State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque yesterday told parliament that according to investment board data a total of 12,183 foreigners were working in the industrial and commercial sectors of Bangladesh. In answer to the question of Awami League Lawmaker Abdul Latif the minister said this during the question–answer session. According to minister’s information the foreign workers are Indian, Chinese, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Filipino, Turkish, South Korean, Japanese, Australian, Tha...

US Ambassador to Bangladesh Dan W Mozena yesterday lashed out at the garment owners who are “unwilling to meet international safety and labour rights standards”. “Those owners ... should close and leave the sector. I think they have no right to make their profits by exploiting their workers, thus putting the entire sector at risk as inevitable future Tazreen Fashions and Rana Plaza disasters destroy the Bangladesh Brand,” Mozena said at the closing session of a two-day training programme on the labour law. Mozena said the ow...

If innovations in agricultural communications mean something for recent developments in Bangladesh's farm sector, one particular programme for farm broadcasting has its good part here. That is Hridoye Mati O Manush. Over the last one decade, Channel i, a first generation satellite TV station, ran this weekly show transmitting valuable farm knowledge and best practices among hundreds of thousands of viewers that include the most vital target audience -- the farmers of rural Bangladesh. The popular show steps into 11th yea...

A four-day exhibition of plastic goods to attract international buyers kicks off today in Dhaka while the sector’s export marked a 6.3% decline in the first seven-month figure of the current fiscal year. Finance Minister AMA Muhith is expected to inaugurate the 9th International Plastic Fair 2014 at BangabandhuInternational Conference Centre. Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA)and Chao International Co Ltd is jointly organising the fair. The plastic goo...

US Ambassador in Dhaka Dan W Mozena on Thursday said the defiant owners of the readymade garment (RMG) who are ‘unwilling’ to meet the international safety and labour rights standards should ‘close and leave’ their businesses to keep the vibrant export-earning sector free from further risk. “I think they’ve no right to make their profits by exploiting their workers, thus putting the entire sector at risk as inevitable future Tazreen Fashions and Rana Plaza disasters destroy the Bangladesh Brand,” he said. The US diplomat made the rema...

The government has extended its procurement target of Aman rice by 50% this year to meet shortages in food reserves. It also plans to start open market sale (OMS) for rice and wheat flour from March 2 until boro harvest in June. The country’s food grain reserves currently stand at about 969,000 tonnes, which is 272,000 tonnes less than for the same period last year. On November 27, the government announced it would procure 200,000...