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When a CEO Turns Activist: Why H&M Wants Bangladesh to Increase Workers’ Wages

Although it is not usual for Prime Ministers to make time in their busy schedules to meet activists, Sheik Hasina of Bangladesh made an exception to the rule and met a human rights activist from Sweden on a recent Monday evening. And that is not the only thing that makes this story extraordinary. The activist, still in his 30s and smartly dressed in a suit and blue tie, travelled all the way to Dhaka from his hometown in Stockholm to make the case for increasing workers’ wages in the Bangladeshi textile industry. His argument: how the country of Bangladesh would benefit from a wage increase rather than the Bangladeshi worker. Since foreign trade plays a major role in the development of countries’ economic growth, the activist argued that it is in the interest of the Bangladeshi textile industry, as well as fashion behemoths like H&M with extensive production in the country, that the local industry continues to develop into an advanced and mature textile industry. In order to achieve this goal, people must be treated with Karl-Johan Perssonrespect and employers must properly compensate their workers, the activist told Mrs. Hasina. What makes this story unusual? The activist is Karl-Johan Persson, the CEO of H&M and one of the company’s biggest shareholders. More…

News selected by Covalence | Country: Bangladesh | Company: H&M  | Source: CSRwire

Although it is not usual for Prime Ministers to make time in their busy schedules to meet activists, Sheik Hasina of Bangladesh made an exception to the rule and met a human rights activist from Sweden on a recent Monday evening. And that is not the only thing that makes this story extraordinary.

The activist, still in his 30s and smartly dressed in a suit and blue tie, travelled all the way to Dhaka from his hometown in Stockholm to make the case for increasing workers’ wages in the Bangladeshi textile industry. His argument: how the country of Bangladesh would benefit from a wage increase rather than the Bangladeshi worker.

Since foreign trade plays a major role in the development of countries’ economic growth, the activist argued that it is in the interest of the Bangladeshi textile industry, as well as fashion behemoths like H&M with extensive production in the country, that the local industry continues to develop into an advanced and mature textile industry. In order to

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