US Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat will write to the US Congressmen seeking tariff reduction on export of Bangladeshi garments products to the country. State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque Chunnu told the media that the US Ambassador assured him of it when she paid a courtesy call on him at the ministry on Sunday afternoon. “The US envoy has assured me that she would send a letter to the Congressmen of her country, asking for tariff cut for export of Bangladeshi apparel to US,” Chunnu said. “This will be a bigger opportunity than that of the generalized system of preference [GSP],” the state minister quoted the US ambassador as saying. The current rate of tariff on export of Bangladeshi apparel to US is 16 percent. Chunnu said they discussed the issues like factory inspection, workers’ rights and trade union registration. “During the discussion, I raised the GSP issue. Bernicat said that Bangladesh has fulfilled most of the conditions, excepting a few, for getting back the GSP facilities,” he said. However, the state minister said Bangladesh has already fulfilled all the conditions for regaining the GSP status. Replying to a query about human trafficking, Chunnu said, “Around 12 to 15 lakh people are entering the country’s job market every year. It is true that we cannot provide job to all of them…but illegal human trafficking can no way be accepted.” “I think there is a syndicate who is trafficking innocent people by duping them with fake job offers. The government is conscious of it. The home ministry has taken steps to identify those who are involved in human trafficking,” he said. Regarding human trafficking, the US Ambassador said, “It is a big issue. The US government is working on the issue. We are also working with Bangladesh government and all other countries concerned in this regard.” Labour Secretary Mikail Shipar was also present during the meeting.

Source: https://www.daily-sun.com/print/back-page/2015/05/18/503871#sthash.yKBKWar1.dpuf

The US ambassador in Dhaka Sunday expressed her willingness to pursue the cause of tariff reduction for Bangladesh’s apparel products with the Congress, junior labour minister said. “The US ambassador has told us that she will submit a report to the congressmen for reducing the tariff on Bangladeshi made apparel products,” state minister for labour Mujibul Haque told the reporters after a meeting with Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat at his secretariat office in the city. At the meeting, the junior minister raised the issue of GSP (generalised system of preferences), a trade benefit for which Bangladesh is no longer eligible. “The tariff issue is more important than the GSP,” the junior minister quoted the envoy as saying. Bangladesh’s apparel exports face average 16 per cent duty in the US market, he said “We’ve discussed the factory inspection, trade union registration and labour rights,” Mr Haque said, adding Bangladesh has met all the conditions in line with the US action plan. But some labour rights issues still need to be addressed, he added.   In June 2013, the US has suspended the GSP for Bangladesh, citing poor working condition and labour rights. Later, the US provided a 16-point action plan including recruitment of additional inspectors, factory inspection and publicly accessible database for the garment sector. Responding to a question over the human trafficking, the junior minister said each year some 1.2 to 1.5 million people join the workforce, many of whom cannot be absorbed into the job market. “There are vested quarters, who are engaged in human trafficking with false commitments,” he added. Responding to a question over human trafficking, the US envoy said, “We’re working with Bangladesh government and other regions involved as well as providing humanitarian support.” Labour Secretary Mikail Shipar and Inspector General of Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments Syed Ahmed, among others, were present in the meeting.

Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/05/18/93055

Thirty-five per cent of the readymade garment factories in the country lack first aid facility and required equipment for the purpose, according to a recent survey conducted by the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments. The survey conducted in 643 apparel factories in the January-March period found that 67 per cent of the factories did not serve accident-related notice while 46 per cent of them did not maintain safety record books and safety boards. A labour rights activist said that the government survey proved that the existing labour law was not effective in the garment sector and in reality workers remained hapless. ‘A large number of workers has been deprived of health care support in their workplace as the government survey stated that there was no first aid facility in 35 per cent of garment factories,’ Roy Ramesh Chandra, secretary general of industriAll Bangladesh Council, told New Age. The survey report reflected the level of implementation of the existing law and improvement of the workers’ rights in the garment sector, he said. ‘Now, the government should take responsibility of implementing the labour law in the industrial sector as it is proved that factory owners are not respectful to laws,’ Ramesh said. According to the survey report, 356 of the 643 factories surveyed are affiliated with the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, 129 are members of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association and 158 are not affiliated with any trade body. As per the labour act, first aid appliances and facilities are mandatory for every establishment with the contents prescribed by rules and in every establishment wherein three hundred or more workers are ordinarily employed, there must be provided and maintained a sick room with dispensary of the prescribed size. The BGMEA, however, differed with the DIFE survey and said there were first aid facilities in more than 80 per cent of their member factories while the DIFE found the facilities in 70 per cent of the BGMEA member factories. BGMEA vice-president Sahidullah Azim claimed that the report of the trade body was authentic and he did not agree with the findings of the government survey. The DIFE survey found that 31 per cent of the surveyed factories did not comply with the provision of maternity leave and allowance stipulated in the labour act. According to the survey, 55 per cent of the factories have no participation committee while 44 per cent have no safety committee. Syed Ahmed, inspector general of the DIFE, said that the factories remained under monitoring and the department would take legal action against the factories which would fail to ensure compliance.

Source: https://newagebd.net/120489/no-first-aid-facility-in-35pc-of-rmg-units/#sthash.I3AS8zEf.dpuf

National Tariff Commission of Pakistan has initiated proceedings to impose anti-dumping duty on import of hydrogen peroxide from Bangladesh, commerce ministry officials said. They said that the NTC had already issued a notice of initiation on April 28 and invited the interested parties to attend hearing on the issue. ‘Bangladesh Tariff Commission on behalf of the government and exporters will become parties in the hearing and fight against the allegation of dumping the product as the allegation is not true,’ a senior official of the commerce ministry told New Age on Monday. BTC and the exporters have already informed it to the NTC, he said. Dumping occurs when a company exports a product to any country at prices lower than the normal value (the domestic price or the cost of production) of the product on its domestic market. According to the World Trade Organisation, the importing country can impose anti-dumping duty on import of the product if it finds proof upon investigation that dumping has occurred, such dumping has caused or is causing material injury to the domestic industry and there is a causal link between the dumping and the injury found. Anti-dumping duty cannot be imposed if the conditions are not met. Exporters and trade officials said that hydrogen peroxide is used in bleaching and sterilising process in textile and paper and pulp industry. It is also generally used in bleaching, oxidizing, detoxifying and deodorising purposes. Bangladesh in July-April of the current fiscal year 2014-2015 exported the product worth around $6.5 million in different countries including Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Pakistan is the second largest importer of the product from Bangladesh taking item worth more than $1.2 million. In July-April, India imported the product worth around $4.5 million from Bangladesh. Samuda Chamical Complex Ltd, ASM Chemical Industries and Tasnim Chemical Industries are the major exporters of the product from the country. ASM Chemical Industries managing director Rajibul Huq Chowdhury told New Age that they were jointly handling the issue and had already notified the NTC to become interested parties in the hearing. The NTC initiated the investigation following an allegation by a local manufacturer that the item was being exported to Pakistan at dumped prices from Bangladesh. Commerce ministry officials said that All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association, however, requested the NTC not to impose any such duty without hearing its arguments for the betterment of industry and business of Pakistan. According to the proceedings of imposition of anti-dumping duty, the NTC will seek information, comments and documents from the interested parties including manufacturers, importers and exporters. And then, it will arrange hearing on the issue before taking decision on imposing anti-dumping duty on the product. The NTC will complete the investigation within 180 days from the date of initiation of the investigation.

Source: https://newagebd.net/120497/pak-plans-anti-dumping-duty-on-bdesh-textile-chemical/#sthash.qKWcpuDv.dpbs

Only one per cent out of the garment factories surveyed by the DIFE has trade unions (TUs) while 55 per cent of them even don’t have any participation committees, officials said. Nearly two years have already elapsed since the labour law has been amended with simplifying the procedures for forming trade unions at garment factories. The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) inspectors visited some 643 factories during the period between January and March in 2015. Of the factories surveyed, 356 are the members of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and 129 are the members of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) while 158 others don’t have any affiliation with either of the two trade bodies. According to the report, only three factories (1 per cent) associated with BGMEA and two factories (nearly 2 per cent) affiliated with BKMEA have TUs. But non-member factories surveyed by DIFE have no TUs. However, 53 per cent of BGMEA factories and 43 per cent of BKMEA factories have participation committees while it is only 30 per cent for non-member factories, according to the data. Participation committees are comprised of representatives from both the factory owners and workers that, according to labour leaders, actually work in favour of the owners. In 2013, the government amended the Bangladesh Labour Law-2006, simplifying the trade union formation for garment workers to bargain for their rights amid pressure from local and international arenas, especially after the Rana Plaza building collapse. Since then, more than 300 new trade unions have got government registration in last two years, raising the total number to 427, according to the labour ministry. According to DIFE, some 3,740 garment factories are now operating across the country. But still there is allegation that workers are being harassed, threatened, beaten and terminated by the factory management when they try to form trade unions. Labour leaders admitted that although the situation has changed a little bit compared to that of two years back, there are still impediments to forming unions. Non-cooperation from owners, fear to lose jobs and some legal complexities including requirement for 30 per cent workers to form unions are major reasons for less number of unions in the country’s ready-made garment sector that employs some 4.0 million workers. “Workers cannot freely organise on the factory premises during lunch break or after work to have their representation while the authority’s power to terminate workers mainly discourage union formation,” Amirul Haque Amin, president of National Garment Workers Federation, claimed. Moreover, requirement for 30 per cent workers to form unions is also a barrier, he said, adding that if workers fail to organise freely how they meet that requirement. “And if the factory management come to know that workers are trying to form union, they use their termination power as tool against union formation,” he alleged, adding that DoL (department of labour) also misuses its power and rejects many cases, although they meet all the requirements. He demanded that the government should look into these issues. Roy Ramesh Chandra, secretary general of Industrial Bangladesh Council, blamed factory owners’ negative attitude towards union and weakness of union organisers struggling, committed and aggressive attitude for thin presence of trade unions in garment factories. The government has allowed trade unions and participation committees in the garment factories due to pressure especially from international community, not from workers, labour leaders alleged. Md Atiqul Islam, president of BGMEA, has brushed aside the allegation of creating barriers to forming unions by the factory management and termed the registration of more than 300 new unions after the amendment to the law ‘dramatic change’. He said, “We always welcome legal and constructive trade union to create a better industrial atmosphere for better productivity.” “Our concern is that there is a lack of education, awareness of the principles of trade union, and motivation among our workers. Their age and cultural backwardness make it vulnerable to misuse the power of union,” he said, adding that there is always fear of external influence and politicisation of the trade unions that can only lead to disruption. To ensure a safe and proper functioning of trade union and improved workers’ rights situation in Bangladesh, he called for educating the workers to increase awareness and train and motivate them on their rights and responsibilities.

Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/05/17/92962

The government plans to increase tax at source on export proceeds from the apparel sector in the coming fiscal year.The sector receives a lot of benefits from the government, and now it is time for the exporters to give back — at least something, according to Finance Minister AMA Muhith.The tax at source on export receipts had been reduced to 0.3 percent for this fiscal year from 0.8 percent in the previous one.“If the rate is increased, we can collect a large amount of revenue from the sector,” Muhith said on Friday.The minister spoke at a discussion on “budget 2015-16: some selected analysis” organised by Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies or BIDS at its office in Dhaka.Mahbub Ahmed, senior secretary of the Finance Division, said the government will review the subsidy allocations for different sectors, including garment.“We are going to rationalise subsidy allocation and, possibly, there will be changes in the distribution and measures to avoid its abuse,” he said.Presenting a paper on “fiscal incentives for export industries: lessons for the coming budget” at the discussion, Nazneen Ahmed, senior research fellow of BIDS, said: “The government should review the issue of cash incentives as our resources are limited.”She said the garment sector enjoys half of the total cash incentives, but now the thrust sectors should get these facilities.BIDS Senior Research Fellow Monzur Hossain presented another keynote paper on “inflationary impact on households: implications for the budget” and said day labourers and people with low income are the hardest hit by inflation.He proposed increasing the elderly and widow allowance from existing Tk 300 to Tk 1,000.Presenting another keynote paper on “financing for the fiscal year 2016: a comprehensive approach”, Abul Basher, researcher of BIDS, said the size of the budget should be increased further.The size of the budget has been increased by 18 percent in the last five years, but real growth will be just around 10 percent if inflation is taken into account, he said.BIDS Senior Research Fellow Mohammed Yunus also presented a paper on revenue mobilisation and grants to municipalities at the discussion presided over by BIDS Director General KAS Murshid.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/apparel-exports-face-more-tax-82702

Safety in the garment sector has improved over the last two years as factory owners started implementing the corrective actions plans recommended by the engineers of two foreign inspection agencies — Accord and Alliance.Factories in Bangladesh producing garments for Accord signatory companies have become safer,” said Rob Wayss, Accord’s executive director for Bangladesh operations.“Safety hazards identified through our inspections are being remediated and will ultimately be completed. There is a lot of work remaining to do to complete the remediation work but progress has been made and this has made factories safer.”After the Rana Plaza building collapse, nearly 200 retailers and brands, mainly European, formed the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh on May 13, 2013 to ensure workplace safety and improve worker rights in the garment sector.The engineers of Accord, a legally binding five-year agreement, formally started factory inspections on February 20 last year and completed preliminary inspections in September.Through two batches of initial inspections — one in Feb-Sept of 2014 and the other in Jan-April of 2015 — Accord has inspected 1,286 factories for fire, electrical, and structural issues, Wayss said in an email interview as they completed two years in Bangladesh. The number does not include the approximately 250 factories producing for both Accord and Alliance brands which the Alliance inspected, he said. “For these factories we are not doing initial inspections but are developing CAPs (corrective action plans) and monitoring and verifying remediation based on the findings from the Alliance conducted inspection.”On providing funds to factory owners for remediation, Wayss said, in order to induce factories to comply with upgrade and remediation requirements of the Accord programme, participating brands and retailers will negotiate commercial terms with their suppliers.He said each signatory company may, at its option, use alternative means to ensure factories have the financial capacity to comply with remediation requirements.Bilateral discussions take place between factory owners and Accord brands to finalise a financial plan for the remediation, he said.In most cases, factory owners are confirming they will fund the remediation costs. In some cases, factory owners are requesting commercial terms and support from Accord brands.”Accord brands have negotiated such support in some cases. These include: commitment to order volumes and long term sourcing; prepayment or accelerated payment of orders, or direct financial support. Accord is also working to establish low-interest remediation loans through various international financial institutions.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/garment-factories-now-safer-after-inspections-82690