BSS, Dhaka :
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) in a latest report noted that Bangladesh’s readymade garment (RMG) sector showed dynamism in improving workplace safety.
Referring to the Rana Plaza tragedy in April 2013, the ILO’s Global Wage Report 2014-15, released last week, said that the accident prompted the local and international communities to take immediate action towards improved workplace safety for more than four million garment workers through the Bangladesh Accord.
It said the recent developments in Bangladesh RMG sector “illustrate dynamism” when the global garment buyers were increasingly prioritising productivity and reliability of supply while showing disfavour to the reputational risks of poor working conditions.
The report said historically, the garment industry relied on low wages and minimum standards in working conditions, but low labour costs are not the only factor that drives sourcing decisions.
The ILO report also noted the recent increase in minimum wages of the country’s garment workers. “Minimum wages also caught public attention in Bangladesh, where they increased in December 2013 for the country’s more than four million garment workers. The rate for the entry-level Grade-7 is now Taka 5,300 per month (US$68), compared to Taka 3,000 under the previous Minimum Wage Order of November 2010,” the report said.
The report, however, pointed out that the wage growth around the world slowed in 2013 to 2.0 percent, compared to 2.2 percent in 2012.
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed in October said the garment workers of the country are getting 300 percent higher wages compared to that they used to get in five years ago. He said this had happened only because of the strong leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who had increased the minimum wages of the garment workers twice in the past five years.
For improving workers’ safety, the government also upgraded the Chief Inspector of Factories and Establishments office to a department, sanctioning 679 new staff positions in the Directorate, including 392 new inspectors.
In association with the ILO, the government is also implementing a three-and-a-half-year initiative aimed at improving working conditions in the RMG sector. The $24.21 million RMG programme is funded by Canada, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Under the RMG Programme, the ILO is providing support in terms of coordinating inspections and technical assistance, including training and logistics to the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) for inspecting factory buildings, both for structural integrity and fire and electrical safety.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) in a latest report noted that Bangladesh’s readymade garment (RMG) sector showed dynamism in improving workplace safety.
Referring to the Rana Plaza tragedy in April 2013, the ILO’s Global Wage Report 2014-15, released last week, said that the accident prompted the local and international communities to take immediate action towards improved workplace safety for more than four million garment workers through the Bangladesh Accord.
It said the recent developments in Bangladesh RMG sector “illustrate dynamism” when the global garment buyers were increasingly prioritising productivity and reliability of supply while showing disfavour to the reputational risks of poor working conditions.
The report said historically, the garment industry relied on low wages and minimum standards in working conditions, but low labour costs are not the only factor that drives sourcing decisions.
The ILO report also noted the recent increase in minimum wages of the country’s garment workers. “Minimum wages also caught public attention in Bangladesh, where they increased in December 2013 for the country’s more than four million garment workers. The rate for the entry-level Grade-7 is now Taka 5,300 per month (US$68), compared to Taka 3,000 under the previous Minimum Wage Order of November 2010,” the report said.
The report, however, pointed out that the wage growth around the world slowed in 2013 to 2.0 percent, compared to 2.2 percent in 2012.
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed in October said the garment workers of the country are getting 300 percent higher wages compared to that they used to get in five years ago. He said this had happened only because of the strong leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who had increased the minimum wages of the garment workers twice in the past five years.
For improving workers’ safety, the government also upgraded the Chief Inspector of Factories and Establishments office to a department, sanctioning 679 new staff positions in the Directorate, including 392 new inspectors.
In association with the ILO, the government is also implementing a three-and-a-half-year initiative aimed at improving working conditions in the RMG sector. The $24.21 million RMG programme is funded by Canada, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Under the RMG Programme, the ILO is providing support in terms of coordinating inspections and technical assistance, including training and logistics to the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) for inspecting factory buildings, both for structural integrity and fire and electrical safety.
