BKMEA Rewards Workers-friendly factories:
FE Report

The country's knitwear association Saturday rewarded top 10 workers-friendly factories in recognition of their compliances relating to labour laws and international standards.
The Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) organised a programme to hand over crests and certificates at a city auditorium on the day.
Labour and Employment Minister Mosharraf Hossain was present as the chief guest on the occasion and handed over the crests.
The factories which were awarded were Dird Composite Textiles Limited, Four H Fashions Limited, Fakhruddin Textiles Mills Limited, Fakir Apparels Limited, Grameen Knitwear Limited and K.C. Apparels Limited. Metro Knitting and Dying Mills Limited, Midland Knitwear Limited, Square Fashions Limited and S M Knitwear Limited.
BKMEA president Md Fazlul Hoque told the FE: "We are giving awards to the best factories in the country to build a better relations between factory owners and workers."
The BKMEA said a total of 32 factories applied for the awards this year.
Earlier, BKMEA distributed questionnaire relating to labour laws and international standards.
Mr Fazlul Hoque said they checked whether the applicant factories used to pay remunerations according to law and in time and whether they gave all legal facilities including justified overtime bills and maternity leaves.
'Good working place and convenience of workers had also been investigated in the factories while random surveys, were conducted among the workers, to verify whether they were satisfied with their employers,' he said further.
He, however, admitted that trade unions did not exist in most of the factories but workers participatory committees were there, as a form of association of workers, and a way of their interaction with the factory management.
While handing over the crests and certificates the Labour Minister told the owners of workers-friendly factories that good relation between workers and owners helped in increased productivity.
The BKMEA president said it had decided to launch a monthly magazine for the workers.