* Outsourcing: Increased reliance on information service providers and the low cost of "off the peg" solutions makes provision of e-financial services relatively cheap.

D. whereas the RMG industry in Bangladesh employs some 4 million people and indirectly supports the livelihoods of as many as 40 million people – about a quarter of Bangladesh’s population; whereas the RMG industry has importantly contributed to poverty reduction; whereas Bangladesh has made great strides in reducing the gender gap in society, having successfully achieved the third UN Millennium Development Goal on gender equality, and whereas the RMG sector has provided an important contribution since 3.2 million out of the 4 million workers employed in the sector are women; whereas the employment of women has, in many cases, contrib ...[+++]uted to their empowerment;

D. whereas the RMG industry in Bangladesh employs some 4 million people and indirectly supports the livelihoods of as many as 40 million people – about a quarter of Bangladesh’s population; whereas the RMG industry has importantly contributed to poverty reduction; whereas Bangladesh has made great strides in reducing the gender gap in society, having successfully achieved the third UN Millennium Development Goal on gender equality, and whereas the RMG sector has provided an important contribution since 3,2 million out of the 4 million workers employed in the sector are women; whereas the employment of women has, in many cases, contri ...[+++]buted to their empowerment;

12. Welcomes the increase of the minimum wage in the RMG sector by 77 % from EUR 35 to EUR 62 per month and encourages more universal implementation; notes, however, that in practice the minimum wage in the garment industry still falls short of covering the basic needs of the workers and that it should amount to at least EUR 104 in order to do so, and calls on the Government of Bangladesh to establish a living minimum wage in full consultation with trade unions and employees; further urges the government to ensure that garment factories actually pay the wages that are due;

E. whereas the reorganisation of the RMG sector around the integrated value chain model has meant that orders can only be secured by improving productivity and further lowering production costs, this making Bangladesh and other developing countries’ workforces particularly vulnerable; whereas Cambodia and Sri Lanka, where the economy is heavily dependent on the RMG sector, have experienced a decline in wages despite a steep increase in production facilities and employment; whereas in Bangladesh the minimum wage was increased substantially in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza disaster, yet still falls short of what is considered an adequ ...[+++]ate level to cover the basic needs of the workers;

B. whereas at least 112 people died at the Tazreen factory fire, in the Ashulia district, Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 24 November 2012; whereas factory fires, building collapses and other accidents relating to health and safety issues at work are not limited to the RMG sector in Bangladesh alone but remain issues of serious concern in other developing and Least-Developed Countries with a strong export-oriented ready-made garment (RMG) sector, such as Pakistan or Cambodia;