The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has warned global brands that abandoning readymade garment production in Bangladesh could
deprive it of an essential pathway out of poverty.
OECD secretary general Angel Gurría in a statement on Tuesday said that the Rana Plaza tragedy was a ‘dramatic wakeup call’ for the international textile industry, governments and other stakeholders to address the risks before they resulted in such tragedies.
As many as 1,130 people, mostly garment workers, were killed in the collapse of Rana plaza that housed five garment factories at Savar on April 24.
The organisation of the rich countries said, ‘The responsible course [for solution] is to work with stakeholders to guarantee the safety of workers, improve their working conditions and ensure respect for human rights.’
Gurría has written to the president of Bangladesh to offer the OECD’s full support, said the statement.
He also extended support to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, which was signed by many of the international brands, except some North American brands like Walmart.
The release said that the Rana Plaza tragedy would be addressed as a matter of priority in the high-level discussions at the Global Forum on Responsible Business Conduct and the meeting of National Contact Points for the OECD Guidelines to be held in Paris in June 24-27.
Bangladesh has been invited to join a broad spectrum of governments and stakeholders to address the challenges facing the textile industry, coordinate actions of the signatories to the Guidelines and develop collective responses under the OECD Guidelines’ pro-active agenda.
Foreign minister Dipu Moni has been invited to attend the meeting.
-With New Age input
