The payment of salaries and incentives to the over four million garment workers on time will be the top priority, said SM Mannan (Kochi) right after winning the elections of the BGMEA held at BGMEA complex Uttara on 9th March.
Kochi’s panel won BGMEA’s executive committee and elected directors are expected to nominate Kochi as the BGMEA president and select other vice-presidents on 6th April.
The 35 director positions were won by candidates of the Kochi-led Sammilito Parishad panel in the BGMEA’s biannual election for the 2024–2026 term.
SM Mannan (Kochi) also said firstly the focus should be to resolve the timely salary payment of workers as Eid is coming ahead and many factories, especially small and medium-scale ones, may face challenges for a rise in workers’ wages since December last year.
“Secondly, I will try to address issues, such as claims of harassment made by factory owners and miscommunications with tax authorities concerning bond facilities, customs, and National Board of Revenue (NBR) regulations,” he said.
The customs, bond, and NBR offices can take too long to process paperwork, which can cause business procedures to be delayed. Additionally, factory owners may feel harassed. These issues need to be addressed, he added.
Harassment at the customs, bond, and NBR offices needs to be halted, he said.
BGMEA, soon to be elected president also intends to arrange talks and meetings with businesspeople and key NBR officials to resolve the issues.
