Buyers should increase price of apparel: Bangladesh PM

20 Jun '13

2 min read

Bangladesh Prime Minster Sheikh Hasina has said that buyers from Western countries should increase the price of garments to enable employers to pay better wages to garment workers.

In her meeting with visiting Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Lilianne Ploumen, Ms. Hasina said her Government is making serious efforts to protect the rights of garment workers and create a better working environment for them, according to Bangladesh News Agency BSS.

The Prime Minister told Ms. Ploumen that it would not be wise on the part of apparel buyers from Western countries to stop placing orders with Bangladesh firms due to the Rana Plaza building collapse and fire accidents at some garment factories.

She added that the buyers should rather increase price of the garments so that the workers can get better wages, which would help in improving their economic condition.

The present Government has taken several measures for increasing the wages of the workers in the clothing industry since it took office in 2009, Ms. Hasina said.

The wages of workers in the country’s clothing sector have risen by 82 percent since 2009, and some laws have been modified to protect the rights of the workers, she said.

The Government is trying to bring all the garment units, which have grown under private sector over the last few decades, in a streamline, she added.

On her part, Ms. Ploumen told the Prime Minster that the Dutch Government is willing to extend all cooperation to Bangladesh, especially for raising living standards of women.

The main focus of Ms. Ploumen’s visit was working conditions in Bangladesh’s readymade garment manufacturing sector.

Earlier this month, the Netherlands announced that it will contribute €9 million for the improvement of the working conditions in the garment industry.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

More Apparel/Garments News - Bangladesh...