Dhaka demands fair prices for RMG products
Achievements made, but lot more to do, says visiting Danish minister
DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT
Bangladesh has laid emphasis on getting logical prices for its readymade garment (RMG) products from international buyers to ensure continued improvement of the sector in terms of safety, security and workers rights.
We are making improvements..... I make a request so that we get logical price for our RMG products, State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque told a joint briefing at a local hotel yesterday with visiting Danish Employment Minister Jrn Neergaard Larsen present. The briefing was held after the launching of Strategic Sector Cooperation Project, which aims at improving the health and safety of workers in Bangladesh through the strengthening of labour authorities.
Earlier in the day, an agreement was signed between Bangladesh and Denmark to launch the project, a three-year partnership, which will especially focus on occupational safety and health (OSH) in RMG sector. Acting Labour Secretary Miah Abdullah Mamun and Danish Permanent Employment Secretary Peter Steensgaard Mrch signed the deal on behalf of the respective governments.
State Minister Mujibul Haque told the briefing that since the Rana Plaza tragedy, the government has taken a lot of initiatives to improve the situation with regards to workers safety, inspections, and workers rights including trade unions.
And, Bangladesh will continue making improvements in its RMG sector, he said. Despite all the government efforts, the state minister said, business in the RMG sector is not going up, rather it has decreased by 1.8 per cent in the last year.
He also noted that against the backdrop of Bangladeshs efforts to make things better, international buyers are interested to pay ethical price for the products.
We will keep on improving. As a minister, I can say with authority that there will be no second Rana Plaza, Haque said, observing that logical price from the international buyers will make things better.
Replying to a volley of questions regarding the ethical price of Bangladeshi RMG products, Danish Employment Minister Larsen would not say that given the improvements made by Bangladesh buyers should pay more for its products.
However, he laid emphasis on better working condition, saying ethical pricing of products and better working conditions cannot be compared.
Better working conditions
will ensure better price, better productivity and bigger market, he added.
On Bangladeshs RMG sector, the Danish minister said, (I am) Pleased to see all the achievements during the recent years in Bangladesh. Still a lot to be done, but I am sure that Bangladesh will continue the positive development.
We are ready to help, he added.
About the agreement, Larsen said that for three years labour inspectors of Bangladesh and Denmark will be working together to improve the health and safety of the workers in the RMG sector.
He said that the three main objectives of the project are capacity building of, in particular, the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments, improving effectiveness of inspections and raising awareness on occupational safety and health.
In our view, a strong inspection of factories and establishment is not only important for the implementation and enforcement of the Labour Act and Occupational Safety and Health provisions. It is also beneficial to the private sector in Bangladesh, said the Danish minister.
