Al Amin :
Door is opening for implementing the ‘safe exit policy,’ a long-awaited demand of the businesses of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), as the government has drafted a guideline for the policy.
To implement the policy, the BGMEA, the apex body of the garments sector, have been working and negotiating with the government for a long time as many small and medium factories are in trouble and they are facing even the closure of their units.
The demand has become stronger after Dr Rubana Huq had taken the charge of the apex body as she repeatedly urged the government to implement ‘safe exit policy’ in the sector.
She also proposed formation of a Tk 300 crore emergency fund for ensuring safe exit of the small and medium units which are struggling to survive.
Following the demand, the Commerce Ministry has prepared a draft recently keeping guideline for implementing the policy to facilitate the businesses of the sector, the main foreign currency earning sources of the country.
As per the draft, the ministry will make a strategic paper for the factory owners, who want to shut down their businesses safely.
Md Faisal Samad, Senior Vice-President of the BGMEA, told The New Nation, “We have been working and negotiating with the government for formulating the policy’ for a long time as it is very crucial for us at the moment.”
“For example, a business man has been running a factory for last 30 years. But now he or she wants to close the business due to losses or any other reason. He should be given that opportunity to exit safely. This is exercising in many countries,” Faisal said.
“The businesses need immediate help. We need to stand beside them in time of their bad days,” he said.
Mohammad Hatem, Vice-President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said that the government should implement the policy in an emergency basis.
“Many are plagued by debt. They are not able to get out of business due to the surrounding conditions including bank loans. There is no alternative way but to implement the exit policy to give them a chance,” he said.
He further said we have already talked to the Commerce Minister to take measures to enact the draft as law as soon as possible.
The safe exit policy means the right to or ability of an industrial unit to withdraw from or, leave an industry or in other words, to close down without any hassle. The policy will also allow employers to shift workers from one unit to another and also retrench excess labour.
The policy was first introduced in India in 1991 when it was felt that without labour market flexibility, efficient industrialisation would be difficult to achieve.
The key consideration in evolving a practical industrial exit policy is the protection of the legitimate interests of workers, both in the public and the private sector.
