Staff Reporter :
The European Union (EU) on Thursday stressed the need for implementing regulation on labour reforms in the garments sector of Bangladesh.
Karel De Gucht, European Commissioner for Trade, made the call while speaking at an informal OECD Ministerial Meeting on Rana Plaza Aftermath in Paris. He said, Bangladesh’s labour law still needs to address restrictions on trade union formation and membership.
The speech was available on the website of European Commission.
Gucht said, improvements in labour rights must be extended to the Export Processing Zones while the recruitment of labour inspectors needs to be accelerated, inspections need to proceed and their results published.
“All the enabling conditions must be in place, not only in law but in practice, for workers to organise into trade unions and make their voice heard at the factory level,” he said, adding, “Inspections must be followed by structural improvements to improve safety. Bangladeshi industry has a key role to play here.”
He also called upon the retailers and importers to play their role in improving garment sectors.
During the meeting, the trade commissioner appreciated the initiative taken after the tragic incident of Rana Plaza last year that claimed more than 1,000 lives.
He said that on the eighth of July in 2013, Bangladesh, the European Union, and the International Labour Organisation made an agreement to improve labour rights and factory conditions in the garment industry. The United States joined later.
“Bangladesh has amended its labour law improving labour rights. It has also upgraded its system for inspecting factory safety and begun the recruitment process of hundreds of new inspectors,” the EU official said.
Inspections have started and their results are being made public. Many new unions have registered and workers are starting to organise, he added.
“In particular, they are making good progress on inspections of factories according to common standards and an operating manual for assessing building, fire and electrical safety,” he observed.
Meanwhile, during the opening plenary of the OECD’s Global Forum on Responsible Business Conduct, UNI Global Union’s General Secretary Philip Jennings urged OECD governments to pressurize Rana Plaza brands into paying the Compensation Trust Fund. In a separate session, he asked French Minister for the Economy, Montebourg and Netherlands Minister for Foreign Trade, Ploumen to push the brands to pay up.
Jennings called OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria, “The $23 Million Dollar Man”, highlighting the OECD countries’ responsibility and power to force the brands to make up the $23 million shortfall in the compensation fund for Rana Plaza victims and their families. This afternoon seven European heavyweight governments (The Netherlands, France, Denmark, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy and Spain) did just that: urging brands who sourced from Rana Plaza to “donate generously” to the Fund.
Jennings commented, “Thank you to the Magnificent Seven. These seven governments have put down another line in the sand for any brand with connections to Rana Plaza. OECD countries account for more than 85 per cent of global wealth. They have the power and the responsibility to force international brands to do the right thing in Bangladesh and elsewhere. To justly compensate, the victims and the families of the Rana Plaza tragedy, we need donations from the brands of $40 million and we are $23 million short. We applaud Secretary-General Gurria for his leadership and ask him to prove that he is indeed the $23 Million Dollar Man and help us make the brands live up to their responsibilities.
“To the brands who have failed to pay or join the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Accord, I say this: Rana Plaza is not a “story” that is going away, this is not yesterday’s news. Today at the OECD Global Forum the events of 24 April 2013 and the tragic wholly preventable loss of 1,138 lives, mainly young women and mothers, remain fresh in the minds of government ministers. That’s why these seven governments have laid down the gauntlet and why the brands have no choice but to pick it up and pay up.”
The European Union (EU) on Thursday stressed the need for implementing regulation on labour reforms in the garments sector of Bangladesh.
Karel De Gucht, European Commissioner for Trade, made the call while speaking at an informal OECD Ministerial Meeting on Rana Plaza Aftermath in Paris. He said, Bangladesh’s labour law still needs to address restrictions on trade union formation and membership.
The speech was available on the website of European Commission.
Gucht said, improvements in labour rights must be extended to the Export Processing Zones while the recruitment of labour inspectors needs to be accelerated, inspections need to proceed and their results published.
“All the enabling conditions must be in place, not only in law but in practice, for workers to organise into trade unions and make their voice heard at the factory level,” he said, adding, “Inspections must be followed by structural improvements to improve safety. Bangladeshi industry has a key role to play here.”
He also called upon the retailers and importers to play their role in improving garment sectors.
During the meeting, the trade commissioner appreciated the initiative taken after the tragic incident of Rana Plaza last year that claimed more than 1,000 lives.
He said that on the eighth of July in 2013, Bangladesh, the European Union, and the International Labour Organisation made an agreement to improve labour rights and factory conditions in the garment industry. The United States joined later.
“Bangladesh has amended its labour law improving labour rights. It has also upgraded its system for inspecting factory safety and begun the recruitment process of hundreds of new inspectors,” the EU official said.
Inspections have started and their results are being made public. Many new unions have registered and workers are starting to organise, he added.
“In particular, they are making good progress on inspections of factories according to common standards and an operating manual for assessing building, fire and electrical safety,” he observed.
Meanwhile, during the opening plenary of the OECD’s Global Forum on Responsible Business Conduct, UNI Global Union’s General Secretary Philip Jennings urged OECD governments to pressurize Rana Plaza brands into paying the Compensation Trust Fund. In a separate session, he asked French Minister for the Economy, Montebourg and Netherlands Minister for Foreign Trade, Ploumen to push the brands to pay up.
Jennings called OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria, “The $23 Million Dollar Man”, highlighting the OECD countries’ responsibility and power to force the brands to make up the $23 million shortfall in the compensation fund for Rana Plaza victims and their families. This afternoon seven European heavyweight governments (The Netherlands, France, Denmark, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy and Spain) did just that: urging brands who sourced from Rana Plaza to “donate generously” to the Fund.
Jennings commented, “Thank you to the Magnificent Seven. These seven governments have put down another line in the sand for any brand with connections to Rana Plaza. OECD countries account for more than 85 per cent of global wealth. They have the power and the responsibility to force international brands to do the right thing in Bangladesh and elsewhere. To justly compensate, the victims and the families of the Rana Plaza tragedy, we need donations from the brands of $40 million and we are $23 million short. We applaud Secretary-General Gurria for his leadership and ask him to prove that he is indeed the $23 Million Dollar Man and help us make the brands live up to their responsibilities.
“To the brands who have failed to pay or join the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Accord, I say this: Rana Plaza is not a “story” that is going away, this is not yesterday’s news. Today at the OECD Global Forum the events of 24 April 2013 and the tragic wholly preventable loss of 1,138 lives, mainly young women and mothers, remain fresh in the minds of government ministers. That’s why these seven governments have laid down the gauntlet and why the brands have no choice but to pick it up and pay up.”
