Compliance is the issue here

The commerce minister, however, raises the hope of all by saying that the factory owners have been directed to restructure their factories into compliance units within a year, and that the newly formed wage board would fix satisfactory minimum wage for the workers. Here we would like to stress that let the wage board become functional following its own course, but in the meantime, it would be advisable for the government to announce an interim allowance of 10 to 15 per cent across the board so that the workers feel assured that alleviation of their plight is on course.

We would further like to say that now the workers should take the greater interest of the nation into cognizance and resume work with renewed vigour. They have been able to bring their grievances to focus, but from here on, they should refrain from adopting destructive modes of expressing grievances and rather take the path of dialogue to settle issues.

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In a recent exchange of opinion with the commerce minister, delegates from the European Commission (EC) have uttered some home truths. They discussed the poor wage structure and took note of the work environment in the factories besides pointing out other relevant anomalies. Terming the EU country buyers as very sensitive about 100 percent compliance with the norms, the EC ambassador as head of the delegation was candid enough to hint at the possibility of the buyers going away from Bangladesh if things did not improve. As an immediate step forward the ambassador suggested arranging a national dialogue involving all stakeholders to reach a quick solution to the lingering problem. This is something that we have been pressing for quite a while now.

The signals coming from the major buyers are ominous indeed and not to be taken with a laid back attitude considering the importance of the contribution of the RMG sector to the growth of our economy. It hardly needs emphasising that if major buyers begin to wander away, it would be catastrophic for the economy of the country.