Rather measure us with competitors
The government does not give any money to owners to pay their workers, we get the loans with a reduced rate of interest, while it is distributed through workers’ mobile financial service accounts
The government has announced some stimulus packages for different sectors such as export-oriented readymade garment, textile and small and medium enterprises.
But it is very difficult to bring all small factories for the local market under the stimulus coverage since there is no specific database containing their details.
However, the stimulus outreach to export-oriented factories is comparatively easy.
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We entrepreneurs have paid salaries to our workers without any sales in April thanks to the government package and contribution of the entrepreneurs.
Almost, all the factories in that month remained shut owing to the government-declared general holidays.
We did not terminate any workers in May as the government asked us not to do so ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr – a major Muslim festival in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Labour Law allows the factory owners to opt for laying off workers with less than one year of job duration if they wanted to do so.
How could the TIB claim that some 42% workers did not get the salaries? It would be a big number of workers, and the situation might be different if that was true.
The government does not give any money to owners to pay their workers, we get the loans with a reduced rate of interest, while it is distributed through workers' mobile financial service accounts.
Government stimulus packages help factories pay salaries to workers without any business and that was the reason for the financial package. Also, mid-small factories cannot represent 42% of the export-oriented workforce.
There was no scope for making political pressure on the stimulus packages.
The total salaries in larger factories are huge since they have a massive workforce as well as working capital.
Internationally, they let down our image and the country's too. At the same time, everyone raises questions about why we cannot attract better brand/high-value buyers – what an irony.
The positive industry image is the prerequisites for better business with buyers. Do not measure us with the perfect world, rather measure us with our competitors – China, Vietnam, India and Myanmar who are not even the ILO Convention signatories.
David Hasanat is the founder Chairman and CEO of Viyellatex Group
