Five years down the road of Bangladesh’s worst factory fire that killed over 111 people, the country’s apparel manufacturers say they have brought about ‘tangible transformation’ to the industry’s ‘worker safety arrangements’.
And as the owners of Bangladesh’s biggest export industry boast of remarkable stride in ensuring workplace safety to the workers, pro-labour forces say it is still insufficient and that a lot needs to be done for the 4-million workforce.
Factory remediation measures, enforced by platforms of global retailers like Accord and Alliance, have come into play greatly, following the major workplace disasters like Tazreen fire and Rana Plaza collapse.
“You can say it is a big transformation – a big tangible transformation – if you see what we have accomplished,” Faruque Hassan, Senior Vice President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), told Apparel Resources on the fifth anniversary of the Tazreen fire.
“Currently, we have a zero-tolerant policy on the standing of workplace safety – on the grounds of infrastructural safety. We have moved to standardise our apparel manufacturing industry,” he said.
BGMEA is confident that the remediation work in the standardisation of the industry has now earned the confidence of retailers and buyers around the world.
Accord and Alliance have brought about major remediation in over 940 factories across Bangladesh, training over 1.4 million workers on basic fire safety issues and more. More than 160 factories have been suspended over compliance failure.
Though a thorough valuation of remediation cost is still unavailable at this moment, estimates are that each factory spent between US $ 200,000 and US $ 1.2 million for the tasks, under the watch of Bangladesh Government and International Labour Organisation (ILO).
However, pro-labour forces reflect a dim outlook on the progress attained in the US $ 28 billion apparel industry that holds nearly 4,500 registered apparel manufacturing companies.
“For an industry this big, more could have been achieved,” said Anu Muhammad, Professor of Economics at Jahangirnagar University and a lead activist on the issue of labour rights.
While talking to Apparel Resources, the renowned economist lauded the remediation progress, but said “much more is needed to be done” outside the “limited scope” of Accord and Alliance.
“The infrastructural issues have not been addressed enough by the Government because such disasters are still happening,” he said while referring to a worker’s death at Plummy Fashions Limited on November 3, 2017.
He further stressed on an overall comprehensive plan from and on behalf of the Bangladesh Government in partnership with stakeholders that would oversee the infrastructural safety measures along with the labour issues in the apparel industry.
“A trade union is a key to averting workplace disasters,” says Faiezul Hakim, President of Trade Union Federation, a Dhaka-based political union, adding, “Unless you give the workers the power to bargain for their safety, disasters like Tazreen, Rana Plaza won’t stop.”
He told Apparel Resources that workplace safety should be viewed on a broad spectrum and include the rights to form trade unions and ensure job security.
“The legal framework of Bangladesh prevents workers from joining a true trade union. They are forced to join a union that actually serves the Government and the ruling quarter,” he alleged.
His vote of confidence on the effectiveness of a trade union comes at a time when Bangladesh Government is moving to keep a closer watch over the Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) that are working with trade unions.
Despite the differences, all the quarters are favourably positioned on the issue of workplace safety.
