DT e-Paper 24 February 2017

Top fashion brands to boycott
Bangladesh garment summit
• Tribune Business Desk
Top fashion brands have pulled out
of Dhaka Apparel Summit in support
of protest by garment workers.
Dhaka Apparel Summit 2017 is
going to begin on February 25 focusing
on the next course of action
plan to achieve $50bn export target
by 2021.
Leading fashion brands including
H&M and Zara will boycott a key
industry conference in Bangladesh
in support of garment workers who
have been sacked, hunted or jailed
for participating in wage strikes,
the companies said Wednesday.
H&M, C&A, Tchibo and Inditex
which owns Zara – all top clients of
Bangladesh’s $30 billion garment
industry – have pulled out of the
Dhaka Apparel Summit, the signature
annual event in the global textile
hub, scheduled for Saturday.
The move follows strikes in December
when tens of thousands of
garment workers in the industrial
town of Ashualia staged mass protests
demanding a three-fold hike
in pay, which can run as low as $68
a month, reports AFP.
Dutch clothing brand C&A said:
“C&A together with other apparel
brands, including H&M and Inditex
decided not to participate in the
BGMEA Dhaka Apparel Summit.”
“We strongly encourage the
Government of Bangladesh to take
immediate steps to ensure the protection
of the workers’ rights, with
special attention to the legitimate
representatives of the workers who
have been arrested,” C&A spokesman
Thorsten Rolfes told AFP.
A spokesman for Swedish apparel
giant H&M confirmed the
boycott.
“H&M believes that attending
the Dhaka Apparel Summit
would create confusion and send
the wrong signals regarding our
commitment to freedom of association
and that the ongoing situation
must be peacefully resolved,”
spokesman Iñigo Sáenz Maestre
said.
The strike, which lasted for a little
over two weeks, was squashed,
with some 1,600 employees sacked
and 34 arrested, while cases alleging
burglary, arson, vandalism and
extortion, among other charges,
were filed against more than 1,500
workers.
Robi registers 5% revenue
growth in Oct-Dec period
• Tribune Business Desk
The country’s second largest
mobile operator Robi Axiata
registered 5% revenue
growth in the fourth quarter
of 2016 after completion of
merger with Airtel Bangladesh
Limited.
The management of the
company came up with the
disclosure yesterday while
announced its financial statement
of the last quarter of
2016.
The industry got some momentum
from the third quarter
of the year onwards and so
as for Robi coupled with merger.
With focused segmented
customer centric strategy,
quarter to quarter revenue
growth registered 5.0% to over
Tk1,400 crore amidst intense
price competition, according
to the statement.
However, Earnings Before
Interest, Taxes, Depreciation
and Amortisation (EBITDA)
margin is lower by 19.5 percentage
point mainly for oneoff
merger related fees and
charges. Robi’s profitability
was negative impacted by accelerated
depreciation resulting
from nationwide network
modernisation especially in
Chittagong-Comilla region.
“We have successfully
completed the final phase
of merger with Airtel in the
fourth quarter of 2016. The
merger will ensure enhanced
value for consumers and benefit
the entire industry,” said
Robi Managing Director and
CEO Mahtab Uddin Ahmed.
He also said: “We are now
creating the number one network
which will deliver the
widest mobile network coverage
and superior mobile
services experience to our
subscribers.”
“During the fourth quarter
of 2016, we continued to
bring most innovative and
affordable product offers in
the market. On the eve of
the merger, Robi launched
special ‘Merger Bonanza
Offer’ where customers
enjoyed 1GB internet, 0.5
paisa/sec call rate usable in
24 hour and buy one and
get another SIM free. Robi
also launched Airtel-Yonder
Music app for the subscribers
of Airtel brand,” said Mahtab
Uddin.
Business 11
Last week union leaders said the
workers were “living in constant
fear of being arrested as the police
hunt those who were involved in
the strikes”.
The summit is hosted by the
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers
and Exporters Association (BG-
MEA), an industry body that represents
the country’s 4,500 clothing
factories, and features Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina as its keynote
speaker.
BGMEA President Siddiqur Rahman
told AFP that they “did not
get any communication from any
brand not attending the summit”.
International rights group Clean
Clothes Campaign welcomed the
brands’ decision to withdraw participation
and said it would be “a
major embarrassment” for the government
and the organisers.
CCC spokeswoman Mirjam van
Heugten said: “Unless all detainees
are released, unsubstantiated
charges are dropped, and other
acts of intimidation and harassment
of trade unions are stopped…
(the brands) cannot credibly participate
in a summit on “sustainable
growth” of the industry.” •
Robi’s subscriber base
stands at 33.8 million (after
the merger), representing
26.9% (estimated) of industry
subscriber market share and
claims as second largest operator
in the country.
In a statement, Robi said:
“During the period in 2016,
the total revenue grew up
by 0.5% compared to the last
year, data revenue had registered
encouraging growth of
38.9%. Data revenue growth
was propelled by significant
investments in network coupled
with innovative affordable
data offerings to drive
3.5G and 2.5G data usage.”
“Robi’s operating profit
(EBITDA) margin is 27.2% in
the financial year 2016. Margin
is 9.2 percentage point
lower than the previous year
as a result of very marginal
revenue growth, higher
network operating expenses
from continued network investments,
one-off merger
fees and charges. Due to its
continuous investment in
nationwide network modernisation,
Robi is behind the
expected profitability,” reads
the statement. •
Govt to help settle
cases over Ashulia
labour unrest
• Ibrahim Hossain Ovi
State Minister for Labour and Employment
yesterday said the government
will provide an all-out
cooperation to settle the cases filed
against workers over the recent
Ashulia unrest.
Meanwhile, in support of workers’
protest, top fashion brands
have pulled out of Dhaka Apparel
Summit to be held tomorrow.
The junior minister came up with
the announcement at a media briefing
called to state the present status
of labor in the RMG sector at his secretariat
office in the capital yesterday.
The tripartite meeting was held
among the government official,
owners and workers representatives.
“Necessary steps would be taken
to open offices of registered
workers’ federation located at
Ashulia,” said Mujibul.
RMG factory owners will pay
fired workers as per the labour act
while suspended workers would be
reinstated if they want to work in
the factory.
In the meeting, the owners,
DT
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2017
workers and the government
vowed to work together to ensure
a peaceful working environment in
the industry. On December 11, hundreds
of RMG workers in Ashulia
walked out, demanding revision of
their minimum wage.
In the wake of workers’ strike in
Savar’s Ashulia, owners of 59 RMG
factories shut their manufacturing
units in line with the article 13 (1) of
the Labour Act on December 20.
Later on December 25, RMG
factory owners reopened their production
units in response to the
workers’ demands.
In the aftermath of the workers’
unrest, police arrested some of the
trade union leaders, and a journalist,
who are still in jail, workers’
leaders claimed.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers
and Exporters Association
president Md Siddiqur Rahman,
InduatriALL Bangladesh Council
Chairman Amirul Islam Amin, General
Secretary Kutub Uddin Ahmed
and National Sramik League president
Sukkur Mahmud were present
at the meeting. •