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Corporate Social Responsibility to Workers in the Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters’ units in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA). Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA) Introduction.
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Corporate Social Responsibility to Workers in the Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters’ units in Bangladesh Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA)
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA)Introduction • Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters’ Association was formed in 1996 by the all out efforts of few knitwear manufacturers. • Soon after the formation it undertook activities to look after the interest of the knitwear sector of the country. • Today it is an association of 1131 knitwear manufacturers and exporters that represent the largest export earning sector of the country. • Approximately 4 billion US dollar earned from the last year through export. In last F/Y(2005-2006), the total export growth rate was 35.38%.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA)Activities • Protect the Interest of the Sector. • Promotion & Development of the Market. • Promotion & Development of the Sector. • Capacity Building of the Sector. • Social Compliance Status Enhancement. • Basic Rights Education and Awareness Raising.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA)Efforts • BKMEA is putting tireless efforts to enhance productivity of its members, enhance social compliance status and workers welfare, diversify export market, and better market access of the country’s knitwear products to EU, USA, China, and other countries. • BKMEA is working with German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), South Asia Enterprise Development Facility (SEDF), European Commission (EC), and other related organizations in this regard.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA)Socio-Economic Situation of Bangladesh Bangladesh has a population of 140 million people. Total unemployed are 2521.4 thousand. (UNDP,HRD 2006). 65 millions peoples are below the age of 18. 52.6 percents are employed and 47.4 percents are unemployed below the age of 18. 44.6 percent are employed in the age of 14-18.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA)Socio-Economic Situation of Bangladesh • We believe that few hundreds of thousands of adolescents between the age of 14-18 are either engaged in hazardous work, or some are looking for new job for their survival or some are engaged in anti-social activities. (hijacking, drug addiction, female are involved in prostitution, etc).
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA)Declaration of Child Labor • No member unit of BKMEA uses any Child Laborer. • Through regular inspection, it ensures that no child worker is working in any of the factories. • Child Labor Standing Committee is very active and frequently meets in this regard to protect the use of child labor.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA)Law of the Country on Adolescent and Adult workers • As per Bangladesh Labor Act, 2006 adult workers are those who have completed 18 years of age. • Beside the adult workers the Labor Act, 2006 also allows the workers, between the age of 14 and above and below 18 considering them as adolescent to work for five hours and with other considerations.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA)Employment status of RMG sector • RMG sector is one of the largest employment sector in Bangladesh, where above 2 million people are directly and 10 million are indirectly employed, 85% of them are woman workers. • Competitively, the working environment of RMG sector is safe and secured than the other working sectors like hazardous work places, such as brick field, welding, automobile workshops, etc. • Though lot of people are engaged in RMG sector, most of them are illiterate, unskilled and not properly trained up.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA)Employment status of RMG sector cont.. • Some of the workers who work as the assistants of the Machine Operators and do very light job like thread cutting, trimming, assisting to fold the garments, etc., are in no way hazardous and harmful to them. • The current Law of the country do allow them to work in the above mentioned nature, which are soft, not unsafe and do not hamper their educational activities for five hours time period.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA)Thought to Develop the skilled workers’ supply Currently, All the member units are facing problem of skilled adult workers seriously; specially, to operate the machines.Skilled and trained workers are required for the development of RMG sector.To provide supply of the skilled workers, training is necessary to the workers of this industry.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA)Thought to Develop the workers’ supply cont.. • BKMEA in collaboration with Save the Children Sweden-Denmark in Bangladesh wants to strengthen the capacity of its member units absorbing the workers working as the assistants who would receive basic vocational training and would become the trained , skilled adult workers.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA)Thought to Develop the workers’ supply cont.. • Beside the workers working as the assistants in the garments sector, BKMEA also wants to pick up the workers working in the hazardous working places and the unemployed children (under the age group 15-19, there are 322 thousands persons unemployed. Source: ILO, 2003 ) of the society in the vocational training program as a social responsibility to them.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA)Thought to Develop the workers’ supply cont.. The adolescent, who are engaged in hazardous work and also looking for new job, it would be beneficial for them if a vocational garments training institute under the joint effort of Save the Children & BKMEA could be established for their training and upgrading skill.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA)Thought to Develop the workers’ supply • To run the education and vocational garments training activities, BKMEA will help in the following ways: • would help to prepare a training module and also training for trainers (ToT). • After completion the training, BKMEA would help to provide job placement for them.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA) • We hope, the opportunity for new employment will be created if this plan is implemented in due manner.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA) Thanks For Patience hearing