Bangladesh has fulfilled all the EU conditions except appointment of 200 inspectors and formulating rules of Labour Act 2013
Bangladesh will place its scorecard before the European Commission on the development of readymade garment sector that it achieved during the last one year.
Bangladesh formed partnership with the EC, US and the International Labour Organistaion to improve labour rights and factory safety in the country after the collapse of Rana Plaza April last year.
Bangladesh will update the progress so far made in RMG sector at the review meeting to be held at Brussels on October 20, Labour Secretary Mikail Shipar told the Dhaka Tribune.
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed will lead the delegation comprising of Commerce Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon, Labour Secretary Mikail Shipar, Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque, BGMEA President Atiqul Islam and a labour leader. The team will leave Dhaka on October 17.
“We will attend the meeting to hold out the progress made over the last one year to ensure workers’ rights and safety for the RMG workers and to make the sector sustainable,” Shipar said.
Bangladesh has fulfilled all the EU conditions except appointment of 200 inspectors and formulating rules of Labour Act 2013, said Shipar.
Appointment of the inspectors is likely to be completed by October 20 as all necessary steps have already been taken while making rules on labor act is also under progress, he added.
After the deadliest incident of Rana Plaza building collapse, the European Union Sustainability Compact was taken in July last year with an aim at improving labour rights, working conditions and factory safety in RMG industry in Bangladesh.
Labour rights, health and safety at work, responsible business conduct, labour laws, export process zones, appointment of labour inspectors, better work programme, structural integrity of building and occupation safety will be discussed in the review meeting.
In the compact, all parties agreed to a number of time-bound actions, including reforming the Bangladesh Labour Law, improving building and fire safety by June 2014 and recruiting 200 additional inspectors by the end of 2013.
The government amended labour act, launched publicly accessible data base of RMG workers, appointed 88 inspectors through the Public Service Commission (PSC) and completed most of the factory inspection.
