Labour rights, factory safety in RMG industry
EU finds fantastic progress
UNB
European Union (EU) Ambassador to Bangladesh Pierre Mayaudon yesterday said the next review meeting on Sustainability Compact will focus on what needs to be done in the days to come as fantastic work has been done since its adoption, reports UNB.
This is a very important meeting. Next week well discuss the progress that is made and what remains to be done. A quite significant progress has been made, he said responding to a question from the news agency while highlighting the three dimensions of the Sustainability Compact.
The Sustainability Compact brought together the EU, the government of Bangladesh, the United States, Canada and the ILO accompanied by employers, trade unions and other key stakeholders to promote continuous improvements in labour rights and factory safety in the RMG and knitwear industry in Bangladesh.
The third review meeting of the Sustainability Compact, launched on July 8, 2013, is scheduled to be held on May 18 in Dhaka.
Focusing on labour rights, the EU Ambassador said a significant attention was devoted to labour rights since the beginning and mentioned that they consider a genuine, sincere and deliverable social dialogue is the key to safety and security of workers at workplaces.
It has now become difficult to imagine that another tragedy of the magnitude of Rana Plaza (collapse) would happen. This is a positive side. It has to be continued. This is an asset, Mayaudon said highlighting the progress made in the areas of building and fire safety in the RMG industry.
The Ambassador mentioned that there has been absence of genuine, sincere and deliverable social dialogue before the Rana Plaza tragedy, and said such social dialogue through sitting together is effective to find a solution if any problem arises among workers and owners.
He gave credit to all partners of the Sustainability Compact - the government of Bangladesh, the EU, the USA, ILO and Canada for the progress made so far, and hoped that the EU delegation will leave Dhaka after the review meeting with a sense of satisfaction.
Some members of the European Parliament visited Bangladesh on March 27-29 and said the garment sector, which was the focus of their visit, has played an important role in Bangladeshs growth.
They noted that there have been improvements in both buildings and work place safety since the Rana plaza tragedy four years ago.
The EU is a strong partner of Bangladesh, as reflected in robust trade relations underpinned by the Everything But Arms (EBA) (duty-free) market access regime.
Empowerment of millions of women in the RMG sector has been one of the successes that came through EUs engagement with Bangladesh, said the EU Ambassador.
The European Parliament delegation earlier mentioned that the International Labour Organization (ILO) called on Bangladesh to address four issues: full alignment of respectively, the EPZ draft law, Bangladesh Labour Act, with the UN core Labour Convention modalities for establishing trade unions and the right of trade unions to operate freely.
Its important that these issues are addressed before May 18 review of the Sustainability Compact and the June annual International Labour Conference of the ILO, according to an official document seen by UNB.
Ambassador Mayaudon, while talking to a select group of journalists at his office yesterday, said the EU-Bangladesh relations has steadily progressed and there will be further progress if both sides combine and continue their efforts.
He acknowledged fantastic economic development in Bangladesh and recognised the EU contribution to Bangladesh economy through duty-free market access that Bangladesh enjoys under EBA.
