversary of the disaster, the committee had raised 27 million and was able to pay compensation to 70 percent of the more than 2,800 claimants, the ILO said in a statement. “Further donations, including one significant sum pledged late last week meant that 30m had now been reached and all payments can be made,” it added. The development was welcomed by ILO director-general Guy Ryder. “This is a milestone but we still have important business to deal with,” he was quoted as saying in the statement. “We must now work together to ensure that accidents can be prevented in future, and that a robust national employment injury insurance scheme is established so that victims of any future accidents will be swiftly and justly compensated and cared for.” A host of western retailers had clothing made at Rana plaza, including Italy’s benetton, Spain’s mango and the British low-cost chain Primark. all three were among a number of international brands that contributed to the compensation fund. Earlier on June 9, 2015 The Rana Plaza Coordination Committee said it has raised the entire amount of $30 million needed to compensate all the victims of the building collapse. The payments will be cleared in the next few weeks, the panel, which was formed to raise and disburse the compensation, said in a statement. The committee that represents all industry stakeholders had estimated that at least $30 million was required to ensure fair and equitable compensations for all victims. In January 2014, the ILO also established the Rana Plaza Donor Trust Fund to support the committee’s efforts to finance the compensation scheme. Bangladesh does not yet have a national employment injury insurance scheme to protect victims of accidents at work although the ILO is now working with the government, employers’ and workers’ organisations, donors and industry partners to establish one. In this context, the full implementation of the Rana Plaza arrangement within a two-year period represents a very significant step forward, Ryder said. “Two years have gone and the victims and their families have not got their compensation, so they are anxious the brands and buyers pay their contribution. That’s why all the union groups are seriously annoyed,” said Kamrul Anam of the IndustriALL Bangladesh Council. “Families are seriously suffering because they have no earning source. Minors and babies need money for schooling and they are not able to join and earn money,” he said. Taherul Islam, of the Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE), said there have been some improvements in working conditions since the disaster, including the legally binding agreement of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety by brands and trade unions. “The Accord Alliance is trying to find local shortcomings in the buildings, for fire safety. But many issues related to health and safety remain,” he said, urging western companies that use suppliers from Bangladesh to press for better conditions. Support programmes have been set up by national and some international NGOs to provide survivors with vocational training and give their children educational support, but disorganisation between various initiatives is a cause of confusion and frustration among some workers, said Islam. Twenty victims have been invited to a face-to-face consultation with stakeholders at a meeting on Wednesday organised by OSHE to try to clarify the status of compensation and rehabilitation for survivors. A temporary hammer-and-sickle statue has been erected on the disaster site, but Islam dismissed this as the work of far-left groups and said he hoped a different, permanent monument could soon be built. The clothing industry in Bangladesh is second only to China’s in size and ready-made garments account for 78 per cent of the country’s exports. Around four million people are employed in the industry in around 3,500 factories. Fashion Revolution, a global campaign demanding more transparency in the fashion industry, is encouraging consumers to ask retailers where their clothes are made and is organising protest events in 68 countries on 24 April. Planned events in Bangladesh include a photo project of women workers and a “Trace my Fashion” QR code project in partnership with fashion and management students. “Instead of pointing out the negatives, I’d rather work actively towards improving the [clothing] industry, because it’s not going away anywhere,” said Nawshin Khair, Fashion Revolution country coordinator for Bangladesh. “I would rather concentrate on ensuring the right opportunities are given to university students to join the management sector, because they are the future of Bangladesh and right now mid-tier and top-tier jobs in this billion dollar industry are only offered to foreigners because they have the training and know-how,” she said.