CPD RMG Study Stitching a better future for Bangladesh
Every day, CPD RMG Study team reveals what’s on our economic and apparel radar and curates a selection of the best reports, opinion, and analysis you may have missed.
UK lifts air cargo ban
The UK government has withdrawn the ban on Dhaka-London direct air cargo, two years after the authorities imposed an embargo on it citing poor security at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. The announcement was made this afternoon at a press conference jointly organised by the UK High Commission in Dhaka and Bangladesh’s civil aviation ministry. On March 8, 2016, the UK government imposed the ban following a failure of Dhaka airport to meet some international security requirements.
Govt includes private security service sector in minimum wage board
The government has included the private security service sector as the 43rd industrial sector in the minimum wage board and has taken a move to fix wages for security guards. Following a long negotiation, both the government and the security service sector officials agreed to bring order to the sector to protect the interests of employees and employers. The number of private security service companies has been increasing gradually, but the absence of a legally set wage structure has been hurting the employees of the sector.
Japan adopts energy-saving initiative for Bangladeshi factories
The Japan International Cooperation Agency is encouraging greater use of energy-saving equipment in Bangladesh through a low-interest loan program. The program allows companies that buy specified equipment, such as textile machinery, to get low-interest loans at around 4% compared to market rates of 9-15%. The Japanese development aid agency helped the Bangladeshi government set up around 10 billion yen in government financing last year.
