Many of the factory owners in Bangladesh do not want trade union and they even create obstacles so that trade union rights cannot be established, US ambassador in Dhaka Dan W Mozena said on Wednesday.
Trade union rights have to be established if the country wants to regain the Generalised System of Preferences in the US market, he observed.The US envoy said this at a meeting with the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association leaders at its headquarters in the city.
Quoting Mozena, BGMEA president Atiqul Islam told New Age that the ambassador had asked the BGMEA leaders to establish trade union rights and make the factory owners realise that it was one of the major prerequisites to regain the GSP facility.
Atiqul said that the meeting also discussed workplace safety and other compliance issues.
‘We told the ambassador that we also want trade union but it will have to be in a constructive way,’ the BGMEA president said.
The US government suspended the GSP facilities for Bangladesh in July and slapped an action plan for the revival of the facilities.
The commerce ministry on November 15 will send a letter to the USTR relating to the progress of the action plan.
The USTR will review the GSP action plan in December.
-With New Age input
