Bangladesh is in an advantageous position to reap the benefits of the enormous amount of regional trade that will happen in this part of the world

Rendezvous

Bangladesh is in an advantageous position to reap the benefits of the enormous amount of regional trade that will happen in this part of the world

Asif Ibrahim, Vice Chairman of Newage Group of Industries believes that success and responsible business are inseparable. The company started in 1984 with 150 workers, and today has 4000 workers in its ranks, operating 3000 machines at four locations in the country. Corporate social responsibility is high on the company's agenda, and Asif Ibrahim has a strong focus on social and environmental sustainability, alongwith adoption of the latest garment manufacturing technologies. In conversation with Textile Excellence.

You are one of the framers of 2030 vision. What is the strength of Bangladesh in line with the 2030 vision?

Bangladesh is poised at an interesting timeline in its economic development, maintaining a steady rate of GDP growth of 5% and above, for the last two decades. And we achieved this in the face of natural calamities, political instability, which shows the resilience of the private entrepreneur. The location of Bangladesh is very important in terms of future economic growth not only in Asia but also in the world. Bangladesh is in close proximity with India and China, which are poised to become among the world's largest economies. Bangladesh corridor is located at a strategic location which will be a service center to the trade arrangements happening in India and China. For this, we need to develop our infrastructure and update our foreign policy, import and export policy, trade policy, industrial policy, foreign exchange regulations, etc. We are in an advantageous position to reap the benefits of the enormous amount of regional trade that will happen in this part of the world. In 2030 we also envision that Bangladesh will become the 30th largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity which is now ranked at 39 or 40. With a population base of 116 million people this should not be difficult to achieve.

Why is this industry marred by frequent labour unrest, even as the industry has to follow strict social standards as per buyers' requirements?

Every year, around 3 million people are added to the workforce of Bangladesh, but the industry is unable to provide so many jobs. This is a serious cause of unrest.Also, labour unrest in the RMG sector stems from lack of proper communication between the workers and top management. The skills of the middle tier of management are not properly developed to handle human resources. Entrepreneurs are shying away from trade unions. That is not because they do not want to ensure the rights of the workers, but due to skepticism about the plight of the jute industry in the country, after it was unionised. After independence, jute was the highest foreign exchange earning sector and a sunshine industry in Bangladesh. However, after unionization was permitted, trade unions were politicized, and this led to the eventual downfall of this sector. However, two other tools like collective bargaining agents or forming workers participatory committee in factories can effectively serve the purpose of addressing and solving grievances of workers.

Why has the usage of IT solutions remained low in the RMG industry?

In order to capture the competitive advantages, the RMG sector must use the strength of information technology. Some factories are doing this but most of the factories are lagging. IT in areas such as industrial productivity, time and motion studies, industrial engineering are very helpful. Here again, I will have to highlight the educational levels and skills of the mid-level management, which has kept IT usage levels very low in this industry. Mid-level managers started as machine operators, training on-the-job, for 15-20 years, and through experience on the production floor reached a certain level in the factory. But the level and quality of education is a hindrance for them to adopt modern technological tools to increase productivity. BGMEA University is now functional, and we hope to see a change towards adoption of information technology, from this new breed of diploma holders who are entering the industry.