Siddiqur Rahman is a calm and collected man.
As the new president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturer and Exporters Association (BGMEA), who will take office on Tuesday, these are qualities he is expected to need in plenty. The BGMEA has been in the eye of the storm over the last two years — the organization that has been in the middle of all negotiations between the Bangladesh government, global brands and retailers and worker unions. The organization represents the 3,500 garment exporting units, which are required to be members, along with the less powerful Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
After a series of fires at factories, and the collapse of the eight story Rana Plaza building in April 2013, industrywide decisions have been crucial, and so has the role of the president of the BGMEA.
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Atiqul Islam, the outgoing president, and his team have faced a volatile two-year term, with decision-making and collaboration key to the way forward. Their term was extended by six months, given an unstable political situation earlier this year.
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With Bangladesh the second-largest exporter of garments in the world after China — shipping $24.5 billion worth of goods in 2014 — hundreds of global brands and retailers work with factories that are located mainly around the capital city of Dhaka, or the port city of Chittagong. The sector employs more than four million workers.
Although voting to choose the new president of the BGMEA is often raucous and contentious, this time it was decided unanimously, almost a month before. Other team members who will take office on Tuesday include Moinuddin Ahmed as first vice president; Faruque Hassan, senior vice president; Mohammed Nasir, vice president (finance), and vice presidents SM Mannan Kochi, Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu, Ferdous Perves Bivon and Mohammed Ferdous.
Rahman assumes office in the middle of a visit by a United States Trade Representative-led delegation to Dhaka. He is also the owner and managing director of the Sterling group of industries, which started in 1984 and now produces more than 150,000 garments a month. In an exclusive chat with WWD, he spoke about some of his key concerns and the challenges ahead.
WWD: The president of BGMEA is a coveted post at this time, but one fraught with challenges and anxieties. Are you tense, just before you embark on the two-year journey in this position?
Siddiqur Rahman: Not at all. I am ready for the responsibilities and looking forward to working with the industry. I am neither nervous, nor excited. It is something that I look forward to doing. I was vice president of BGMEA from 2009 to 2010 and senior vice president from 2011 to 2012. I have continued to work with the team over the last two years, although I was not in a formal position. It is nothing new to me. At this time I am just gathering the goodwill and the camaraderie from the industry, before I begin.
The inauguration ceremony will be on Tuesday and before that, on Monday evening, I will be meeting with the U.S. delegation led by the USTR team, with Michael Delaney [the assistant USTR for South Asia].
WWD: What do you see as the biggest challenge before BGMEA at this time?
S.R.: I think it is really about working with the small and medium factories, which have low-cost support, and are also less accountable to brands or bigger buyers. We have been working with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and USAID, but the real point is that if we can find money to be available to these smaller units that would be reassuring.
The Accord and the Alliance have completed the inspections of all the factories, and now the process of remediation is on, which is being coordinated with them and with the International Labor Organization (ILO)-coordinated inspections on smaller factories.
Last week the rules for the labor law amendment were passed. Implementing these labor laws is going to be part of the challenge. Another challenge is that the dollar is appreciating, which makes our pricing more of a concern in Bangladesh. You know that from 2000 to 2014, apparel prices have declined by 40 percent worldwide. Pricing is very important and must be considered as a part of the entire situation.
WWD: Global concern is now very centered on the situation for labor at factories and their freedom of expression and safety.
S.R.: It is important for all my colleagues to follow the labor laws and follow rules set by the government. At the same time, it is also important for global brands and retailers to accept Bangladesh laws. Our laws are complicated and thorough, and have a lot of facilities for workers, whom we know and understand and consider as very valuable. They should understand that Bangladesh is a sovereign country — we have our laws, and these should be respected. They have to follow the laws of the country and cannot impose outside laws.
WWD: Do you see the somewhat contentious relationship between the worker and the factory owners changing in the near term?
S.R.: The previous history has not been very good, but the entrepreneurs have been changing with time as well. At the same time, organizations like the ILO and other nongovernmental organizations have been doing midlevel training — for both owners and workers — and slowly you can see the changes happening. I believe that the relationship between the entrepreneur and the workers is improving — and must keep improving day by day.
There was a lot of pressure to pass the rule [for the amendment to the labor law] and now that it has been done, I think it will help.
Factories themselves are improving — we now have two platinum factories, and there is an aspiration among factory owners to be more ecologically sound, and careful about safety.
We are also in the middle of corrective measures that will make the situation much better.
WWD: Do you feel that BGMEA must make any major changes immediately?
S.R.: This is a continuous process. We have certain problems, like the shortage of gas and we have to plan how to increase the energy, but the political situation is stable and the garment industry has the support of the government. My vision is to help the small and medium factories and to improve labor conditions as we go along. We intend to keep on working closely with global buyers — and we hope that they will keep helping to improve business conditions. We will continue to stay focused on improving the business.