Remittances facing a challenge

Remittances facing a challenge

THE latest data coming out of Bangladesh Bank paints none-too-happy a picture on foreign remittances. Inflow of foreign exchange earned by Bangladeshi expatriate workers is down from the six largest destinations where our workers are employed. The combined remittance from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, United States, United Kingdom and Malaysia constituted more than 80 per cent of the total remittance basket for the last three years.
Over reliance on traditional markets has left the overseas manpower industry in disarray. That things have not been going right in the Mid-East is hardly any news. Last October, the UAE dramatically stopped issuing entry permits for Bangladeshi workers over identification and fake documents. By September, 2012 a mere 2,000 Bangladeshi workers found work in the country. While efforts have been made to keep the unscrupulous private recruiting agencies at bay by means of concluding government-to-government deals, they have not panned out satisfactorily. The snail’s pace with which recruitment is being done with Malaysia is hardly encouraging.
The fact that over a six-month period (January — June) of the current fiscal, our manpower exports have gone down significantly over the same period of the preceding year shows just how much we need to strive to regain some of the lost market. At the same time, exploring new markets must be treated as a priority by policymakers. We can hardly afford to remain nonchalant in exploring non-traditional markets since the annual US$15billion flowing into the country is crucial for economic development of the country.

Toll free vegetable market changes fortune

Both the growers and buyers are happy as growers get fair price of their produce and buyers purchase vegetables at fair price at the toll free vegetable market named Naksa Sabji Bazar at Vata para village of Saptibari union of Aditmari upazila in Lalmonirhat.
The toll free vegetable market has been operating since March 2012 and it brings new opportunity for the ultra poor people at 15 villages surrounding the bazaar. All these become possible due to the Setu Project of CARE Bangladesh. Community Facilitator FC of Setu Project of CARE Bangladesh Mizanul Islam said, he had set up a linkage with the local landlords; Nurudin, Kader Munsi and Sudhir Chandra in the village. Finally the three landlords agreed to donate 10 decimal lands for building a vegetable market in the village Vatapara, a remote village of Aditmari upazila.
Their donated lands were registered in favor of Naksa Sabji Bazar. “CARE Setu Projcet donated fund of Tk 2,20,000 for completing the project for the toll free vegetable market. The organisation also donated Tk 2,20,000 on a need to basis to provide support for predominantly poor villagers for running small business in the market,” he said. Additionally Tk 25,000 was spent to build a tin shed house in the market for beneficiaries villager’s meeting to share and exchange views about their livelihood. Since then, there are currently 20 small shops of different essential commodities in the market. Vegetable growers’ comes to the mar
ket to sell their produce during the morning hours and later during afternoon’s everyday of the week. At least 500 to 600 villagers comes here to sell and purchase regular necessitates at the market place everyday.
Manik Miah; a small grocery shop owner said, his business is operation adequately. Manik Miah sells commodities at fair price and buyers are also content as they get commodities at fair price, he said.
A vegetable grower farmer Birendra Nath said, “I come to this market to sell my produced vegetable and I get fair price for it. There is no need to pay toll money for selling vegetables in the market but I am obligated to pay toll money if I sell vegetables at any other market.”
Hossain Ali, a local poor villager said, he is running a small business in the toll free vegetable market and he is receiving support from Setu Project of CARE Bangladesh as his need demands. Beforehand while operating his business, he had faced difficulty over his livelihood. Now he along with four members of his family live peacefully. He earns around Tk 250 to TK 300 selling necessity commodities in the Naksa Sabji Bazar.
Local farmer Ahmed Ali said, previously he had to sell his produced vegetables to the middle men at a lower rate but now he changed his method of operation after setting up his shop at Naksa Sabji Bazar. He directly sells vegetables to the buyers and gets expected price. “Toll free market Naksa Sabji Bazar brings new opportunity for the local farmers and buyers. Middle men can’t deprive us from fair price”, he said.
CARE Setu Project’s Community Facilitator CF Rezaul Karim said, CARE officials always monitors’ the toll free vegetable market at Naksa Sabji Bazar. Villagers from 15 villages are getting satisfactory output from the market and changing their method of operations along with their livelihood.
Local union parishad UP member Ayub Ali said; the toll free Naksa Sabji Bazar has already brought change to the villagers’ perception of trading commodities at fair price. They are also benefited by saving time as the other markets are at least three kilometers farther out. As more people are gathering around the market the union parishad has decided to construct a mosque here as well. The land donors Udhir Chandra and two others said, they feel very satisfied at donating the land to toll free market as local villagers are enjoying the benefit instead of outsiders.
The Project Officer of CARE Setu Project Ashraful Alam said, the market has brought change in social economical condition as many extremely poor people are getting job opportunity which was not possible earlier. The market has been playing an important role of solidarity for the villagers and hopes to bring more.

Low-cap stock prices see abnormal hike

Listed companies with low capitalisation gained in between 50 percent and 244 percent in one month and a half though they had no price sensitive information or any expansion plan, according to Dhaka Stock Exchange.
From July 31 to September 17, firms with capital ranging between Tk 40 lakh and Tk 31 crore saw an abnormal price hike amid a slow mood in the market, which led investors to buy shares at higher prices that may cause a massive loss in their portfolios.
A total of 12 companies gained in between 100 percent and 244 percent in the time, three companies rose more than 90 percent and 14 firms more than 50 percent, DSE data showed.
The DSE management yesterday suspended trading of CVO Petrochemical Refinery shares for an indefinite period, as the bourse started investigation into the abnormal price hike in the low cap company’s stock.
CVO Petrochemical Refinery Ltd with a paid-up capital of Tk 18 crore gained 103 percent in prices in the one and a half months, according to the DSE.
The company has reported net profit after tax of Tk 47.4 lakh with earnings per share of Tk 0.26 during January-March.
Mizanur Rahman Zaved, the company’s chief financial officer, said, “We have no price sensitive information.”
The sponsors of the company hold 50 percent of the total shares and they are not selling any share despite the high prices, he added.
JMI Syringes and Medical Devices Ltd, which has a paid-up capital of Tk 11 crore, advanced 244.82 percent during July 31-September 17, according to the DSE website.
The company has reported net profit after tax at Tk 98.5 lakh with earnings per share of Tk 0.90 during March-June.
“Our business is going on as usual, and right now we have no plans for further expansion,” said Muhammad Tarek Hossain Khan, the company secretary.
The company informed Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission and the DSE that it has no price sensitive information, he said.
The regulator formed an investigation committee on September 15 to look into the recent hike in share prices of the 13 companies, including JMI Syringes and Medical Devices Ltd, CVO Petrochemical Refinery Ltd, Tallu Spinning Mills Ltd, Bangas, and Mithun Knitting.
The two-member committee was asked to submit its report within 15 working days.
BSEC Executive Director Saifur Rahman said: “We have brought the low-cap companies under scanner. We are looking into how they generated such an abnormal gain.” Even after the formation of the inquiry committee, the prices of these companies have not stopped rising, which may cause the investors to incur massive losses, Rahman said.
The regulator found some unusual activities in the share trading of JMI Syringes and Medical Devices, another BSEC official said, asking not to be named. The regulator’s enforcement department will take action against the company soon, he said.
The DSE also served a show-case notice on 16 low-cap companies on September 16.
The companies also informed the premier bourse that they have no price sensitive information.
Ahsanul Islam Titu, president of the Dhaka bourse, said: “We are looking into the matter.” Investors should be careful about the unusual price hike of the low-cap companies, he added.

Workers’ demand justified

Lawmakers, labour leaders and analysts yesterday called for at least doubling of the minimum wage for the country’s garment workers to help them lead a decent life.
“The garment owners’ proposal for a Tk 600 wage hike is inhumane,” said Wajed-ul Islam Khan, general secretary of Bangladesh Trade Union Council, said.
“These workers are demanding a wage that will allow them to lead a decent life,” he said at a dialogue, Revision of the Minimum Wage in the RMG Sector, organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) at the Cirdap auditorium.
The issue of minimum wage came to the fore after the government, following extensive criticism, formed a new wage board in June.
The workers’ representative on the board demanded that the monthly minimum wage be hiked to Tk 8,114 from the existing Tk 3,000, but the owners are willing to increase by 20 percent.
“There is no scope to set a minimum wage below Tk 8,000,” said Nazrul Islam Khan, secretary general of Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS).
Jos Huber, first secretary of the embassy of Netherlands for CSR garment sector, said: “A few days ago I went to a slum where I met a garment worker who toils for 12 hours everyday for Tk 3,000. I don’t think that it is a fair wage.”
MM Akash, a professor of economics at Dhaka University, said the garment owners would have to sacrifice 25 percent of their profits to provide the workers a decent wage.
“If they raise the wage in line with the workers’ demand, the competitiveness of the industry will not erode,” he said, while citing the case when the minimum wage was last raised.
The minimum wage was most recently increased in November 2010 from Tk 1,662.5 to Tk 3,000.
CPD, however, recommended that the minimum wage be raised to Tk 6,560, this time.
ZM Kamrul Anam, coordinator of IndustriALL Bangladesh Council, said the CPD’s recommendation has validated the workers’ demand. “Now the owners need to provide proof to support their recommendation for a Tk 600 hike.”
Awami League Lawmaker Apu Ukil said: “Garment owners only talk about how the workers’ lives got a lift because of their hiring — they never mention how their own lives have enhanced because of the toils of these workers.”
Israfil Alam, chairman of parliamentary standing committee on the labour and employment ministry, said the sector could no longer get away by providing low salaries to the workers.
He urged the wage board to make their recommendations as early as possible, in order to appease the unruly workers.
Mustafizur Rahman, executive director of CPD, said the two parties would have to compromise. “The workers have to have their just rights. On the other hand, we also have to be careful so that the industry survives and our exports go up.”
“We need a wage structure that at least gives the workers a decent living condition,” he added.
Sultan Ahmed, assistant secretary general of BILS, said if the owners agree to the demand of the workers it would only give them more claws to bargain for higher prices with the international buyers.
However, Khondaker Golam Moazzem, additional research director of CPD, who presented the recommendations, said the upward adjustment of wages could be implemented if the retailers are prepared to provide better cutting and making charges.

Shrimp exporters shine as disease hurts competitors

Shrimp exports from Bangladesh surged 42 percent to $109 million in July-August as a disease has brought down production in other exporting countries—Thailand, China and Vietnam.
The disease, known as Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS), has affected white shrimp or Vannamei production in the competitor countries, creating a shortage in supply and raising the prices.
The local shrimp processors said the high prices will continue through the rest of the current fiscal year and they will log half a billion dollars in exports.
“We hope to exceed our export target for the fiscal year as demand and current prices are likely to sustain until June 2014,” Md Amin Ullah, president of Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association, said.
“The production shortage in major shrimp growing nations is unlikely to recover soon.”
Shrimp processors had earlier targeted $477 million in export earnings in fiscal 2013-14, which is 5 percent higher than the actual export figures of $454 million in fiscal 2012-13, according to Export Promotion Bureau.
Over the past two years, the disease caused large-scale die-offs of cultivated shrimp in several countries in Asia, the Food and Agriculture Organisation said earlier.
“The production of farmed shrimp in Asia, dominated by vannamei, remains lower than last year as a result of the EMS disease outbreak in Southeast Asia,” the UN agency said in a report on seafood markets.
However shrimp prices inched up in international trade although there has been no real boost in demand in the traditional markets, it added.
It said shrimp production in Thailand is down by half the volume produced last year as it was seriously affected by the disease late last year.
EMS was first detected in Chinese farms in 2009, and gradually spread to Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand, said Thai newspaper Bangkok Post early this month.
Since the EMS epidemic, China has been importing shrimp from India and Ecuador just to satisfy huge domestic demand. Vietnam has also been importing shrimp to keep its processing industry going.
“Prices of our black tiger shrimp have gone up unexpectedly, which we did not see in the last decade,” said Khan Habibur Rahman, deputy managing director of Lockpur Group, a leading seafood exporter.
Prices of shrimp or black tiger of 16-20 grades now stand at $9 a pound. Last year, the price of the same hovered around $5 a pound, he said.
“Farmers will feel encouraged to cultivate more due to the price spike,” he said. But exports in volume have not increased in line with the price spiral because of limited local production.
Bangladesh usually ships 50,000-55,000 tonnes of shrimp a year, mainly to Europe and the US, according to the Department of Fisheries.
Syed Mahmudul Karim, executive director of Bangladesh Shrimp and Fish Foundation (BSFF), said a shortage of global production has opened a bright future for the local shrimp industry.
“Bangladesh should take full advantage of this opportunity.”

Customers’ nightmare at banks

Every three months, Mohsin Hossain paid a visit to Premier Bank’s Green Road branch to draw returns from his savings scheme worth Tk 18 lakh.
“But one day when I went to the branch to collect my returns, I was told there were no funds in my account,” he said yesterday at the unveiling of Bangladesh Bank’s (BB) customer service division’s annual report for fiscal 2012-13.
Shocked, Mohsin contacted the branch’s high officials, who asked him to come after 5pm. He did, only to be told to come after three days.
Three days later, Mohsin was advised to come after a month. Out of despair, he called in the Premier Bank branch several times over the next two months, but in vain.
Frustrated and aggrieved, he contacted BB’s customer service department for intervention, which, at long last, brought him some relief. “Thanks to them [BB's customer service centre's], my money has been retrieved.”
Hasna Begum, a customer of Prime Bank, had a similar story to share at the event.
“I went to the branch to take out money from my savings account, but was told that the amount had already been withdrawn from an ATM booth—I was stunned.”
She shuttled between the bank branch and its head office over the next three months. Still, she could not find out where and how her funds vanished off to.
At her wits’ end, Hasna contacted the BB customer service department, who got her money back.
Mohsin and Hasna are not alone to have suffered harassment in the hands of commercial banks last fiscal year. There were about 2,200 in the same boat as them.
In fiscal 2012-13, the financial integrity and customer services department of BB received a total of 4,296 complaints from public, up 70 percent year-on-year.
Of them, 51.47 percent were general banking services, ranging from loans and advances and remittance to mobile banking and bank cards.
Nonpayment of accepted bills brought in next most complaints.
The department managed to solve 2,941, or 68.45 percent, of the complaints received last fiscal year.
To safeguard the interests of customers, BB earlier in March 2011 introduced a help desk, which was renamed to Customers’ Interests Protection Centre in September of that year.
To meet the rising number of complaints, the central bank on July 25, 2012 transformed the centre into an independent department known as the financial integrity and customer services department.

Focus on venture capital firms

Defta Partners, an US based venture capital firm, aims to foster the young entrepreneurs in Bangladesh by providing seed capital to start-up companies.
“Bangladesh has immense potential to set up new ventures thanks to its high population base and export market opportunities,” said George Hara, group chairman of DEFTA Partners.
“We want to seek out promising ventures here and assist them on their path to success.”
DEFTA Partners yesterday inked an agreement with BD Venture (BDV) at the latter’s office in the capital to co-finance different business ventures in Bangladesh.
In addition to capital funding, the US firm will also offer financial and operational guidance as well as access to a powerful network of strategic alliances for the success of the companies, Hara said.
“We want to bring proven technology here.”
A host of innovative young entrepreneurs fail to start their projects due to financial problem, said Aftab ul Islam, chairman of BDV.
The collaboration with the two will create a new opportunity to develop entrepreneurs in the country, Islam said.
As per the agreement, BD Venture will assist the US firm to select the projects here for joint investment, said Shawkat Hossain, managing director of the Bangladeshi firm.
“Our experts will assess the project idea and will become a partner in the business by investing capital,” he said.
The two firms are mainly looking to invest in: information technology, agriculture and agro-based industries, food processing, renewable energy, health service, education, tourism and light engineering.
The two will also be involved in governance of the companies and assist them in building entrepreneurial and management capacity, said Mamun Rashid, vice president of BDV.
After reaching maturity, venture capital firms generally sell the shares of the companies it invested in back to the entrepreneurs or to a third party via the capital market.
In 1984, Hara founded DEFTA Partners and went on to become one of the most prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalists in telecommunications and technology in the 1980s and 90s.
Competing with Microsoft, Hara has led more than 20 companies, including Borland, PictureTel, SCO, Tradex, and Unify, to dominate the software industry.
Since 2000, Hara has served on the board or helped to manage a number of successful US and European companies, such as Oplus Technologies, which merged with Intel in 2005, Broadware, which merged with Cisco in 2007, and Fortinet, which floated its IPO through NASDAQ in 2009.
DEFTA Partners prefers to invest $0.5 million to $3 million in companies based in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and emerging countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
The firm is based in San Francisco, California with additional offices in Japan, Israel and United Kingdom.
In 2005, it also invested in BracNet, a leading ISP-internet service provider in Bangladesh.
Mutual Trust Bank, National Bank, Green Delta Insurance, Bangladesh General Insurance, LankaBangla Finance, DataEdge, Asia Pacific General Insurance, MIDAS Financing and IPE Capital hold a combined 80 percent stake in BDV.
The remaining 20 percent is owned by renowned professionals, bankers and businessmen.
The country has tremendous potential for venture capital firms as it has so far one such firm, whereas the number is around 22,000 in India and nearly 2,000 in Sri Lanka, said Md Sabur Khan, president of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The government should enact the necessary rules and regulations for venture capital firms, as no such rule is now present in Bangladesh, Khan said.

Skills centre for Jessore’s marginalised women

The marginalised women of Bahadurpur village near Benapole border in Jessore will now get a skills training opportunity thanks to an initiative by the Management and Resources Development Initiative (MRDI) with funds from BSRM.
Alternative Development Organisation for Raising Entrepreneurship and local daily Gramer Kagoj will jointly implement the initiative under MRDI’s supervision, as per the deal signed yesterday.
The project is a part of joint effort of MRDI and Manusher Jonno Foundation to use CSR funds as an alternative social development support, MRDI said in a statement.
The poverty hit women of the area are often victims of violence and trafficking, and the MRDI’s training centre is expected to benefit 10,000 people of the village.
Atiur Rahman, governor of Bangladesh Bank; Alihussain Akberali, chairman of BSRM, and Hasibur Rahman, executive director of MRDI, were present at the signing ceremony.
The central bank chief highly appreciated the initiative and said the business sector can play an important role to make use of CSR funds connecting business and development.
“These programmes are well recognised in terms of contribution to development.”
He termed it as an important step towards building partnership between corporate and civil society organisations for optimum utilisation of CSR funds in development.
BSRM wants to focus and engage in a few interventions related to education, health care, livelihood, and renewable energy to reach and affect the lives of many under its CSR programme, Akberali said.
The Jessore project would give the young vulnerable girls of the border area an opportunity to acquire skills to make a livelihood and save themselves from the dirty hands of human traffickers, he said.
The volume of fund that BSRM is providing for the initiative will encourage development organisations to seek funds from the corporate sector to take up poverty reduction programmes, Hasibur Rahman said.

Bangladesh seeks to get its name off high-risk list

The cost of foreign transactions for businesses is likely to fall as Bangladesh looks to get its name off Financial Action Task Force’s list of high-risk countries.
Founded in 1989 on the initiative of the then G7, the FATF develops policies to combat money laundering and terror financing. Bangladesh found itself on the high-risk list in 2010, after poor reports from the Asian wing of the intergovernmental organisation.
Due to the country’s name on the list, businessmen have to pay an additional 1 percent risk premium for letter of credit confirmation charge, which ranges from 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent.
“We are hopeful that Bangladesh will no longer be termed a high-risk country from next February,” a senior official of Bangladesh Bank (BB) told The Daily Star, adding that the country would present its case to the FATF plenary in Paris next month.
The body will then dispatch an on-sight team to Dhaka in November, feedback from which will determine the fate of Bangladesh’s delisting, he added.
“The on-sight report would be presented in FATF’s plenary in February — we are expecting Bangladesh would be delisted from the high-risk countries then.”
The Asian wing of FATF expressed satisfaction over the recent efforts Bangladesh has taken to counter terrorism and money laundering, Abu Hena Mohammad Razee Hassan, deputy governor of BB, said.
Over the last 3 years, the country has enacted a number of laws to curb terror financing and anti-money laundering and in July 2013 became a member of the Egmont Group, an association of Financial Intelligence Units from around the world, he said.
“International cooperation is paramount and it is very good to see that Bangladesh wants to play an important role against terror financing and money laundering,” said Emile van der Does de Willebois, senior financial sector specialist of World Bank.
“The impending Anti-Terrorism Act will make sure that terrorists do not have the funds to operate dangerous activities,” he added, while calling for cooperation from all stakeholders for the law’s efficacy.

Adilur denied bail again

A tribunal in Dhaka on Wednesday for the third time rejected a bail petition of Adilur Rahman Khan, secretary of rights body Odhikar, in a case filed for violating ICT law.
Adilur who is now at Kashimpur jail in Gazipur was arrested on August 10 hours after a case was filed for publishing a false report and doctoring photos on the police crackdown on a Hefajat-e Islam rally.
Odhikar Director ASM Nasiruddin Elan was also implicated in the case, which was filed under Information and Communication Technology Act.
The charges levelled against Adilur have been proved primarily and so, the bail petition has been rejected, said AKM Shamsul Alam, judge of the Cyber Crime Tribunal, during Wednesday’s proceedings.
On September 19, Adilur’s lawyer submitted the bail petition before the tribunal saying his client was implicated in the case aiming to harass him.
Adilur, who was denied bail twice earlier in the same case, was produced before the tribunal Wednesday.
The court also directed officer-in-charge of Gulshan Police Station to submit by October 21 the report on the execution of arrest warrant against fugitive Odhikar director Elan.
On September 11, the same tribunal issued an arrest warrant for Elan.
Detective Branch of police pressed charges against Adilur and Elan on September 4 after probing rights body Odhikar’s claim that 61 people had died in the crackdown in the early hours of May 6.
Adilur and Elan were charged under Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act, 2006 and the Penal Code.
In the probe report, Elan was shown as fugitive.
If found guilty, they might face up to 14 years in jail or Tk 1 crore fine under the Act and seven years’ jail term under the Penal Code.

ACC to send team to Canada

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) will send a delegation to Canada in the last week of October for further investigation into the Padma bridge graft allegation.
“The ACC has decided to send the team to get more information from hearing of the case filed under Canada’s Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act,” ACC Secretary Faizur Rahman Chowdhury said at a monthly press briefing at its office in the capital Wednesday.
A Canadian court, which is dealing with the Padma bridge graft case, will start the hearing in the first week of November, said the ACC secretary
He however did not mention the number of the delegation members and their names.
On September 19, the Canadian police brought bribery charges against three persons including Bangladeshi ex-state minister for foreign affairs Abul Hasan Chowdhury and Canadian Kevin Wallace, former senior vice-president of SNC-Lavalin International Inc (SLII).
“Wallace is also an accused in the case filed in Bangladesh by ACC on December 17 last year in which the name of Abul Hasan Chowdhury was included as a suspect,” he said.
The delegation will visit Canada to get documents from the authorities in connection of the case and will also interrogate Wallace and another accused Zulfiquar Ali Bhuiyan, a Canadian citizen, Faizur said.
At the press briefing, the ACC secretary also informed reporters that the anti-graft body has decided to investigate 68 out of 631 complaints it received from the people last month.
The ACC permitted to file 22 cases against 59 people including 37 government officials last month, he said.

144 units shut amid unrest

The authorities of over 144 garment factories suspended production of their units in Gazipur for Wednesday when the apparel workers’ unrest over salary hike stepped into fifth consecutive day.
At least 25 workers were injured when police charged batons on them as they were demonstrating for more than one hour blocking the Dhaka-Tangail highway and Dhaka-Narayanganj link road.
The marauding workers also vandalised at least 10 vehicles and eight factories in Savar and Gazipur.
The workers’ unrest stemmed Saturday from their demand for a minimum wage of Tk 8,114.
Production at hundreds of garment factories in Dhaka and on its outskirts had remained suspended for four days until Tuesday due to the unrest.
GAZIPUR
The managements of more than 144 RMG units in Gazipur were forced to shut the production of their factories fearing further vandalism, reported our correspondent quoting Mosharraf Hossain, assistant superintendent of Industrial Police.
Today’s demonstration started around 8:30am when the workers blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway, halting transport movement for two hours.
Witnesses said the agitated workers equipped with bamboo and sticks also attacked and vandalised four factories — Mahmud Jeans Limited, Niagara Textile Limited, Apex Limited and Dressman Limited — in Palli Bidyut and Chandra areas of Kaliakoir upazila in the morning.
Later, they put barricades at different points from Konabari to Chandra and vandalised at least 10 vehicles there.
Syed Shamsur Raihan, general manager of Mahmud Jeans Limited, said workers of two garment factories of Noor Group started vandalism in his factory soon after it resumed production in the morning.
Later, they vandalised three adjoining factories, he added.
The agitating workers however moved from the highway around 10:30am responding to a request from police.
Apart from Dhaka-Tangail highway, the workers also blocked Chandra-Ashulia road for two hours, said Md Shamsur Rahman, assistant superintendent of Gazipur Industrial Police.
SAVAR
At least 20 RMG workers were injured during a 30-minute clash with law enforcers in Jirani area of Gazipur around 9:30am, reports our Savar correspondent.
The clash ensured around 9:30am when several thousand workers of Machihata Group, Pall-Mall Group and Jeans Plus blocked Dhaka-Tangail highway which is the divider point between Gazipur and Savar.
When police tried to free the highway which was blocked for more than one hour using truncheons, the clash erupted.
During the clash, the workers hurled brick chips while the law enforcers retaliated with teargas shells and truncheons.
The aggrieved workers also vandalised at least four garments factory including the three factories mentioned above, said Abdus Sattar, deputy assistant director of Ashulia Industrial police.
NARAYANGANJ
Around 5,000 workers of at least seven RMG units gathered in front of Shibu Market and tried to block the Dhaka-Narayanganj link road around 9:30am.
On information, police rushed to the spot and managed to disperse the workers after 15 minutes, reports our Narayanganj correspondent.
Around 10:30am, the workers returned to the street and blocked the link road, halting transport movement.
The road communication was restored after an hour when police charged truncheons and fired six rubber bullets and a teargas canister to bring the situation under control.
The workers claimed that at least five of their fellow men were injured in police action.

Delay pushes up cost

The delay in the construction of Padma bridge continues pushing up its expenditure as a new project of Tk 325 crore has been launched to protect the project area at Mawa point from erosion.
Erosion reaching up to 100 metres along a 300-metre stretch at Old Ferryghat of Mawa has endangered the 1.70-km embankment protection area.
If not checked, erosion would also affect the area of approach road, said project officials.
The communications ministry has therefore been compelled to take up the new project. The ministry was supposed to take up a project to safeguard the area last year, but had to give up the plan thinking of an additional expenditure from public exchequer.
The move comes a year after the government launched a Tk 100 crore project to protect the construction yard from erosion at Janjira point, the other end of Mawa. The international contractor to be selected for the main bridge construction was supposed to do the job.
“The expenditure could have been avoided had there been no delay in Padma bridge construction,” said a project official at Mawa, requesting anonymity. “Any further delay will only increase the cost,” he added.
He said the international contractor to be selected for the river training work will handle the river erosion and embankment protection issues.
The process to select a company for river training task is underway as the government last week floated an international tender for Tk 7,000 crore. The selection process will take three to five months.
While visiting the erosion point last week, Communications Minister Obaidul Quader said the erosion could have been checked if measures had been taken last year in this regard.
A project proposal now awaits prime minister’s approval under which erosion in 700 metres area would be checked, he added.
It is yet to be finalised whether the Water Development Board or Bangladesh Army will be given the project. But sources in the communications ministry said the government might assign the army for quick execution of the project.
On June 26, the government invited a Tk 10,000 crore tender for the construction of the main part of the bridge. A firm is likely to be selected for the job by January next.
A Bangladesh-Malaysia joint venture company is constructing the approach road at Janjira point in the bridge area under a Tk 1,097 crore agreement.
A Tk 250 crore tender has recently been floated for building the other approach road and a service area at Mawa point.
The government also spent Tk 1,500 crore on design, rehabilitation and resettlement.
The government had earlier planned to start construction of the 6.15-km bridge, and complete the major part of it within its tenure. However, it could not be possible as the donors cancelled funds over allegations of corruption in the project.

Long march starts for Sundarbans

People in their hundreds joined a long march yesterday demanding cancellation of the Rampal power plant project.
Protesters had held a rally in front of the Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka before over 1,200 people set out on the “Save the Sundarbans” long march towards Rampal, Bagerhat around 11:00am.
The National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports has organised the long march. The committee in association with several leftist parties, including the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD) and Gono Sanghati Andolon, hosted the rally.
As the long march caravan travelled forward, more people joined in the demonstrations and held rallies at Savar and Jahangirnagar University.
Bangladesh and India had inked a deal on April 20 to set up a 1,320MW coal-fired power plant at Rampal, only 14 kilometres off the Sundarbans.
The project drew huge flak from eminent citizens, including the national committee members, as they alleged that the government in the name of solving the energy crisis had chosen a destructive path to “serve the interests of a vested quarter” at home and abroad.
Environmentalists warned that if the power plant was implemented, it would destroy the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest.
Speaking at the rally before the Jatiya Press Club, Prof Anu Muhammad, member secretary of the national committee, urged the government to find alternative sites to Rampal to produce energy.
From the Jatiya Press Club, the long march moved towards Savar via Shahbagh, Dhanmondi and Asad Gate, from where a convoy of buses carrying protesters joined the long march.
Around 1:30pm, the caravan reached the Rana Plaza collapse site in Savar, where the nine-storey building had caved in on April 24, leading to the death of 1,133 people.
The protesters held a 30-minute rally there to commemorate the victims of the disaster.
From there, the long march travelled to Jahangirnagar University, where a brief rally and a cultural programme were held in the afternoon.
Several hundred people with around 20 vehicles joined the long march from the university and the adjoining Savar area.
At around 6:00pm, the long march arrived at Manikganj and held a rally at the Shaheed Minar in the town till 9:00pm.
Speakers at the rally complained that both the governments of India and Bangladesh were proceeding with the Rampal power plant “to satisfy the greed of some Indian corporations.”
Noted columnist Syed Abul Moksud said, “The people of Bangladesh have
a history of resisting oppressors. They’ll resist the anti-people project as well.”
Convener of the national committee Sheikh Muhammad Shahidullah said the power plant will destroy the Sundarbans, which not only protects the population of the country’s south from natural disasters, but also provide them with their livelihood.
Anu Muhammad said there has been unprecedented land grabbing in the Sundarbans since the power plant was planned.
“The ecological balance of the area will be destroyed if the government doesn’t take immediate steps to cancel the project,” he added.
Khalequzzaman of BSD, Shah Alam of CPB and Jonayed Saki of Gono Sanghati Andolon spoke at the rally, chaired by Majanur Rahman Hajrat, general secretary of Manikganj unit of CPB.
The protesters will stay in the town at night.
The long march is scheduled to reach Rampal on Saturday, where the protest programme will end with a rally at Digraj.
On the way to Rampal, demonstrators will stage rallies in Faridpur, Jessore and Khulna.

PM receives int’l award for poverty reduction

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has received an award for Bangladesh for its stellar performance in poverty reduction during the present government’s tenure.
The International Organisation for South-South Cooperation (IOSSC) gave the award at a function at its headquarters in New York on Monday.
Ambassador Francis Lorenzo, president of the South-South News, handed over the award to Hasina, PM’s Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad said.
The heads of state and government of different countries and their spouses were present at the ceremony.
After receiving the award, Hasina thanked the IOSSC and other dignitaries for presenting the award to her and Bangladesh for its achievement in poverty reduction.
“It recognises important achievement of our people and our government during its tenure and I’m proud to accept the award as recognition of Bangladesh’s efforts … to eliminate poverty,” she said.
Appreciating the continued support of Ambassador Francis to the cause of poverty, Hasina said, “The award will inspire us to work harder to win our war against poverty, especially to accelerate progress towards 2015.
“It will also inspire us to equally work harder to attain all other goals … within 2021.”
Recognising the valuable support of the development partners, the premier said, “There are greater involvement in terms of financial resources, and technological support would enable us to overcome poverty and all other challenges.”
Devoting the award to the people of her country, she expressed her belief to turn Bangladesh into a hunger and poverty free ‘Sonar Bangla’.
She also highlighted the achievements of her government in various fields, including lowering the poverty rate below 26 percent, which was 51 percent in 1991.
Hasina extended her thanks to the leaders of Awami League (AL) and the grand alliance for the significant achievements that her country made during the present government’s tenure.
“We’ve been implementing various activities for which Bangladesh has been able to make its place at the global stage as a dignified nation,” she added.
PM’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, her daughter Saima Hossain Putul, AL leaders Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed and Workers’ Party President Rashed Khan Menon, among others, were present on the occasion.

Garment makers see ‘conspiracy’

The BGMEA yesterday described the local and international media reports on minimum wages and working hours as a “conspiracy” against the highest export earner of the country.
“A conspiracy has begun at local and international levels to destabilise the industry at a time when negotiation is going on to fix the minimum wage for the garment workers,” said SM Mannan, acting president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
“As part of this plot, these motivated, false and misleading news reports are being published in the local and international media,” he said, referring an investigative report of the BBC on working hours of garment workers and a report of Bangla daily Prothom Alo on minimum wages.
These reports will hamper the apparel industry in Bangladesh, he said. “We never expect such reports from an international media like the BBC, and we request it to publish objective news on our factories,” he told a press conference at the BGMEA building in the capital yesterday.
Referring to the BBC report that said workers of a particular garment factory was forced to do a 19-hour shift from 7:00am to 2:30am, he said: “We urge the BBC to come here and visit any factory formally or informally.”
He also dismissed the Prothom Alo report that said the wage in the garment sector was the lowest compared to that of other sectors.
“It’s not true. There are many other sectors such as packaging, tailoring, hotel and restaurant, shrimp and bakery and biscuit industries where the workers’ wage is lower than the garment workers.”
The BGMEA in association with Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) organised the press conference amid the continued unrest by garment workers over pay rise.
Workers demand that their minimum wage is increased to Tk 8,114 from Tk 3,000 now. But the owners have so far agreed to hike the existing pay by only Tk 600.
Mannan said production was being hampered due to the unrest, and if it continued, many owners might not be able to pay salary and bonuses ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha.
Former BGMEA president Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin said vandalism was no solution to increase the pay. “It can only be done through bargaining and negotiation.”
According to him, some local and international quarters are behind the unrest. “The government and the intelligence agencies should look into the matter.”
Replying to queries on Centre for Policy Dialogue’s proposal of doubling the existing minimum wage for entry level workers, BKMEA President Salim Osman said it was a matter of negotiation between the owners and workers.
“Besides, a wage board has been formed to settle the issue and we are hoping to see some satisfactory results by November,” he said.
Abdus Salam Murshedy, another former BGMEA president, said the final decision on the minimum wage would come from the board. “We hope the wage board will announce a logical and affordable wage and we will comply with this.”
Requesting the workers to return to work and maintain a peaceful environment in their workplaces, BTMA President Jahangir Alamin said protest could not be a means to settle an issue.
“Negotiation is the only way to solve a problem,” he said.

CPD for Tk 6,560 minimum wage

Civil society think tank Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) has recommended Tk 6,560 as the minimum wage for an entry-level worker in the country’s apparel sector.
Its Additional Research Director Khondaker Golam Moazzem made the proposal at a dialogue “Revision of the minimum wage in the RMG sector in 2013″ in the capital’s Cirdap auditorium yesterday.
“There is a huge gap between the monthly salary required and the existing scale. A board-based acceptable revision of minimum wage is hence pivotal to rebuild the image of the garment sector,” he said.
The CPD came up with the recommendation after conducting a survey, because a Minimum Wage Board comprised of representatives from the government, workers and factory owners is working to set the entry-level wage.
The proposed minimum wage has been estimated based on the upper poverty line of Tk 6,444.
Moazzem said as per their recommendation entry-level workers would get a basic salary of Tk 4,300, house rent of Tk 1,720 and medical allowance of Tk 540 in the first year of their work at a factory.
The gross salary would reach Tk 8,200 following a 20 percent increase in the second year, he added.
The minimum wage was last raised to Tk 3,000 in 2010, from Tk 1,662.50. Moazzem said the wage board should consider the minimum wage as an income that met the basic needs of workers and their families and provided discretionary income as savings.
According to the economist, the upward adjustment of wages could be implemented better if retailers and buyers were ready to provide better cutting and making charges.
CPD also urged the board to fix tenure for the workers in each grade.
Labour leaders, parliamentarians from the ruling and the opposition parties and independent experts all backed the CPD recommendation, although some demanded more as the living cost has increased tremendously in the recent years.
Nazrul Islam Khan, secretary general of Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies, said there was no scope for setting the minimum wage below Tk 8,000.
Israfil Alam, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on labour and employment ministry, said the sector could not sustain by paying low salary to the workers.
Arshad Jamal Dipu, a director of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, did not directly oppose the CPD proposal, but said the current salary structure was not sufficient.
He said none of the parties should be rigid about their demands.
For the last four days, the country’s apparel sector has been witnessing a labour unrest seeking revision of the workers’ minimum wage.
The sector became volatile after factory owners had proposed a 20 percent or Tk 600 hike in the salary.
Aggrieved by this workers took to the streets and the demonstration spread in Dhaka and its outskirts, as they demanded a minimum wage of Tk 8,114.

Orders to go away if RMG unrest lingers

Global clothing retailers have warned of grave impacts if the garment unrest continues and production remains halted for long, as protests continued for the fourth day yesterday after overnight negotiations failed to resolve the disputes over minimum wages.

Workers demanding a rise in their minimum monthly salary to Tk 8,000 block the Dhaka-Narayanganj link road in Fatullah industrial area. 

A halt in production means delayed or costly shipment, or even cancellation of work orders, a senior official of a Spanish retailer said.
“We are observing the situation. Production suspension is an ominous sign when the sector was turning around after some deadly disasters,” the official said, asking not to be named.
Production at hundreds of garment factories in Dhaka and on its outskirts had remained suspended for three days until Monday due to the unrest that stemmed from the demand for a minimum wage of Tk 8,000.
However, the situation improved a little yesterday, after Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan met factory owners and labour leaders on Monday night and assured the workers of a pay rise by November.
At least 70 people, including four policemen and a journalist, were injured in clashes between factory workers and law enforcers in Dhaka, Ashulia, Savar, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Tangail yesterday morning.
The workers vandalised at least 10 vehicles and eight factories in Savar and Gazipur. At least 16 factories were forced to shut down and workers remained absent from work in more than 10 factories.
“The biggest loss for Bangladesh will be the loss of its image, as western customers have been gaining confidence after the Tazreen Fashions fire and the Rana Plaza building collapse,” the official of the Spanish retailer said.
He said Bangladesh had already been witnessing political unrest for the last 9/10 months. Now, if the labour unrest flares up and continues for long, the international buyers will not come up with new orders, he added.
“Orders will go to other countries if the unrest prolongs,” said an official of a German retailer.
The fall of the Indian rupee and the continuous labour unrest will erode competitiveness of Bangladeshi garments in the global market, he said, requesting anonymity.
Meanwhile H&M, Europe’s second-biggest clothing retailer, joined the IndustriALL Global Union in backing the workers’ demand for increased wages.
“We strongly support the workers’ demand,” H&M spokeswoman Andrea Roos said in an e-mail.
“We have on various occasions urged the government to raise minimum wages and revise wages annually,” Bloomberg reported quoting Roos.
However, Roy Ramesh Chandra, general secretary of IndustriALL Bangladesh Council, said the impact of production suspension will not be intense as the unrest would not last long.
DHAKA
Around 2,500 workers of at least five garment factories blocked Kuril Biswa Road and Airport Road in the capital from 9:00am to 10:15am, halting vehicular movement and causing immense sufferings to commuters, said Jewel Miah, a sub-inspector of Khilkhet Police Station.
Workers of many garment factories in the Tejgaon industrial area stopped working after the lunch break, according to BGMEA.
ASHULIA
At least 10 factories were forced to shut and three were vandalised in the Ashulia industrial belt. More than 20 workers were injured during sporadic clashes with law enforcers.
More than 4,000 workers of six garment factories of Ashulia, including Mascot Garments, Macsuoka Apparel and Reliance Garments, went on work abstention in the morning and demonstrated in front of their factories, our Savar correspondent reports.
Earlier, workers of Mascot Garments tried to block a link road between Dhaka-Aricha and Dhaka-Tangail highway, by putting barricade at Bishmaile around 9:30am, said industrial police in Ashulia.
Abdus Sattar, deputy assistant director of Ashulia industrial police, said production halted in at least 10 factories due to the agitation.
GAZIPUR
In Kaliakoir upazila, workers of Apex Textile at first vandalised their factory around 8:00am and then ransacked adjacent Eye-Moon Tex, Inter-Staff Apparel Ltd and Divine Tex Ltd, reports our Gazipur correspondent.
Later, more than 10,000 workers of these factories blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway and vandalised at least 10 vehicles.
Police dispersed the workers from the highway around 9:30am, said Mosharraf Hossain, assistant superintendent of Gazipur industrial police.
TANGAIL
At least 30 people, including four policemen and a journalist, were injured in clashes between the workers and law enforcers.
The workers of Khan Textile first came out of their factory and blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway around 9:00am. Later, workers of other factories joined them, reports our Tangail correspondent.
Khan Textile, Comfit Composite, Neotex Fabrics and South East Textile Private in the area were declared shut for an indefinite period, Mirzapur police said.

11.5kg gold seized at airport

Customs intelligence yesterday seized around 11.5kg gold worth around Tk 5 crore at Shahjalal International Airport, and arrested a man in this connection.
On suspicion, officials intercepted Masud Rana after he had passed the immigration, and recovered 104 gold bars from inside his shoes and trousers, said Mustafizur Rahman, deputy director of customs intelligence.
He said Masud had disembarked from a flight coming from Dubai around 6:00pm.
On August 30, 155 gold bars, weighing around 18kg, were recovered from the airport.
Earlier, on July 24, customs officials also seized 1,065 gold bars weighing around 116kg after searching a Biman flight at the airport.

4th version of climate awards launched

The fourth instalment of the HSBC-The Daily Star Climate Awards, aimed at recognising and encouraging individuals and organisations actively working towards preserving the environment and tackling the risk of climate change, was launched yesterday.The announcement for this year’s awards, which will recognise five climate champions in four categories, was made at a press conference in the capital’s Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel.The categories are climate champion in green business, climate champion in green operations, climate champion in knowledge management and climate champion in community engagement.Two awards will be given in the category of climate champion in green operations to a local company and either a fully foreign-owned or a joint venture firm.The Daily Star and HSBC are the joint organisers while Waste Concern is the knowledge partner for the awards.Nomination forms and detailed information are available at www.hsbc.com.bd and www.thedailystar.net. Applications for the awards must reach Waste Concern’s office on or before October 27.The winners of the awards will be announced in December 2013.Speakers at the press conference stressed that climate change would continue to be a serious threat to Bangladesh if prompt action was not taken to prevent environmental degradation.They were of the view that overcoming this challenge required a strong participation and motivation of the people, as well as a lead role by the media in creating awareness among all on global phenomenon.Speaking at the conference, HSBC Bangladesh Chief Executive Officer Andrew Tilke observed that though climate change continued to be a serious threat, strong group efforts and local innovations could make a difference in environmental impact.“Awareness is important in the course of our acts, be it for now or the future. When we innovate, we have to make sure that we are limiting the damage on the environment,” said Tilke.In his comments, Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of The Daily Star, said the emerging threat of global climate change should not be seen as “just another incident”, rather everyone needed to raise a serious concern about it.“It is nothing new that Bangladesh is the most vulnerable country to climate change. The developed countries are responsible for it. We can blame them but we have to come forward to protect ourselves, as it is a threat to our existence,” he said.He urged the media to give more importance to publishing and airing news regarding climate change and its impact.AHM Maqsood Sinha, executive director of Waste Concern, said a lot of initiatives to reduce the risk of climate change had been taken in the         country that needed recognition.Talukdar Noman Anwar, country head of communications           for HSBC Bangladesh,   said the awards had      been gaining popularity since their inception in 2010, as demonstrated    by an increase in the number of applicants every year.