BANGLADESH: Clothing brands call for buyers' forum
By Poorna Rodrigo | 6 August 2012
Sweden's Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) has told just-style that global clothing brands are pressing the Bangladesh government to establish "a forum where buyers can raise concerns and discuss current topics", following waves of labour unrest.
An H&M spokesperson says Marks & Spencer, Walmart, Gap and Carrefour have joined it and 15 other buyers to press Bangladesh labour minister Khandker Musharraf Hossain for a permanent liaison body.
Representatives from these brands delivered their message at a closed doors meeting in late July, the fashion retailer confirmed. The buyers raised the "worrying issue of repeated worker unrest" and the need for the minimum wage to be "reviewed on regular basis," H&M says.
Brands have not yet threatened to transfer orders to other countries, since "by being present in a country such as Bangladesh, we can influence the situation for the workers," the spokesperson adds.
The UK's Marks & Spencer also says purchases will continue. "Bangladesh is an important sourcing location for M&S and we have no plans for this to change," a company spokesperson confirmed.
Bangladesh junior labour minister Begum Monnujan Sufian has also told just-style that raising salaries alone would not solve the unrest. Her government has informed global buyers of plans to "make food available at cheaper prices and bring down house rents for factory workers to ease the rising cost of living".
But workers still want more pay, insisting on a 30% rise to the current minimum monthly minimum wage of BDT3,000 (US$36).
"We have submitted a request to the ministry to discuss the pay hike before Eid holidays starting 21 August," Abul Hossain, president of the Textile Garment Workers Federation told just-style.
Sectors: Apparel, Manufacturing, Retail, Social & environmental responsibility, Sourcing
Companies: H&M, Marks & Spencer, Carrefour
View next/previous articles
Currently reading -
BANGLADESH: Clothing brands call for buyers' forum
6 Aug 2012 -
Related research
The Future of Retailing in China
Synopsis Summary This report is the result of WMI’s extensive market, company and deals research covering the retail market in China. It provides detailed segmentation of historic and forecast retail sales, segmented to category and channel level...
The Future of Retailing in France
Synopsis Summary This report is the result of World Market intelligence's (WMI) extensive market, company and deals research covering France’s retail market. It provides detailed segmentation of historic and forecast retail sales, segmented to ...
The Future of Retailing in Germany
Synopsis Summary This report is the result of World Market intelligence's (WMI) extensive market, company and deals research covering Germany’s retail market. It provides detailed segmentation of historic and forecast retail sales, segmented to...
Related articles
Read more on this hot issue
Productivity push could end Bangladesh garment woe
If Bangladesh wants to stop Western clothing brands and retailers from shifting their sourcing elsewhere, factory owners must improve productivity so they can afford higher wages and bring an end to recurrent labour unrest, industry experts believe.
There are currently no comments on this article
Be the first to comment on this article