DHAKA: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday called upon the foreign buyers of Bangladesh readymade garments (RMG) for increasing the price of the products.

She said if the price of RMG products increases, it will help increase the wages of workers as well as improve their lifestyle.

The premier made the call as chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of three-day Dhaka Apparel Summit at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in city.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) organised the event.

Terming RMG sector as a national pride, the PM said that 80 percent of country’s export income comes from this industry.

Moreover, 80 percent of workers of this sector are women that have helped reduce country’s poverty through their economic empowerment.

She further said that the spread of RMG sector has created linkage industries. Twenty percent of country’s total population are directly and indirectly involved with this sector.

Assuring the government’s incentives to RMG sector, the premier said that economic and policy supports to garment industries will continue.

Upholding her government’s initiatives for the welfare of workers, the PM said that salaries of the workers have increased 220 percent in five years that is unique in the world.

The government has introduced monthly allowance for new mothers and industrial police for overall security to the industry, she added.

She further said that BGMEA has got the power issuing the ‘certificate of origin’ and BGMEA Fashion and Technology University has been established for the betterment of the sector.

The PM, in her speech, also mentioned her government’s initiatives for the welfare of the workers.

BDST: 1334 HRS, DEC 07, 2014