Bangladesh To Work With ILO On Labour Reforms After Factory Deaths
Please note that we are not authorised to provide any investment advice. The content on this page is for information purposes only.
The Bangladeshi government will collaborate with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on a plan to improve workers’ rights and safety, reported Bloomberg News on Sunday, after the death toll from a factory building collapse last month rose to 620 people this week.
The Bangladeshi government will collaborate with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on a plan to improve workers’ rights and safety, reported Bloomberg News on Sunday, after the death toll from a factory building collapse last month rose to 620 people this week.
According to Bangladesh’s Commerce Secretary Mahbub Ahmed, proposals brought forward by the ILO, including better worker protection and the right to collective bargaining, would be submitted to parliament during its next session in June, while the ILO and its partners will also “assess by the end of 2013 the structural building safety and fire safety of all active export-oriented ready-made garment factories in Bangladesh, and initiate remedial actions, including relocation of unsafe factories.”
Additionally, Bangladesh’s government, employers and workers have asked the ILO to start a training program for those injured in the building collapse, with the government also set to recruit 200 additional building inspectors within the next six months.
[quote]“The initiative is a turning point in Bangladesh’s history,” said Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque in a May 4 press briefing, as cited by Bloomberg. “There is a convergence of interests for bringing about a change in the industry.”[/quote]On April 24, Bangladesh suffered one of its worst industrial disaster in history, when a building housing garment factories collapsed due to substandard construction work done with illegal permits. At least one big brand, Disney, has said that its branded merchandise will no longer be made in Bangladesh, while other Western companies have threatened to pull out their investments unless improvements to its labour sector was made.
According to Bloomberg, The European Union is now considering trade sanctions against the country, while the U.S. government warned earlier this year that it might revoke the nation’s preferred trade status over treatment of workers.
[quote]“The lack of progress by the government of Bangladesh in addressing worker rights issues in the country warrants consideration of possible withdrawal, suspension or limitation of Bangladesh’s trade benefits,” wrote a January 8 notice by the U.S. Trade Representative’s office.[/quote]Related: EU Mulls Trade Action After Bangladesh Factory Collapse
Related: Infographic: Injuries & Fatalities At The Work Place
Related: Samsung To Review All Chinese Suppliers After Child Labour Accusations
Bangladesh’s $20 billion garment industry supplies retailers around the world and accounts for about 80 percent of the impoverished country’s exports. The minimum wage for a garment worker is $38 a month, after being nearly doubled this year following violent protests by workers.
EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht called for “immediate” action by the Bangladesh government to improve health and safety conditions in the garment industry.
“We are going to make it very clear to the Bangladeshi government that they have to take immediate action with a precise timeline,” said de Gucht, as cited by Sky News.
[quote]The EU might impose trade sanctions, “Not because we want to hurt Bangladesh, but because what is happening is simply not acceptable,” he added. “From a humane point of view, we cannot afford that and we have to do something about it.”[/quote]
