Improve skill, productivity to face global recession
November 9, 2008
Improvement of efficiency and productivity is the key for the garment industry to survive at this time of global financial recession, economists and exporters said at a seminar yesterday.
They said no adverse impact was noticed as yet in the export of Bangladeshi garment items following the global financial meltdown.
“No adverse effect is foreseeable and the overall effect is likely to be the least,” said Mamun Rashid, managing director and CEO of Citibank NA Bangladesh, at the seminar.
Mamun also presented the keynote paper on “Global Recession and its impact on RMG” in the seminar organised by Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) on the sidelines of the association’s annual 19th BATEXPO at the city’s Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel.
He observed that currency devaluation is not the only solution for survival from the recession as such a decision depends on a lot of things and takes a lot of time.
“But, there are some signs of improvement as the governments of different countries have already taken some bailout programmes of US$ 3 trillion to rescue their economies from the ongoing global financial recession and bring back confidence among the consumers,” Mamun said in his keynote paper.
He said the recession may not prolong as the affected countries have started infusing and consolidating the capital in the financial sector and cutting down interest rate.
The downward trend of cotton price is also a plus point for Bangladesh as the country’s garment manufacturing is mainly dependent on imported cotton. The price of cotton declined to 49 cents per pound from its previous 70 cents per pound, he said.
Bangladesh can take the opportunities of worldwide price decline of commodities like cotton, edible oil, petroleum products, wheat and rice, Mamun said.
He said there are some factors for which Bangladesh may remain safe from the global financial recession. The factors include limited Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow, insulated capital market, lack of foreign portfolio investment, limited exposure to foreign securities markets, controlled financial environment and lack of market information, he added.
“Bangladesh is more or less decoupled from the rest of the world,” Mamum said in his keynote presentation.
Mamun said the current recession is different from the 1929 great economic depression in the USA because this time the central banks of the affected countries have been taking their best actions, which were not taken during the depression period of 1929.
He said the greatest challenge for the country is to constantly focus and enhance the efficiency and productivity.
“Government should come forward with policy support agenda by offering competitive exchange rates, streamlining customs procedures and providing further incentives in bonded warehouse facility. There is a crucial need to develop the country’s infrastructure by ensuring uninterrupted flow of power and overall improvement in road networks and port efficiencies,” Mamun said.
Chief Executive Officer of Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI) Dr MA Taslim moderated the seminar where Economics Department teacher of Dhaka University Abu Ahmed, economist Dr Quazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmed and BGMEA president Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez spoke as panel discussants.
Suggesting that the garment and textile owners raise capital from the stock market through IPO flotation, Abu Ahmed sought to dispel the fear that Bangladesh’s economy might be affected by the global economic recession.
“Our banks are well regularised. Our economy is peaceful and lawful. So, the economic growth will be seven percent in near future,” Abu Ahmed said.
Kholiquzzaman said involving only the government officials in the monitoring committee is not enough and it is necessary to include independent experts in the committee. Recently, the government formed a committee to monitor any bad impact on the local economy following the global financial recession.
Parvez urged the government to ease the visa system for foreign buyers and visitors, as they have to face a lot of troubles to come to Bangladesh. “We need policy support from the government rather than cash incentives,” Parvez said.
He said there is a shortage of 25 percent skilled workers in the garment sector at present.
Akbar Hassan of BRAC University also presented a paper on “Changing time and changing focus in garment trade” in the seminar
BATEXPO-2008 begins with great opportunity
November 7, 2008
A three day apparel and textile exposition begins in the city today (Thursday) to show local garments in a bid to attract foreign buyers amid global recession.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) is organising the 19th version of the annual event styled the Bangladesh Apparel and Textile Exposition (BATEXPO-2008) at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the city.
“We are not worried for the ongoing recession as it has both risk and opportunity. So, this year we expect more responses from the buyers and more spot orders than that of the past year,” said Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez, president of the BGMEA, at a
press conference held in Dhaka Wednesday.
He also said the BATEXPO-2008 will highlight product diversification, fashion design and product development.
“We will also give due importance to the social responsibility of the local textile and accessories industries,” the BGMEA president added.
Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed is expected to inaugurate the fair as the chief guest while Commerce Adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman, Foreign Ministry Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury and Finance Adviser AB Mirza Md Azizul Islam will attend the inaugural function as the special guests.
On the other hand, Chief of Army Staff General Moeen U Ahmed will be the chief guest at the concluding session.
Craze for Indian clothes
October 12, 2008
With a gorgeous function, Star World joined last week the race of showcasing foreign-branded clothing, especially Indian wears, on Gulshan Avenue, an upmarket area in Dhaka.
Bollywood actor Mahima Chowdhury stole the exclusive fashion house’s inaugural, attended among others by Dhallywood star Alamgir, legendary vocal artiste Runa Laila, songster Shuvro Dev and Aankhi Alamgir.
The new business house offers well-off customers the neighbouring country’s clothes, ranging from children’s dresses to wedding attires with magnificent colour and designs, which have created a craze among the Eid shoppers, especially youngsters.
Cashing in on the craze, which is said to have stemmed from Indian satellite culture, several other fashion houses or stores sprang up in the area. If you wander across Gulshan, others like Star World will not spare your eyes. You can name Shoppers World, Vasavi, Khan Brothers, Almas Super Shop, Rupali and Priyo.
The houses also import a huge number of Indian garment and other fashionable items for men, women and children to make a brisk business ahead of the Eid.
What not available here? The items include sari, salwar kamiz, wedding sari, lehanga, punjabi, pajama, serwani, shirt, T-shirt, trousers, suit, children clothes, shoes, slippers and cosmetics. The prices of those range from Tk 500 to over Tk 1 lakh.
Industry insiders say demand for such clothes have been on the rise since the late 90s. The most common thinking behind it is the influence of Indian satellite television channels. The attraction of Hindi serials and musical programmes has gripped many Bangladeshis, particularly the teens.
They now tend to imitate everything Indian. Whenever they see a new design or a new collection of sari or salwar kamiz or punjabi on Indian TV channels, they rush to the malls to buy the garment.
Local shopping mall owners say Indian clothes are more fashionable than local ones.
Star World’s Sales and Purchase Manager Joynal Abedin thinks in line with the sub-continental tradition and culture, Indian clothes are world-class.
“As demand for designed clothes grows among the middle class to upper class, we have started the new mall to cater to the need of our customers,” he told The Daily Star.
Prices of the clothes in the mall that sits on a space of 8,000 square feet, ranged between Tk 700 and Tk 35,000. Other products such as shoes, slippers and cosmetics, imported from India, are also available here.
Star World also imports garments, especially for men, from Bangkok, Dubai, London and some other places, Abedin added.
“I come to buy the latest clothes and other exclusive collections here, as those are offered at a reasonable price,” said Umme Salma, a housewife who came to the Star World along with her kid on Tuesday noon to choose a pair of sandals for her daughter.
She also desired to buy a sari, as she is fond of Indian saris for its design and exclusiveness.
Echoing her, another customer searching for a sari, finds that choice options are many in the case of Indian garment items. “A fashion-conscious person will find various collections of one item, which may not be possible in the case of Bangladeshi items,” she says.
Nazir Hossain, manager of Khan Brothers, has made a point behind the fondness of Indian clothes by Bangladeshi customers.
He says almost all the Indian clothes are manufactured with synthetic fabric, while Bangladeshi items are mostly manufactured with cotton fabric.
“The design and colour reflection in synthetic fabric is much more eye-catching than in cotton fabric,” he says.
Nazir blamed the lack of development in the country’s fashion and designing industry. “In India the fashion and designing industry is developed, even they do research on fashion and design regularly, whereas Bangladesh is far from such initiatives,” he pointed out.
“It’s an open market economy and the fashion and design is changing every day. If Bangladesh could not cope with fashion and design, a tough time ahead for the local garment industry,” he added.
DSE to take legal action against 11 companies
October 12, 2008
Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) has decided to take legal actions against 11 listed companies as they failed to pay listing fees worth Tk 2.18 million for years.
“We will take legal action against the companies soon as they did not pay the fees despite our repeated requests,” a DSE source told the FE Thursday.
The companies are Metalex Corporation, Arbee Textiles, Bangladesh Electricity Meter Company Ltd, M Hossain Garments, Mona Food Industry, Amam Sea Food, Raspit Inc, Saleh Carpet, Sreepur Textile, Pharmaco International and Raspit Data.
Of them, Metalex Corporation failed to pay Tk 80,000 since 2001, Arbee Textiles Tk 240,000 since 2001, Bangladesh Electricity Meter Company Ltd Tk 175,000 since 2002, M Hossain Garments Tk 2,45,000 since 2002, Mona Food Industry Tk 245,000 since 2002, Amam Sea Food Tk 90,000 since 2003, Raspit Inc Tk 330,000 since 2003, Saleh Carpet Tk 210,000 since 2003, Sreepur Textile Tk 300,000 since 2003, Pharmaco International Tk 90,000 since 2003 and Raspit Data Tk 180,000 since 2003.
DSE has already asked its legal consultant to initiate necessary legal proceedings against the companies.
Apparel industry to fetch $25b by 2013
October 12, 2008
The country’s export earnings from the Readymade Garments (RMG) sector may well reach the $ 25 billion mark by the year 2013 if it remains competitive in the global market, Commerce Adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman said Tuesday.
During the same timeframe, the industry should grow in terms of capacity to employ 2 million more people in this sector, the Commerce Advisor envisaged.
His remark came on the eve of the signing of an agreement between London College of Fashion (LCF) and BGMEA Institute of Fashion and Technology (BIFT) held at the BIFT auditorium.
RMG export which contributes around 76 percent of the country’s annual export income, stood at $ 10.7 billion at the end of the of the fiscal year 2007-2008 posting a growth of 16 percent from the previous year.
The industry, the lifeline of Bangladesh economy at the same time, directly employs more than 2.2 million people, while indirectly benefiting around 10 million.
However, emphasizing the need for developing skill and expertise of the local manpower to achieve the target, the Commerce Advisor who is also in charge of the Ministry of Education informed that turning the BIFT into an independent university is in the government’s pipeline.
“For meeting the constantly changing demand of the RMG in the competitive global market, fashion technology courses deserves completely separate curriculum and needs to be upgraded regularly,” he observed.
“Considering the great potential and importance of better quality higher education and expertise of this particular field to the national economy, the government aims to address the issue of turning BIFT into an independent university in due time,” Zillur added.
Lauding Bangladesh’s sustainability and future potential in the globalised market for RMG, BGMEA President Anwar Ul Alam Chowdhury (Parvez) said the greatest strength of the country’s largest exporting sector lies in its skilled but less demanding manpower.
However, showing concern about the increasing strength of Taka against Dollar in the recent times amid an economic recession in the United States, the BGMEA President cautioned that this could have a detrimental effect on the country’s garments export in the long term.
Commerce Secretary Feroz Ahmed and BIFT President Benajir Ahmed, chief technical adviser of Bangladesh Quality Support Programme David Holbourne, international coordinator of UNIDO John T Smith, among others also spoke on the occasion.
Later, the guests attended the agreement signing between the LCF and BIFT. Dean of the LCF Wendy Malem and BIFT President Benajir Ahmed signed the agreement on behalf of their respective institution.
Under the memorandum of understanding the LCF will help develop courses, curricula, faculties, exchange of students and credit transfer of the BIFT for developing global standard human resources in fashion and design to man the local garment factories.
Presently, BIFT is offering four-year bachelor degree courses on knitwear manufacturing technology, apparel manufacturing and technology, fashion design and technology, and sweater manufacturing and technology.
The institute is also offering MBA course in apparel merchandising besides one-year diploma and six-month professional certificate courses on various related subjects.
Legitimate demands of the workers should be addressed
September 25, 2008
RMG sector is once again hit by workers unrest. In the second eruption of violence in just 48 hours, the workers of Diganta Sweaters Ltd in Gazipur on Tuesday went on the rampage disrupting traffic movement on the Dhaka-Tangail and Dhaka-Mymensingh highways. In the violent incidents about 50 persons including the OC of Tongi Sadar Thana were injured. This time the RMG workers ransacked 10 garments factories and Police had to fire nearly 100 rounds of blank shots to disperse them. The trouble began in the morning when the workers of Diganta Sweaters reaching their factory for work became agitated following a rumour that three of their fellow-workers were found dead in the bathroom and started ransacking the nearby garments factories.
The previous violence had sparked off when there was another rumour that a female worker has died inside the bathroom of the same factory. On Wednesday when police were trying to persuade the workers for restraint, hundreds of others from the nearby factories rushed to the road and went on the rampage. Meanwhile, the home ministry on Wednesday directed the law enforcers to check any slide in law and order, and tackle unrest in readymade garment sector with an iron hand. The government directive is a timely and necessary measure as violence and unrest in the RMG sector have exceeded tolerable level and the BGMEA also has sought government protection to keep the industry running. In fact, stern action has been long overdue to restore peace and order in the vital RMG sector. It must be said that violent action by the workers on the basis of rumours and without verifying them is unacceptable and should be condemned and seriously dealt with. However, on some occasions there may be some valid grounds for the workers’ discontent and agitation and if so those should be addressed sympathetically. The workers should be guided by reasoning and not by emotion or fall in the traps of those who want the RMG sector of Bangladesh to be ruined.
Garment owners’ threat to close down factories
September 12, 2008
THE ultimatum of the RMG factory owners of Ghazipur, to close down all RMG factories in that area unless adequate security was provided to them by September 25, is surprising. But this is reflective of the state of desperation they are in, with the situation going out of their control. To say the least, the owners’ response is least expected, come as it does from the captains of this industry. It amounts to an attitude of chopping off one’s head to cure the headache.
Having said that we hasten to add that nobody can fail to see some of the reasons that have caused the factory owners to react in the way they have. The last several months have seen the sector in a simmer a large number of garment factories were subjected to vandalism that have resulted in losses running up to hundreds of crores of taka, not to speak of the loss due to cancelled orders.
It might not be farfetched to suggest that there may be elements that are out to subvert a highly potential export sector of the country. However, what the concerned persons, including the owners, have failed to notice is that had there not been the seething workers’ discontent due to genuine grievances, the situation could not have been exploited by the vested quarters.
Thus, all concerned must address the real issue germane to the problem. And the most important of them is the matter of pay and benefits of the employees, in spite of the contention of the BGMEA president that many of the factories that have been vandalised are the ones that are ‘compliant’ factories. Given the spiralling prices of essential commodities the pay scale fixed in 2006 fall far short in real value terms today to meet the basic needs of the workers. Sale of some basic essential during the month of Ramadan by certain segment of the garment industry is indeed laudable, but this is on a limited scale and is at best a temporary palliative. A durable plan must be worked out to ensure that the garment employees are able to subsist reasonably well, which they are barely able to do now.
Some of the points in the eight-point charter of the owners are very relevant to the smooth functioning of the industry, which the government should consider. No doubt adequate security must be ensured to prevent the factories being subjected to violence. But one wonders whether deploying industrial police as suggested will alone radically improve the situation. There is a need to take a re-look at the state of owner-worker relationship, which regrettably has assumed an adversarial character. It is much better to make the workers feel that they have a stake in the factory. That is a way to ensure their participation in the safety and wellbeing of the factory.
Security for the highest export earning sector
September 10, 2008
This reaction from the owners and operators of the country’s export-oriented RMG industries is nothing unexpected in view of the frequent troubles they are facing. The immediate problem appears to be the vandalism against the garments units causing damage to machinery, goods and other assets. A report in this paper headlined last Tuesday that 151 garments industries were vandalised between January and August of the current year and 109 of them became the unfortunate victims of such pillaging entirely on the basis of completely baseless rumours of workers’ deaths while the rest were due to protest over low wages. Workers’ unions tend to deny that there is any conspiracy to undermine the RMG sector and link the violence to their members’ unmitigated woes related to wages and other monetary benefits.
But such contentions notwithstanding, there can be no legal basis for vandalism. If workers are unhappy, then they must confine their activities to proper methods and inform the authorities concerned about their grievences. No amount of their frustrations give them any rights, whatsoever, to physically attack the very establishments from which they draw their sustenance. Thus, it becomes evident from these attacks that more than the workers there are vested interests of outsiders who have been egging on such incidents. Investigations by the BGMEA as well as by government’s own security agencies proved this point many times. But what is proving to be very galling is the government’s strange silence after these findings.
If proactive policies were pursued by the law enforcement bodies, then many incidents of attacks on garments industries could be prevented in recent months leading to the building of appropriate security for the sector. Thus, the entrepreneurs in this sector are calling for extending round the clock security to the garments producing factories as well as ferreting out the trouble-makers from behind the wings to punish them in a manner that would leave adequate deterrent effect. Given the pivotal importance of this sector for the national economy as the highest export earner and the main source of employment for the industrial labour force, the government can in no way afford to respond casually to the demand for security from the entrepreneurs.
What ails the garments sector ?
September 10, 2008
The problems in the garment industry of the country appear to have started to fester. The occasional eruption of violence over rumours of confinement, torture or even death of workers at the hands of what the reports go to be the owners’ hired goons have wreaked havoc on many garment manufacturing units of the country. Of late, the situation has come to a head. The sporadic incidents of violence in a number of garment factories in Gazipur in particular accompanied by widespread vandalism and ransacking on the factory premises have led to the closure of a number of factories. So far, no clear picture of the causes of the violent face-offs between the workers and the owners of the affected factories could be obtained. It is always the same old rumours and the wild behaviour of some people on the factory premises in the Gazipur industrial belt not far from the capital city.
The pattern of the violence is too familiar. But no effective step by any quarter has so far been taken to stop these untoward developments in the garment sector. What is strange in each case of vandalism in the garment industries is that the reported incidents of violence invariably take place not over any genuine demands of pay raise or similar other issues related to workers’ entitlements. Such grievances may well be behind these incidents, but the immediate causes of the incidents in the majority of the cases have no relation to such legitimate issues. So, one cannot also say that the madness in the grip of which the garment industry of the country has fallen victim to provides any indication of healthy development of trade unionism in the Readymade Garment (RMG) sector.
However, in the face of such insanity facing the garment industries of Gazipur, which is home to some 800 RMG units, the owners of 91 factories had in a body submitted a memorandum to their apex trade body the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association (BGMEA) in protest against the workers’ violence in their factories. They even threatened indefinite strike from September 25 in case any incident of vandalism takes place in any of the garment units before that deadline.
To all appearances, these garment factory owners have been at the end of their tether for long and have now been forced to take this decision of staging strike as a last resort to end the stalemate in the garment industries.
In another development on the same day, the Bangladesh Combined Garment Workers’ Federation (BCGWF) met the owners of the garment factories to press the workers demand for paying festival allowance and other dues of the workers by September 25.
Strangely though, the owners’ deadline of going on strike in protest against vandalism on the premises and the timeline for paying festival allowances and other dues set by the workers’ right body have coincidentally fallen on the same date. Have the two developments any causal connection or are they simply coincidental? While briefing the press about their demands to the garment owners, the BCGWF leaders even complained that most factory owners did not pay the workers’ festival bonus and that in some cases the owners did not even clear the full pay of the workers for the month.
But if the labour leaders’ claim has any truth in it, then it is a serious matter to be concerned about. For under any circumstances, the workers’ cannot be denied their regular pay by the factory authorities. Moreover, it is a shame for any industry worth its name that fails to pay the regular salaries of its workers. So, the workers’ violence in the Gazipur garments and conflicting claims of the factory owners and the labour leaders call for serious investigation into the issue for the sake of saving the industry as well as protecting the interests of both the owners and the workers.
The violence in the in the garment sector has been going on for too long to be taken lightly by all quarters concerned. The movement for higher pay or facilities by the workers vis-à-vis the factory owners’ resistance has been the normal rules of the game in the industry worldwide. And it is through mutual negotiation between the owners and the workers’ representatives that such issues are traditionally resolved. But unfortunately, in the case of garment factories in Bangladesh, a gap has been created exactly at this point. In fact, there is practically no medium to communicate between the workers and the owners of the factories to resolve any dispute between the two sides. The result has been disastrous for both the workers and the factory owners in the garments sector. Now what has happened in the absence of a healthy trade union to hold negotiations between the workers and the factory management? The vacuum has been filled up by wrong people on both the sides of the spectrum. Afraid to meet the workers, the management is depending too much on its crony staffs, who always portray the workers as a bunch of mindless crowd. In absence of any organised union to look after their interest, the workers are getting increasingly restive and behaving hysterically whenever there is any rumour about their colleagues being tortured by the musclemen of the management. In fact, whatever is happening on the premises of the garments factories of Gazipur cannot be wholly dismissed as untruth. That is because, the lack of an effective medium of communication has forced both the sides to react in a knee-jerk fashion.
Both the sides must see the truth. Otherwise the ‘ghost stories,’ which thrive on mutual distrust and have been triggering the workers’ violence in the garment factories will continue to go the rounds and proliferate. And the owners will continue to see outside quarters trying to destroy the RMG sector of the country with the help of agent provocateurs.
However, it is not being meant to say here that there are no vested quarters or agencies involved in these incidents. In fact, whenever there is trouble, vested quarters will always be found active to fish in the troubled waters. And what is being stressed here is that the vested interests engaged in disruptive activities, in most cases, are not the root cause of the subversive activities in question. On the contrary, they are the outcome of the disturbances caused by developments that have nothing having to do with the external factors.
The first step the factory management must take is to talk with the workers. And it is in the best interests of the industry that both the employers and the employees should be on talking terms. Workers’ union is the best medium to keep both the management and the employees engaged. As ill luck would have it, development of healthy trade unions did never get a far chance for development in the various industries of Bangladesh, let alone in the garments sector. Why healthy trade unionism could not grow in our industries is another story. To cut a long story short, from the very beginning, the trade unions of the country were controlled by parties or agents outside the industrial units. In fact, those were parasitic bodies acting as pressure groups within the industries concerned and serving the interest of certain political parties. It is this political trade unionism that marred the very spirit of healthy trade unions, which otherwise contribute to the productivity of the industries as well as look after the workers’ interest.
Now time has come to give a new look at the problem. The recent developments in the garment factories of Gazipur should be an eye opener for all concerned. The government needs to provide necessary security to the garment factory owners so that they are not forced to close down their factories. The workers, on the other hand, have to be assured their monthly wages and other dues. But before that the first step would be to bring the two sides-the owners and the workers-at the talking table.
The factory owners must help the workers so that they might elect or choose their representatives from within their own ranks. In future, all the problems arsing between the workers and management should be settled through negotiation between the two parties without the need for outside intervention.
For now, the government should give a deeper look into the problems of the Gazipur garment factories and help settle the disputes between the employers and the workers in the best interests of the both the parties.
Two days’ weekend is really a problem
September 3, 2008
VIEWS expressed by Air Commodore M Zakiul Islam may be right from his own thought-perspective, but his article did not reflect the issues raised by the members of the business community. If Mr. Rahman goes to his office on Friday and if he is a businessman, who trades internationally, it hardly matters, whether his counterpart in London or New York is asleep or not. He can pass on his decision and communicate the same through e-mail. The man who is sleeping, say Mr. Tom, at the other part of the globe, is not an issue to him. Mr. Tom can get up at his usual time and receive the e-mail of Mr. Rahman on Friday and pass his decision, direction, suggestion to the concerned people easily. If he thinks to release the payment or pass the L/C to Mr. Rahman, Mr. Tom can pass the direction to his bank or concerned person on the same Friday.
So, Mr. Rahman can receive the payment or L/c on Sunday(or Monday, if the bank is not faster).If Saturday would have been a working day, it could be even earlier. Upon receiving payment or L/C, Mr. Rahman can pay his outstanding bills, buy new items for export or so. In case of L/C, he can open back-to-back L/C on Sunday (if within Bangladesh) or Monday (if outside Bangladesh).
On the otherhand, if Mr. Rahman enjoys holiday on Friday & Saturday, he can pass his message to Mr. Tom not before Sunday, but Mr. Tom can see it only on his Monday morning, by the time local counterpart might pack up for the day. So, he can receive reply or payment or L/C by Wednesday (if he his lucky, may be by Tuesday). If we enjoy holidays on Friday & Saturday, Mr. Rahman would be the victim. A period of two days is a major factor in international trading. The traders in Europe and the USA may not wait for couple of days, as there is a lot of many competitors in their own country and counterparts around the world. Unless Bangladesh makes some lucrative offer, they can hardly wait for.
The impact of loss of two days, is hardly imaginable for the persons, who are not in international trade or private business.
Let us see if Mr. Rahman does RMG business, what can be the effect! He needs to ship out one consignment by next Sunday (as the USA-bound vessel’s cut-off time falls on Monday), but he noticed his trims(button/decorative flower etc.) just reached at Zia International Airport (ZIA) on Wednesday from Hong Kong. He can not release the consignment in a day (in many parts of the world, it is possible in a day). Now he has been trapped and had to wait madly for two days weekend to finish. By Sunday afternoon, he may be fortunate to receive the air cargo from ZIA, but an unfortunate fellow to save the consignment. Now Mr. Rahman has to air book the cargo PREPAID to the USA. What he earned in last six months, will be drained to pay the AIR Freight.
Again he is a victim of two days weekend.
What can happen, if Mr. Rahman enjoys Friday & Saturday weekend! Mr. Tom sent some urgent query, on Thursday, to quote prices of some garment-style immediately, but Mr. Rahman has gone to his village home to enjoy weekend, since all nation is on the grip of weekend fever, what can he does! Mr. Tom sent same query to his overseas vendors. He has no time to wait for Mr. Rahman, who will come and join at his office on Sunday. He got favourable price offer from Mr. Dong of Vietnam on Friday and placed order to him. Mr. Rahman misses the train. Time and tide wait for none. Mr. Rahman can cry only, but policy-makers hardly acknowledge it. If we could control the time and tide, we could turn it around, but Bangladesh is a poor nation, hardly its voice makes any impact in international arena.
Customers has many destinations, Bangladesh is one them only. We can not control the world trade of our exportables. We have a little share only. If we are to enjoy two-days’ lavish weekend, no one can save us from drowning. They can enjoy two-days’ weekend, whose blessings give us bread and butter! Unfortunately we are at the receiving end only, someone else is on the command.
The members of the business community are looking for an administration, which is progressive and farsighted and which can mobilise and put the nation on a faster track of the 21st century, to ease the differences from front runners, if necessary to squeeze weekend to a single day, to get a competitive edge.