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Wednesday, 7 June, 2006, CIRDAP auditorium

Owners of garments at a social dialogue (June 7, 2006) agreed to implement the workers' wage after its declaration. However, in response to the garment workers demand of 30 per cent dearness allowance during the interim period, some garment owners threatened to close down the factories, saying that they cannot continue the business at losses.

The social dialogue organised by independent think tank Centre for Policy Dialogue at the CIRDAP auditorium in the capital witnessed heated debates as the workers' leaders and employers blamed each other for the recent violence in the sector.

Akhtaruzzaman, a former parliament member from Awami League, was about to walk out from the discussion as the moderator of the discussion declined to allow him to relate the recent outburst in the garments sector with the price hike of essentials. The organisers, however, did persuade him not to walk out. There was exchange of hot words when ruling BNP lawmaker and former president of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Redwan Ahmed said the factories would be closed down unless blaming the owners for exploitation of workers is stopped.

Some trade union leaders blamed the garment owners for grabbing all the benefits harnessed from the valuable export earnings by depriving the hard working labour.The owners are applying various self-made rules for making money and maintaining luxurious lifestyles, they said. The trade union leaders demanded full implementation of the country's labour laws in the garment factories that they said 'would solve much of the problems'. They also demanded allowing trade union in all the factories and sharing profit with the workers for a healthy atmosphere in the garment sector. Workers' leaders also blamed the mid-level management for creating problems and torturing the workers and said the workers cannot complain when they become victims of torture, as the government offices for inspecting factories are inactive. The tripartite agreement signed among the government, employers and workers in the garment sector should be implemented immediately to save the sector from ruination, observed speakers at the discussion.

The garments factories developed in Bangladesh against the backdrop of political violence in neighboring Sri Lanka, they said, adding that the employers and workers in our country should not create a situation that shifts the industry away from Bangladesh.

A few of the participants hinted at the 'influence of vested interest quarters' behind the recent unrest in the garment sector while the garment owners observed that they would not be able to give extra benefit to the workers unless the cost of production is reduced significantly.

Commerce Minister Hafizuddin Ahmed said the present government cannot do much for the improvement of the sector within its short tenure. He advised the workers and employers to resolve the crisis amicably and said the owners should allow trade union in the factories for resolving internal crises.

Blaming the media for spreading confusing news on the agitation of garment workers, State Minister for Labour and Employment Aman Ullah Aman said the garment workers did not surround or attack them when they went to discuss with the workers in Savar immediately after the outburst.

Naser Rahman MP observed that the garments owners cannot give high salary to the workers as they take orders at prices lower than the neighbouring countries offer.
The employers should treat the workers as human beings, not machines, Faruq Khan MP said, adding that the working condition at many garment factories is very bad.
Former adviser of caretaker government and prominent businessman Syed Manzur Elahi moderated the social dialogue.

Former commerce minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Akhtaruzzaman MP, Shahjahan Khan MP, FBCCI President Nasir Hossain, Dhaka Chamber President MA Momen, International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh President Mahbubur Rahman, BGMEA President Tipu Munshi, BKMEA President Fazlul Haque, garments owners Golam Sarwar Milon, Golam Faruq, and MA Baset, trade union leaders Shahidullah Chowdhury, Wazedul Islam Khan, Shirin Akhtar, Nazma Akhtar, Shafiqur Rahman, China Rahman, Masuda Begum Shefali, and Delwar Hossain, among others, took part in the discussion.