BGMEA
UNGPs: Experts say work environment in RMG sector needs to be improved
Bangladesh’s RMG sector needs to improve its labour and working environment in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGPs) to better handle the post-graduation challenges, speakers said at a virtual dialogue on Saturday.
Over the past decade, they said, the export-oriented RMG sector has made significant progress in strengthening workplace safety.
Read: BGMEA seeks duty-free access to Brazil for RMG products
Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) in partnership with the Christian Aid in Bangladesh organised the virtual dialogue titled “Building the RMG Sector in Adherence with the United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGPs).”
In continuation of this journey, the speakers said, the sector needs to focus on human and labour rights issues taking into account the post-LDC graduation requirements.
The UNGPs have provided a guideline for the industries on how to improve the labour rights practices in the workplace.
Read: Bangladesh RMG industry growing sustainably: BGMEA President
Such a guideline will be highly beneficial for the RMG enterprises to better structure social compliances in adherence to international standards, they said, adding that the government agencies will get a better understanding about how to facilitate factories in strengthening their labour practices.
CPD Executive Director Dr Fahmida Khatun delivered the introductory remarks and Country Director and Christian Aid Bangladesh Pankaj Kumar delivered the welcome remarks at the session.
They shared that since the issues are new in the context of Bangladesh, an exploratory study has been conducted on the ‘State of the UNGPs in the RMG Sector of Bangladesh’.
Based on a nationally representative sample survey in the RMG enterprises, the study has identified areas of strengths and weaknesses in UNGP practices and thereby put forward a set of suggestions.
Mentioning that the RMG sector is one of the key sources of foreign exchange earnings, Dr Fahmida suggested that even though the sector has shown impressive growth during the post-Rana Plaza period, there are some social compliance issues that still require a focus.
In his keynote paper, CPD Research Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem said the study analysed the level of maturity on UNGPs of RMG enterprises on eight key indicators such as policy commitment; governance and embedding; prioritisation of risks and identification of the salient human rights issues; stakeholder engagement; assessing human rights risks; integration and mitigation measures; tracking; and remedy and grievance mechanisms.
The study pointed out that Bangladesh’s overall progress in terms of UNGPs is still below the elementary level—mainly at a “negligible” level.
He said basic facilities for workers are yet to be available across the board in all factories and disparity in human and labour standards in terms of size, membership and location of factories is well-noticed.
The level of overall improvement is more evident in the case of the large- and medium-sized factories compared to the small-sized ones.
Also, the study highlighted interesting facts which showed that the factories from Dhaka and Gazipur district have better performance in most human rights aspects than factories from Chattogram and Narayanganj.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan put some vital issues on the table, including—adhering to the SDGs, developing a unified code of conduct to avoid the audit fatigue, conducting a comprehensive research in concentration with all the local and global standards, and bringing a positive change through apparel diplomacy and thorough research.
BGMEA Director Vidiya Amrit Khan said organisations under the BGMEA are much more transparent regarding audit and compliance related information. Still, she remarked, individual companies might have different strategies, and opening/publishing web page-based data cannot be imposed. She commented that the wage rate corresponds with the efficiency of the labour force.
Sharmin Sultana Moushumi, Advocate, Bangladesh High Court, talked about the issue of safety inspection and re-inspection. “Necessary amendments to labour laws and rules need to be considered as well as better functioning of labour courts and other barriers in the courts need to be reduced to complete the cases quickly.”
“It’s a high time that we should address our problems and challenges with transparency,” commented another distinguished discussant Haroon Ar Rashid, Director, BGMEA.
Md Mojibul Haque, MP, Chairman, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Labour and Employment, Bangladesh Parliament was present as a special Guest.
Shedding light on the need for reducing the gap between the owners and the workers, he said that more seminars and symposiums should be organised in order to address the gap and increase awareness from both ends.
First Vice-President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) Mohammad Hatem highlighted two important issues—first, childcare facilities, and second, corporate social responsibility (CSR) facilities.
He also called for a collective and coordinated effort to reduce various gaps.
Source more from Bangladesh: BGMEA President to US buyers
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan has called upon brands and buyers in the USA to source more garments, including non-cotton and high-end apparel products from Bangladesh.
He made the call when Richard Rosenthal, CEO of Tailor Vintage, paid a courtesy visit to him at BGMEA’s office in Gulshan on Thursday.
BGMEA Vice President Miran Ali and Mohammed Yusuf Ali Khan, Tailor Vintage’s Country Manager in Bangladesh, were also present on the occasion.
READ: BGMEA seeks Germany’s support to continue duty benefits in EU
Tailor Vintage is a renowned apparel brand in the USA.
Faruque Hassan said unprecedented strides in safety, sustainability and social compliance in the RMG industry have earned Bangladesh global recognitions and made the country a preferable sourcing destination among buyers.
READ: BGMEA wants Denmark's support to continue duty benefits in EU market
He also highlighted the future priorities of the apparel industry especially increased focus on non-cotton and high-end product segment.
The BGMEA President requested Richard Rosenthal to share the positive developments and stories about Bangladesh’s RMG industry in the USA.
BGMEA seeks duty-free access to Brazil for RMG products
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan has requested the government of Brazil to provide duty-free access to Bangladeshi apparel products.
The BGMEA chief made the request when Ambassador of Brazil to Bangladesh Joao Tabajara de Oliveira Junior met him on Thursday at its office.
They discussed how Brazil and Bangladesh can reap mutual trade benefits through collaboration in the apparel and textile industry.
READ: BGMEA seeks Germany’s support to continue duty benefits in EU
Faruque apprised the envoy of the future priorities of Bangladesh RMG industry, with special focus on diversification in products, market and innovation in product development.
He said Bangladesh is willing to import more cotton from Brazil for its ready-made garment industry and requested for cooperation from the Ambassador in this regard.
“While Brazil has a huge pool of designers and experts, we have huge manufacturing capacity. Brazil and Bangladesh can work together in developing our capability in designing and manufacturing value-added products which can be exported to South American countries. It will benefit both Brazil and Bangladesh,” he added.
READ: BGMEA wants Denmark's support to continue duty benefits in EU market
They talked about scope of collaboration and support from Brazil especially in building capacity of Bangladesh’s RMG sector in design development for value-added apparel products.
BGMEA urges consul general in Hong Kong to support buyers more
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has requested the consul general of Bangladesh in Hong Kong to extend more support and services to buyers, especially in obtaining a visa to visit Bangladesh for meeting their apparel suppliers.Israt Ara, director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and consul general designate to Hong Kong, paid a courtesy visit to BGMEA President Faruque Hassan in Dhaka Monday.
READ: BGMEA seeks Germany’s support to continue duty benefits in EU
Faruque congratulated Israt on her new appointment as the consul general in Hong Kong, a major trading hub where most of the apparel brands have regional offices.He also called on her to cooperate with the members of the BGMEA who need to visit Hong Kong to participate in international apparel exhibitions.
READ: BGMEA wants Denmark's support to continue duty benefits in EU market
The fairs provide a great opportunity for the garment manufactures of Bangladesh to have business interactions with potential buyers, he added.BGMEA Vice-President Miran Ali was also present.
BGMEA seeks Germany’s support to continue duty benefits in EU
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has sought Germany’s support for the continuation of duty- and quota-free access for Bangladeshi goods to the European Union for a period of 12 years, following the country's graduation from LDC status in 2026.
The continuation of the benefits is essential to ensure a smooth transition out of the LDC status for Bangladesh. At present it is able to avail the benefits under the EU's Everything But Arms initiative for LDCs.
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan made the request during a meeting with the newly appointed Ambassador of Germany Achim Troster on Monday.
READ: BGMEA wants Denmark's support to continue duty benefits in EU market
BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim, Vice President Miran Ali and Caren Blume, Head of Development Section at the German Embassy, were also present.
The BGMEA President welcomed the new German Ambassador and apprised him of the present situation of Bangladesh’s apparel industry, its challenges, opportunities and future priorities.
Highlighting the progress made by the industry in the areas of workplace safety, environmental sustainability and workers' welfare, Faruque Hassan requested the envoy to promote the RMG industry positively to his government, buyers and other relevant stakeholders.
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan thanked Ambassador Achim Troster for the German government’s friendly support to the betterment of the Bangladesh RMG industry.
READ: EU market: BGMEA optimistic about GSP+ benefits after Bangladesh's graduation
They expressed willingness about more collaboration for further development of Bangladesh garment industry, especially in the area of sustainability.
BGMEA wants Denmark's support to continue duty benefits in EU market
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association President Faruque Hassan on Sunday sought Denmark’s support in continuation of duty-benefit for Bangladesh in the European Union for 12 years.
This support, he said, is needed to ensure Bangladesh’s smoother transition after the graduation from LDC in 2026.
Faruque discussed the issue when Ambassador of Denmark to Bangladesh Winnie Estrup Petersen met him at BGMEA office in Gulshan.
BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim, Vice President Miran Ali, Søren Asbjørn Albertsen, Sector Counsellor, and Ali Mushtaq Butt, Commercial Counsellor at the Danish Embassy were also present.
Denmark is a member country of the European Union which provides duty-free market access to Bangladesh as a LDC under its EBA programme.
Faruque requested the ambassador to share the positive development and stories about the RMG industry, she witnessed during her stay in Dhaka, with both brands and consumers.
He also called on the envoy to request Danish brands and retailers to be more rational in pricing as nobody can justify lower price to produce socially fair goods.
They had discussions about issues related to the readymade garment industry in Bangladesh, including its progress in the areas of workplace safety, environmental sustainability and wellbeing of workers.
They also talked about scope of further collaboration and cooperation from Denmark especially in enhancing productivity and facilitating more use of energy-efficient technologies in the garment industry of Bangladesh.
EU market: BGMEA optimistic about GSP+ benefits after Bangladesh's graduation
The apex trade body of Bangladesh's apparel industry has said there is no major barrier for the country to get GSP+ benefits in the European market whenever applicable as the country graduates from the club of least developed countries (LDCs).
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan came up with information during a press conference at a city hotel Saturday while noting that the precondition for the GSP+ on import threshold (7.4 %) has been removed from the proposed GSP regulations for 2024-2034.
The conference was arranged to share the outcome of his recent visit to the US and Canada.
The BGMEA chief thanked the EU for its favourable initiative to countries like Bangladesh.
Everything but Arms (EBA) is a special arrangement for the LDCs, providing them with duty-free, quota-free access to the EU market for all products except arms and ammunition.
Read: BGMEA discusses export, FDI opportunities with Bangladesh envoy
The BGMEA President said the European Union (EU) is Bangladesh's key export market with around 60 per cent of exports.
He said Bangladesh will enjoy the existing duty-free and quota-free market access in the European countries until 2029 following the country's graduation.
"The government and the BGMEA are working together to ensure the continuation of the EBA facilities for 12 years after 2029," he said.
Life after LDC graduation: BGMEA steps up economic diplomacy
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has underscored the need for constructive dialogues, research, economic diplomacy and engagement with governments and stakeholders at the international level so that Bangladesh's economic growth momentum continues when it graduates from the least developed countries (LDCs).
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan said finding pragmatic ways for retaining the market access facilities is vital to remain competitive in export markets, while creating new market opportunities will be equally important to explore.
He emphasised efforts in securing the continuation of trade benefits for Bangladesh for 12 years after it graduates from the LDC category in 2026.
Faruque made the observations during a meeting with Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and Ambassador Rabab Fatima, permanent representative of Bangladesh to the UN, at the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the UN in New York Tuesday. Director of Giant Group Sharmeen Hassan Tithi was also present.
Read:BGMEA discusses export, FDI opportunities with Bangladesh envoy
The discussion encompassed issues regarding Bangladesh's LDC graduation, possible changes in the tariff regime in export markets and how preferential market access can be continued in the post-LDC time.
The BGMEA chief apprised them of the research initiative of the apparel industry's apex body to explore market opportunities for ready-made garment (RMG) exports.
He also briefed them about the new Centre of Innovation, Efficiency and Occupational Safety and Health, which is being established at the BGMEA headquarters in Uttara to enhance the competitiveness of Bangladesh's RMG industry.
BGMEA underscores need for NRBs' engagement in Bangladesh's development
Many non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) still have very strong emotional ties with Bangladesh and are willing to be a part of the country's progress through transferring skills and experience or investment, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) chief said Tuesday.
Faruque Hassan paid a courtesy call on Sadia Faizunnesa, consul general of the Consulate General of Bangladesh in New York, Tuesday.
READ: BGMEA wants to increase RMG exports to Canada, promote positive image
He requested the consul general to extend more support, services and information to potential investors to encourage them to invest in Bangladesh.
Faruque sought the cooperation of the consul general in paving the way for Bangladeshis living in the US so that they can promote the interests of Bangladesh, including branding the country positively.
READ: BGMEA chief invites Canadian businessmen to invest in Bangladesh
They discussed different issues, especially possible areas of engagement for NRBs in national development and how more foreign investment could be brought to Bangladesh.
BGMEA discusses collaboration in industry innovation with Amerex
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and US-based apparel importer Amerex Group have discussed a partnership to upscale Bangladesh's apparel industry's capabilities, including in the area of innovation.
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan met Ira Ganger, president and CEO of Amerex Group, in New York recently.
Former BGMEA president Md Shafiul Islam, BGMEA Director Abdullah Hil Rakib and Brian McElwain, executive vice-president of sourcing purchasing and production of Amerex, were also present.
READ: BGMEA wants to increase RMG exports to Canada, promote positive image
The BGMEA delegation shared the present situation of Bangladesh's ready-made garment (RMG) industry and its strategic priorities – especially in the areas of industry innovation, efficiency and capacity optimisation.
They also highlighted the industry's increased focus on product diversification – namely, non-cotton and high-end segments.
READ: BGMEA chief invites Canadian businessmen to invest in Bangladesh
A new centre of innovation, efficiency and occupational safety and health is being established at the BGMEA headquarters in Uttara to enhance the competitiveness of the RMG industry of Bangladesh.