Staff Reporter :The European Union (EU) and the United States (US) have called on the Government of Bangladesh to ensure that economic growth and sustainable development go hand-in-hand with workers’ safety and their trade union rights.In a joint statement issued Friday, on the Second anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh, the European Commission and US Government urged the Bangladesh Government to continue reforming its labour laws, in close consultations with the ILO, complete the safety inspections of all RMG factories and continue to register unions in a timely and transparent way.The tragic collapse of the Rana Plaza building in the outskirts of Bangladesh capital Dhaka on 24 April 2013 claimed over 1,100 lives and injured many more.They have also urged the government to issue — without further delay– the implementing rules for Bangladesh Labour Act, consistent with international labour standards. They wanted the Government to enact legislation on economic processing zones that ensures workers rights inside the zones commensurate with those outside the zones.’Also in pressing cases, the government should respond swiftly to cases of unfair labour practices, violence, and harassment against trade unions and workers’ representatives, the statement said. They noted that advances in health, safety, and labour rights will remain fragile and impermanent if workers are unable to exercise those rights and organise to represent their interests.The statement was jointly issued by High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini, US Secretary of State John Kerry, EU Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström, U.S. Trade Representative Michael B.G. Froman, EU Commissioner in charge of International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, US Agency for International Development Acting Administrator Alfonso E. Lenhardt, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, Marianne Thyssen, and US Secretary of Labour Thomas E. Perez.
