UNB, Dhaka :
Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Lilianne Ploumen on Thursday urged all the
stakeholders in global apparel supply chain to make sure that profits are divided fairly and transparently with decent prices for products.
“There has to be more of a dialogue so that all of us know where the profits are and how to make that divided fairly,” she told a joint press conference at a city hotel after a conference on sustainable sourcing.
The Dutch minister laid emphasis on more transparency in the whole value chain as it was one of the issues that they tried to address in the conference.
“There’s a lack of transparency in all of the chains. Buyers don’t want to share how much they pay and producers don’t share how much they do charge. That needs to be changed,” she said.
Ploumen highly appreciated the progress made so far in the Bangladesh readymade garment sector after Rana Plaza tragedy.
She, however, acknowledged that RMG product prices have not been increased despite factories invested a lot as part of transformation of the sector.
Responding to a question, the Dutch minister said there should be decent salaries for the workers and all need to talk to each other and all partners have equal responsibility to make the sourcing sustainable and profitable.
“We need to talk about sustainable sourcing. Brands, producers, workers and government have to sit down and talk about how does the sustainable sourcing work, how can we assure brands pay decent prices to the producers and factories do their investment,” she said.
Ploumen said a progress has been made when it comes to minimum wage and safe working conditions for workers.
She also said it is good that the minimum wage for RMG workers has improved but it is still not the living wage. “This is a topic we need to work on in the coming years.”
The Dutch minister, however, said a lot of works still need to be done to make sure that sustainable sourcing can be profitable to all.
She acknowledged that after Rana Plaza incident inspectors have been deployed and inspection has been carried out and overall improvements have been made.
Responding to a question on the prices of RMG products, the Dutch minister said last year when she was here they talked about the issue. “It’s very necessary and timely to sit down with everyone and talk about it.”
She laid emphasis on continuing investment in Bangladesh’s green industries.
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed also raised the price issue and said, “Unfortunately, the prices of products haven’t been increased at all despite huge investment by factories. That remains a problem.”
Highlighting government initiatives taken in the RMG sector, he said workers rights are now fully protected.
The Commerce Minister said outsiders in the name of trade union sometimes create problems and workers basically want union and leaders within them.
Dutch Ambassador in Dhaka Leoni Margaretha Cuelenaere and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President M Siddiqur Rahman, were among others, present at the press conference.
Earlier a combination of buyers, producers and independent experts presented practical solutions and new models for collaboration and costing at the conference on ‘Sustainable Sourcing in the Garment Sector’.
The conference marked the start of a multi-stakeholder approach towards improved social and environmental standards in the global textile sector.
Together with the private sector, associations such as BGMEA and knowledge institutes in the Netherlands as well as the International Labor Organization (ILO), the Netherlands wants to support the industry to grow in a responsible manner.
The garment sector is the backbone of Bangladesh’ exports, representing close to 80 percent of the overall export earnings.
The conference was organised in partnership with the International Apparel Federation (IAF) and the BGMEA and it showed that sustainable sourcing makes sense and is good business for buyers and suppliers alike.
Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Lilianne Ploumen on Thursday urged all the
stakeholders in global apparel supply chain to make sure that profits are divided fairly and transparently with decent prices for products.
“There has to be more of a dialogue so that all of us know where the profits are and how to make that divided fairly,” she told a joint press conference at a city hotel after a conference on sustainable sourcing.
The Dutch minister laid emphasis on more transparency in the whole value chain as it was one of the issues that they tried to address in the conference.
“There’s a lack of transparency in all of the chains. Buyers don’t want to share how much they pay and producers don’t share how much they do charge. That needs to be changed,” she said.
Ploumen highly appreciated the progress made so far in the Bangladesh readymade garment sector after Rana Plaza tragedy.
She, however, acknowledged that RMG product prices have not been increased despite factories invested a lot as part of transformation of the sector.
Responding to a question, the Dutch minister said there should be decent salaries for the workers and all need to talk to each other and all partners have equal responsibility to make the sourcing sustainable and profitable.
“We need to talk about sustainable sourcing. Brands, producers, workers and government have to sit down and talk about how does the sustainable sourcing work, how can we assure brands pay decent prices to the producers and factories do their investment,” she said.
Ploumen said a progress has been made when it comes to minimum wage and safe working conditions for workers.
She also said it is good that the minimum wage for RMG workers has improved but it is still not the living wage. “This is a topic we need to work on in the coming years.”
The Dutch minister, however, said a lot of works still need to be done to make sure that sustainable sourcing can be profitable to all.
She acknowledged that after Rana Plaza incident inspectors have been deployed and inspection has been carried out and overall improvements have been made.
Responding to a question on the prices of RMG products, the Dutch minister said last year when she was here they talked about the issue. “It’s very necessary and timely to sit down with everyone and talk about it.”
She laid emphasis on continuing investment in Bangladesh’s green industries.
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed also raised the price issue and said, “Unfortunately, the prices of products haven’t been increased at all despite huge investment by factories. That remains a problem.”
Highlighting government initiatives taken in the RMG sector, he said workers rights are now fully protected.
The Commerce Minister said outsiders in the name of trade union sometimes create problems and workers basically want union and leaders within them.
Dutch Ambassador in Dhaka Leoni Margaretha Cuelenaere and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President M Siddiqur Rahman, were among others, present at the press conference.
Earlier a combination of buyers, producers and independent experts presented practical solutions and new models for collaboration and costing at the conference on ‘Sustainable Sourcing in the Garment Sector’.
The conference marked the start of a multi-stakeholder approach towards improved social and environmental standards in the global textile sector.
Together with the private sector, associations such as BGMEA and knowledge institutes in the Netherlands as well as the International Labor Organization (ILO), the Netherlands wants to support the industry to grow in a responsible manner.
The garment sector is the backbone of Bangladesh’ exports, representing close to 80 percent of the overall export earnings.
The conference was organised in partnership with the International Apparel Federation (IAF) and the BGMEA and it showed that sustainable sourcing makes sense and is good business for buyers and suppliers alike.
