Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue, emphasized that Bangladesh’s interim government should prioritize elections within key trade bodies like the BGMEA and BKMEA to strengthen negotiations with garment workers. Elected representatives could better address workers’ demands, particularly in resolving wage issues, he said. He noted recent worker unrest, fueled by delays in implementing a new wage structure and confusion over wage grade reductions.
Moazzem highlighted that a tripartite agreement in September called for outstanding wages to be settled by 10th October, a target still unmet. While urging timely implementation of wage adjustments announced last November, he expressed optimism that unrest would remain limited to certain factories.
Moazzem also acknowledged exporters’ challenges, including slow export growth and banking sector issues. He praised the interim government for not deploying industrial police to control protests and recommended securing stable gas and electricity supplies for factories and holding an expo to reassure international buyers of Bangladesh’s production reliability.
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