Staff Reporter :
A number of reputed international brands are unlikely to take part in the upcoming Dhaka Apparel Summit-2017, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Their refusal, it said, to participate in the summit followed “pressure from rights groups and uncomfortable media exposés in the aftermath of the Ashulia wage strikes in the outskirts of Dhaka.” The summit is scheduled to be held at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel on 25 February hosted by Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association (BGMEA).
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the day-long event.
The New York based rights group quoted global union federation ‘IndustriALL’ as confirming that brands such as H&M, Inditex, C&A, and Tchibo have pulled out from the summit “citing the current climate of repression against unions as incompatible with activities to promote the industry.”
“This signals global brands’ strong displeasure at how the government, BGMEA, and some of its members have dealt with recent Ashulia strikes,” the HRW observed in an article “Big Clothing Brands Hint at Battle With Bangladesh” published on 21 February.
It pointed out that two key speakers who were supposed to address the summit are no longer listed in the event program: the global head of production of clothing giant H&M, and a representative of the C&A Foundation, a foundation funded by the Dutch mega brand C&A.
The HRW article mentioned that the police harassed and arrested some union leaders and workers on apparently fabricated criminal cases after they went on strike protesting low wages.
The BGMEA was also quoted to have said, it is “working together to reach amicable settlements, wherever possible” with regard to the criminal cases filed by factories.
But, the HRW insisted, such non-committal platitudes are not enough. “If it’s to get back the confidence of global garment brands it should urge factories affiliated to BGMEA to withdraw or support the quashing of all of the abusive criminal proceedings initiated by them and urge authorities to drop such cases.”
The rights body urged the BGMEA to ask the factories to rehire the workers that were unfairly sacked or suspended over the Ashulia strikes.
“It should also address the need for a wage review, which was the principal cause of the strikes,” the HRW said addressing the apex trade body of the apparel sector.
It mentioned that despite wage hikes in the country’s garment sector, workers in Bangladesh are among the lowest paid in the industry.
