Industry

Dhaka, Aug 19 – The market of rawhide and skin will become more vulnerable if dues are not paid by the tanners within shortage possible period though the selling of salted rawhides started on Monday. Read More »

Dhaka, Aug 3 (UNB)— BGMEA President Rubana Huq on Saturday said new fire safety related conditions being imposed by Accord is harming the apparel industry. “Accord takes many decisions without discussing with us. The new conditions are slowing down our pace,” the BGMEA chief said at ‘Workshop on Fire Safety Issues and Technical Guideline’ at a hotel in the capital. ... Read More »

Dhaka, 20th July (UNB) – Bangladesh Dokan Malik Shamity (BDMS), a platform of shop owners, gave assurances that it will take necessary steps going forward to prohibit the sale of ‘loose’ cigarettes, that is to say cigarettes from broken packs. A discussion meeting was organized Saturday by the Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) in collaboration with BDMS, to seek measures on ... Read More »

Dhaka, July 9 (UNB) — Leather industry workers on Tuesday urged the government to build an environment-friendly industry and ensure their rights. “Savar Tannery Estate should be built as modern and environment-friendly. Tanneries are polluting surrounding areas and the environment isn’t safe for the workers,” Tannery Workers Union President Abul Kalam Azad told a press conference at Jatiya Press Club. ... Read More »

Beijing, Jul 4 – Bangladesh and China on Thursday signed nine instruments for further strengthening cooperation on power, water resources, culture and tourism sectors as well as providing 2,500 metric tonnes of rice for the displaced Rohingyas. The instruments, including two loan deals, were signed in presence of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang after ... Read More »

Monowara Begum Moni Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Germany has organized with its Dhaka, Bangladesh, Branch an education program for Small and Medium Enterprise SME, on 1. July 2019 in Stuttgart. Mr Habiullah Mahmud Additional Secretary of Ministry of Industries who was invited to the programme stressed that Bangladesh is now a Role Model for many other countries in case of Development. ... Read More »

Gazipur, July 3 – Three more bodies were pulled out of the wreckage of a spinning mill in Sreepur Upazila’s Faridpur on Wednesday, taking the death toll to four. Two of the deceased were identified as Shahjalal Mia and Anwar. Mohammad Aktaruzzaman, deputy director of Gazipur Fire Service Control room, said firefighters recovered the charred bodies of three more people ... Read More »

Dhaka, Jun 29 (UNB) –Five air-polluting cement factories located within the ecologically critical area of the Sundarbans Reserve Forest have been given environmental clearance, Forest Minister Md Shahab Uddin told Parliament on Saturday. The factories are Meghna Cement Mills Ltd, Bashundhara Cement Mills Ltd, Mongla Cement Mills Ltd, Dubai-Bangla Cement Mills Ltd, and Holcim (Bangladesh) Ltd. “These air-polluting cement factories ... Read More »

Dhaka, June 19 – The leaders of the Feed Industries Association Bangladesh (FIAB) and Breeders Association of Bangladesh (BAB) have urged the government to exempt the poultry industry a 5 per cent Advance Tax (AT) and 5 per cent Advance Income Tax (AIT) on all import of essential raw material of poultry feed, so that it can maintain a competitive ... Read More »

by Irene Mandl and Oscar Vargas Llave Tech-based flexible working conjures up the independent consultant tapping on her tablet with a latte to hand. But the picture may not be so positive. Flexible working time and flexible places of work are nothing new. But advances in information and communications technology have added a new dimension to flexibility, allowing workers to ... Read More »

by Katherine Barnett The security and privacy of personal data are being jeopardised as Deep Packet Inspection is deployed by internet service providers. Europe has not escaped the global move towards ‘surveillance capitalism’. Numerous pieces of legislation are under consideration which put online freedoms and privacy at risk—the UK’s Online Harms white paper is just one example. Now European telecommunication ... Read More »

by Peter Bofinger A paper from the German economy minister on a national industrial policy has gone down like a lead balloon. Peter Bofinger argues it needs to be reflated—and coloured green—at a European level. Industrial policy has a notoriously bad reputation in Germany. The prevailing opinion among its economists is nicely reflected in the most recent report of the ... Read More »

Gazipur, May 27 – Two air-conditioner technicians were killed in a gas cylinder explosion at a sweater factory in Memberbari-Baniarchala area of Sadar Upazila on Sunday night. The deceased were identified as Farhad Hossain, hailing from Mirsarai Upazila of Chattogram, and his assistant Sirajul Islam of Satkhira’s Kalaroa Upazila. Officer-in-charge of Joydebpur Police Station Asaduzzaman said the duo was repairing ... Read More »

Russia’s state atomic energy corporation Rosatom launched a new advanced nuclear-powered icebreaker ‘Ural’ yesterday, May 25 at the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg. For Rosatom it is considered as another step towards ensuring all-year round navigability of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) in tapping the commercial potential of Arctic region. Ural is the first of the Trio and the others ... Read More »

Chittagong, May 26 –Fishermen collected around 8,000 kg eggs from the Halda River, the only natural fish spawning waterbody in South Asia, on Saturday night. Mother fishes of different species released eggs in the Halda River. Fishermen initiated netting eggs from Friday dawn. The authorities concerned said that egg collection may exceed previous records this year as they have taken ... Read More »

Dhaka, May 23 (UNB) – State Minister for Labour and Employment Monnujan Sufian on Thursday urged the garment owners to pay Eid bonus of their workers by May 30 and salary of May by June 2.  She made the call at the 42nd meeting of the Crisis Management Core Committee at the secretariat. In reply, the RMG owners agreed to ... Read More »

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram After the failure and abuses of privatization became apparent, public-private partnerships have since been promoted ostensibly to mobilize private finance for the public purpose. In all too many cases, PPPs have socialized costs and losses while ensuring private financial gains. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May (IPS) – After the failure and abuses of privatization and contracting-out services ... Read More »

Dhaka, May 21 – The BNP on Tuesday submitted a memorandum to deputy commissioners across the country demanding to ensure fair prices of paddy and clear all arrears of jute mill workers immediately. As part of the programme, Dhaka district unit of the BNP led by its president Dewan Salahuddin and Nipun Roy Chowdhury submitted a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner ... Read More »

Dhaka, May 20 – The High Court on Monday directed the government to submit the inquiry reports of Ministry of Housing and Public Works over the alleged irregularities in purchasing furniture and other household products for officials and employees of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, before it by June 23. It directed the attorney general’s office to collect the investigation reports ... Read More »

Dhaka, May 19 (UNB) – Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has planned to establish a ‘RMG Sustainability Council (RSC) to ensure the full and independent national compliance monitoring system in Bangladesh. The RSC will be governed by BGMEA, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), brands, and workers’ representatives, said the apex body of the country’s apparel industry ... Read More »

By Stephen Nwaloziri Berea, Kentucky – As a child growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, in the late 1990s, I remember women roaming through my community and chanting in Yoruba, “onigo de o! Anra bata rubber ati ayo t’on jo.” This translates as “The bottle peddler is here! We buy rubber sandals and leaky (aluminum) pots.” Some families would separate their ... Read More »

Dhaka, May 18 – Farmers on Saturday urged the government of Bangladesh to save them by ensuring that they get a fair price for paddy. They made the call at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity. It was jointly organised with Bangladesh Auto Rice Mills Owners’ Association (BARMOA). Their demands included ‘identifying real farmers’, disbursing loan at two percent ... Read More »

In our ‘Europe2025’ series, setting the agenda for the EU in the new term following the coming elections, Peter Scherrer outlines a project for rethinking Europe from a trade-union perspective. Nearly 700 delegates will be debating the future of our continent at the 14th congress of the European Trade Union Confederation, just before the elections to the European Parliament. Needless to say, ... Read More »

Chattogram, May 15 (UNB) – A worker at a ship-breaking yard was burnt to death and five others sustained injuries while dismantling a ship in Sitakunda upazila on Wednesday. The deceased was identified as Mohamamd Rubel, a cutting worker of ‘Premier Trade Corporation and Mahinur Ship Recycling’ yard. Zahirul Islam, in-charge of Chattogram Medical College Hospital police camp, said six ... Read More »

DHAKA, May 1, 2019 (BSS) – The historic May Day was observed today in the country like elsewhere across the world through various programmes with a pledge to establish the rights of workers. The theme of day this year was “Build Workers-Owners Unity, Take Oath for Development”. Different government and socio-cultural organisations, political parties, worker groups and trade unions, and ... Read More »

Adam Tooze explains how a false exactitude in economics has led to a terrible politics in the EU. Economic ideas, when linked to measurement and policy-making, have power. Knowledge informs decisions and helps to justify policy in public. In the current moment this rationalist conception of policy needs defending against ‘post-truth’ politics. But confronting outright irrationality and ignorance is the easy ... Read More »

Dhaka, Apr 29 – Industries Minister Nurul Majid Humayun has said that a dedicated permanent marketplace will be set up for small and medium entrepreneurs in the country. He made the announcement while addressing the concluding session of the “5th Buyer-Seller Conference” organised by SME Foundation at the Midas Centre in the city on Monday as chief guest. He said ... Read More »

Dhaka, Apr 23 (UNB) – Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) on Tuesday claimed that garment workers did not get their wages raised but those were actually reduced by 26 percent in the new pay structure if the annual 5 percent increment system is taken into consideration. “Apparel owners have deceived their workers in the name of wage increment. They actually reduced ... Read More »

STOCKHOLM, Apr 18 2019 (IPS) – The mining industry is one of the world’s most dangerous industries. Globally, the death toll is at least 14,000 workers per year. But how many lives are actually lost is something that neither trade unions, national governments or the United Nations know. The men were sitting down for lunch in the canteen. January was about ... Read More »

Geneva, 16 April (TWN): A medicines patent database set up by transnational originator pharmaceutical companies with the involvement of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has come under criticism by the generic industry. The International Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association (IGBA), an international association of generic medicine manufacturers have called for the reassessment of WIPO’s involvement in the Patent Information ... Read More »