Post Rana Plaza disaster, Bangladesh’s RMG sector made ‘tangible progress’: EC

The joint initiative of the Bangladesh Government in the aftermath of Rana Plaza disaster, along with ILO, the EU and the US, known as the “Compact for Continuous Improvements in Labour Rights and Factory Safety in the Ready-Made Garment and Knitwear Industry in Bangladesh” seems to have made substantial progress in achieving the desired results, which has recently earned praises from the European Commission, who termed the progress made as ‘tangible’.

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In a joint statement recently issued by Commissioners Cecilia Malmström, Marianne Thyssen and Neven Mimica to mark the 3rd anniversary of the Rana Plaza mishap, the EU observed, “A number of labour rights are better protected in Bangladesh today than they were two years ago. The building and workplace safety have also improved,” which also appreciated the Bangladesh Government for showing “a clear commitment”, but underlined that more work still remained in matters of labour inspection.

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It may be mentioned here that European Commission has been working closely with the other Compact partners to fulfil the commitments, including concrete commitments in respect of labour rights, in particular freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, as well as structural integrity of factory buildings, occupational safety and health, and promotion of responsible business conduct, as outlined by the initiative.

In the statement, the Commissioners underlined that the Compact opened a dialogue and supported exchanges with stakeholders, including trade unions, employers, buyers and NGOs in the EU, as well as in Bangladesh but at the same time maintained that essential reforms – such as effective respect of trade union rights and promotion of a genuine social dialogue – are still needed to ensure a better future for Bangladeshi garment industry workers.

“The EU sees still an urgent need to swiftly investigate and prosecute all acts of anti-union discrimination, including in export zones,” read the statement, adding, “Trade union registration must be transparent and carried out expeditiously in accordance with objective criteria and unfair labour practices have to be effectively prevented.”