BSS, Dhaka :
Big retailers should take more responsibility for ensuring decent wages in the readymade garment (RMG) sector in the apparel exporting countries including Bangladesh, Cambodia, China and Vietnam, a senior lawmaker of Australian parliament said.
“The big companies should take more responsibility for ensuring decent minimum wages and working standard, and they should not abandon a producer or a country just to get low price from other sources,” Laurie Ferguson, a Federal Member of Parliament for Werriwa, New South Wales told BSS.
Ferguson, a lawmaker for over 26 years, is now visiting Bangladesh. Among the major objectives of his visit is to see the factory and labour standard in the apparel sector.
He said, countries like Bangladesh should not be blamed for low wages because the big companies from Germany, France, USA and some other countries always “force” producers and exporters to cut cost, which eventually resulted in low wages for workers,
“The big companies should not be allowed to put pressure on producers to cut cost,” Ferguson said.
Sometimes, he said, competition among companies also leads to low wage. For instance, he referred to the securities and cleaning companies in Australia as they always offer lower price to get the jobs at the cost of their workers’ wage. “This is dangerous
(for workers),” he said adding, “That is why we are fighting internationally for minimum wages and minimum conditions so nobody goes below the standard.”
“I visited a factory here, which was clean, safe and good,” said the lawmaker who has special interest in foreign affairs, immigration, housing, environment, overseas aid and industry development.
He, however, said that he was not able to see many factories, but have the impression that the overall situation including the minimum wages for garment workers in Bangladesh were increasing.
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed told the journalists last month that the garment workers of the country are now getting 300 percent higher wages compared to what they used to get five years ago.
Regarding bi-lateral trade between Bangladesh and Australia, Ferguson expressed his high hope saying that the bilateral trade between the two countries would grow phenomenally provided that Bangladesh improves further the factory and labour standard and ensure a decent minimum wage.
“The bi-lateral trade volume between Bangladesh and Australia surged from $100 million to $1 billion in the past decade. The volume would increase manifolds in the next 10 years,” he said.
The lawmakers hoped that the recently re-launched Australia Bangladesh Business Council (ABBC) would help boost two-way trade between the countries.
Big retailers should take more responsibility for ensuring decent wages in the readymade garment (RMG) sector in the apparel exporting countries including Bangladesh, Cambodia, China and Vietnam, a senior lawmaker of Australian parliament said.
“The big companies should take more responsibility for ensuring decent minimum wages and working standard, and they should not abandon a producer or a country just to get low price from other sources,” Laurie Ferguson, a Federal Member of Parliament for Werriwa, New South Wales told BSS.
Ferguson, a lawmaker for over 26 years, is now visiting Bangladesh. Among the major objectives of his visit is to see the factory and labour standard in the apparel sector.
He said, countries like Bangladesh should not be blamed for low wages because the big companies from Germany, France, USA and some other countries always “force” producers and exporters to cut cost, which eventually resulted in low wages for workers,
“The big companies should not be allowed to put pressure on producers to cut cost,” Ferguson said.
Sometimes, he said, competition among companies also leads to low wage. For instance, he referred to the securities and cleaning companies in Australia as they always offer lower price to get the jobs at the cost of their workers’ wage. “This is dangerous
(for workers),” he said adding, “That is why we are fighting internationally for minimum wages and minimum conditions so nobody goes below the standard.”
“I visited a factory here, which was clean, safe and good,” said the lawmaker who has special interest in foreign affairs, immigration, housing, environment, overseas aid and industry development.
He, however, said that he was not able to see many factories, but have the impression that the overall situation including the minimum wages for garment workers in Bangladesh were increasing.
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed told the journalists last month that the garment workers of the country are now getting 300 percent higher wages compared to what they used to get five years ago.
Regarding bi-lateral trade between Bangladesh and Australia, Ferguson expressed his high hope saying that the bilateral trade between the two countries would grow phenomenally provided that Bangladesh improves further the factory and labour standard and ensure a decent minimum wage.
“The bi-lateral trade volume between Bangladesh and Australia surged from $100 million to $1 billion in the past decade. The volume would increase manifolds in the next 10 years,” he said.
The lawmakers hoped that the recently re-launched Australia Bangladesh Business Council (ABBC) would help boost two-way trade between the countries.
