Ministers promise stable
market in Ramadan

Business Report

The government has reduced the sugar price by Tk 2 per kg and fixed it at Tk 43 at mill gate considering the increased demand of sugar during the Ramadan.
   The government has also decided to build up a stock of 77,650.50 tonnes of sugar to keep the prices at an affordable level during the month of Ramadan.
   'We have taken a decision to import 25,000 tonnes of sugar from the international market and also buy 10,000 tonnes from local markets,' Industries Minister Dilip Barua said in a press conference at his ministry last Tuesday.
   According to Dilip Barua, the private sector has imported adequate quantity of sugar this year. A total of 120,763 tonnes of raw sugar was imported up to July this year while the Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation has built a stock of 42,650.50 tonnes of sugar to keep the price stable during Ramadan.
   Faruk Khan's promise
   Meanwhile, Commerce Minister Faruk Khan promised last Wednesday that the prices of everyday food items will not rise during Ramadan as the business quarters have assured the government that there is enough space for food storage.
   Faruk Khan told the press that the government had taken the necessary steps to ensure that the consumers would not suffer due to higher prices of food in the month of fasting.
   He said that the government had also directed the banks to lower interest rates for importing food items such as sugar and gram which are prone to price-hikes in Ramadan, and the traders had made full use of lower interest by increasing the stockpile of food items for the coming months.
   Faruk claimed that the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) had been monitoring its 1,800 dealers to ascertain whether they had distributed the targeted amount of goods to the markets in order to keep them stable.
   The minister, however, admitted that the price of sugar had increased in the last week due to the manipulation of some profiteers. The government will take stern action against anyone attempting to hike the prices of food items, he added.
   The price of sugar will not go beyond Tk 46-47 per kilogram in Ramadan as the government had fixed the price at mill gates at Tk 43 per kilogram, said Faruk.

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Consumers' rights group
demands price control

Holiday Desk

Jatiya Vokta Odhikar Mancha (National Consumers' Rights Platform) last week formed a human chain in front of National Press Club demanding control on price hike of essential commodities and mitigation of the sufferings of the common consumers.
   The programme was organised ahead of the holy Shabe-Barat and the fasting month of Ramadan when the unscrupulous traders take an opportunity to increase prices on any plea.
   Meanwhile, prices of some essential commodities shot up to 178 per cent in last one year in the country, said "Jatiya Bhokta Odhikar Mancha" (National Consumers' Rights Platform) on Saturday.
   S M Shaikat, secretary general of the organisation, said when the government claimed that there was no food crisis in the country, TCB report says prices of essentials increased beyond the purchasing power of the poor and even the middle income group ahead of the Ramadan.
   Ibnul Sayeed Rana, chairman of Nirapad Development Foundation, Jayedur Rahman, Consumers Specialist of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan and Ashraf Siddiqui of NDF among others, addressed the demonstration.

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Holiday Desk

The Government of Bangladesh signed a credit agreement worth $170 million for Chittagong Water Supply Improvement and Sanitation Project (CWSISP) with the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's concessionary arm to help improve water and sanitation services in Chittagong.
   The CWSISP will support the improvement of water supply and sanitation services in Chittagong city where about 4 million people live. The project will help the Chittagong Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (CWASA) to improve its services by constructing selected water development projects, transmission, and storage and distribution facilities. The project has a special focus to serve the poor population living in urban slums. At present piped distribution networks are largely nonexistent in these areas.
   "The Government is committed to increase access to safe water and sanitation services for its people as highlighted in the Second National Strategy for Accelerated Poverty Reduction (NSAPR-II). This project will make a significant contribution in ensuring increased access of these services to the people of Chittagong and will also support CWASA's institutional development." said ERD's Additional Secretary Arastoo Khan.
   "Currently, CWASA covers 35 percent of the estimated demand for water in Chittagong," said Tahseen Sayed, World Bank Acting Country Director, in Bangladesh and added "the World Bank will support the Government's efforts to increase the citizens' access to safe water and sanitation services in the port city with a special outreach to the slum areas. Piped water supply services to slum areas will be expanded and about 250,000 poor slum dwellers are expected to receive water and sanitation services."
   CWSISP will support formulation of sewerage and drainage master plan for Chittagong. The project will also support a comprehensive institutional development of CWASA.
   The agreement was signed at the ERD last week. Arastoo Khan, and Ms. Tahseen Sayed signed on behalf of Bangladesh Government and the World Bank respectively.

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Business Desk

Tk 3,000 has been proposed as minimum monthly wage for readymade garment workers against the present minimum wage of Tk 1,662.50.
   However, the readymade garment factory owners are reluctant to pay more than Tk 2,400 a month as minimum wage against the workers' demand for Tk 5,000.
   Earlier the government formed a wage board, headed by a Judge, to set a fresh minimum wage structure for the readymade garment sector.
   Considering the owners' reluctance, the labour and manpower ministry watchdog recommended providing the poorly-paid workers with conveyance, accommodation facilities and other allowances.
   The RMG sector contributes about 80 per cent of the country's US$18 billion export earnings - though the workers often take to the streets and vandalize factories demanding pay hikes and other allowances.
   
   Rejection by workers groups
   The All-Party Garment Workers' Unity (APGWU) on Wednesday rejected the proposed minimum wage for garment workers at Tk 3,000.
   The APGWU leaders at a protest rally at Muktangan said that they could not accept the recommendation of the Minimum Wage Board as it was nothing but gross salary increase for the workers. ''Actually the basic salary in the proposal is Taka 2,000 as the Taka 3,000 minimum wage includes Taka 800 as house rent and Taka 200 as medical allowance,'' they said.
   Garment workers' leader Montu Ghosh said at the rally that the wage board's recommendation was far from the workers' demand for Taka 5,000 as minimum wage. He termed the wage board's recommendation a part of a 'conspiracy' and said allowances could not be included in the minimum basic wage.
   Garment Sramik Oikya Forum president Mushrefa Mishu hinted that the garment workers might go for strike if their 10-point demands were not met.
   National Garments Workers Federation also rejected the proposed minimum wage of Taka 3,000 for garment workers.   The federation leaders at a rally in front of the National Press Club demanded Taka 5,000 as minimum wage.   The federation president Amirul Haque Amin called on the minimum wage board to reconsider its recommendation.
   Textile Garments Workers Federation said the proposed salary increase would not bring the unrest in the garment industry to an end.   The federation president Abul Hossain and general secretary Tapan Saha called on the minimum wage board to reconsider its recommendations.
   Bangladesh Garments Sramik Sanghati coordinator Taslima Akhter rejected the proposed minimum wage and said that the government must take the responsibility if the garment sector faced fresh labour unrest.
   
   Left political parties support the workers' demand
   Leaders of left leaning political parties at a rally at Muktangan called on the government to re-fix the minimum wage for garment workers at Tk 5,000.
   Communist Party of Bangladesh president Monzurul Ahsan Khan, who chaired the rally, said that the proposed minimum wage was nothing but an attempt to deceive the garment workers.
   Bangladesher Samajtant-rik Dal general secretary Khalequzzaman said the garment workers would have no option but to wage a movement if their minimum pay was not satisfactory.
   Revolutionary Workers Party general secretary Saiful Huq, chief coordinator of Ganasanghati Andolan, Zonayed Saki, Workers Party (reconstituted) general secretary Abdus Satter, BSD (Mahbub) convener Abdul Matin Talukder and Bangladesher Samajtantrik Andolan leader Quamrul Alam Sobuj spoke at the rally.

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Holiday Report

Salman F. Rahman, Vice Chairman of Beximco Group, has been unanimously elected as the Chairman of IFIC Bank Limited. He is also a sponsor shareholder of the bank.
   In the 33rd annual general meeting of IFIC Bank last week, the shareholders also approved the Balance Sheet & Profit and Loss Account of the Bank for the year 2009 and approved 25 (twenty five) per cent bonus share as dividend for the year 2009.
   The annual general meeting of IFIC Bank share-holders also approved re-nomination of four Government nominated Directors- Mahmudul Huq Bhuiyan, Mohammad All Khan ndc, Syed Monjurul Islam and Arastoo Khan, said press release.
   Presided over by the immediate past Chairman of the Bank Mohammad Lutfar Rahman, the shareholders in the meeting earlier elected Salman F. Rahman as a director of the bank.

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Business Desk

The Government has appointed Md. Fayekuzzaman as the new Managing Director of investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) .
   Prior to this assignment he was Deputy Managing Director of Agrani Bank Ltd, a State Owned Commercial Bank. He started his career with C.I. Ltd in 1977 and later joined Bangladesh Development Centre (now Bangladesh institute of Management) as Management Counselor in 1980. He joined ICB as a Senior Principal Officer in January, 1985 and worked there for about 22 years in all important areas of management.
   He has extensive experience while working in various departments of ICB, as the CEO of ICB Capital Management Ltd. and Chairman of ICB Asset Management Company Ltd. (Subsidiary of ICB) and Director/Chairman of various Banks and public limited companies.
   Md. Fayekuzzaman received professional training from home and abroad including Post-Graduation studies in Development Finance from Bradford University, United Kingdom.

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