In response to a notice from the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) has almost finalised the country’s position paper, giving details of the steps taken by the government with respect to labour rights and other compliance issues. The USTR has requested Bangladesh to inform the US about the measures taken in line with Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) action plan by November 15. The ministry will submit the progress report to the US administration by November 14 to help Bangladesh regain trade privileges.
“We’ve already discussed various aspects of the draft paper relating to the progress of the action plan. We’re likely to send the final report by November 14,” said commerce secretary Mahbub Ahmed, after a meeting with the stakeholders, at his office on Sunday.
The meeting reviewed the progress of measures and steps taken with respect to specific aspects of the action plan.
Three weeks after cancellation of GSP for Bangladesh products, the US administration released an “action plan,” which calls for significant increase in the number of labourers, fire and building inspectors and to improve their training to have its trade privileges with the United States restored. The USTR will review the action plan in December. The US administration scrapped the trade privilege on June 27, citing serious shortcomings in labour rights and working conditions following the incidents of the Tazreen Fashions fire and Rana Plaza building collapse.
“We are hopeful that the country will regain the GSP facility during the upcoming review,” said the commerce secretary. He added that the government has made significant progress in its efforts to revive the GSP facility.
Besides the government officials, the meeting held at the MOC conference room was attended by representatives from the BGMEA, BKMEA, Bangladesh Frozen Food Exporters’ Association (BFFEA) and Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authorities (BEPZA). The meeting discussed about the progress and action taken by the government and the private sector to improve labour standards, workplace environment and occupational safety in factories, trade union activities in EPZs and the Aminul murder case.
The meeting observed that the country has made visible progress in some areas, while the activities taken by various stakeholders are at different stages of implementation. The government expects that after completion of all these activities, occupational safety and workers’ rights situation in Bangladesh will improve substantially. The initiatives taken for improving workers’ rights situation include amendment to Bangladesh Labour Act (2006), initiatives to recruit additional inspectors, strengthening the capacity of the Department of Chief Inspector Factories and Establishments (DCIFE), fire services and civil defence, developing a plan for assessment of buildings, fire and electrical safety of all active RMG factories, effective implementation of laws with regard to freedom of association and collective bargaining, registration of labour unions in RMG factories, permission to resume activities of two NGOs (SAFE and BCWS), investigation into the Aminul murder case by the CID, chargesheet against the principal suspect and withdrawal of cases against Babul Akhter and Kalpana Akhter.
Of the major progresses, some 199 labour unions have been registered in the RMG sector and the labour and employment ministry is preparing to publish an advertisement in newspapers to appoint 200 factory inspectors within the next 10 days and the process is likely to be over by December this year. At present, the total number of factory inspectors across the country is 84.
The government, the report said, has been engaged with ILO, EU, USA and other development partners for taking concrete action to improve the country’s RMG sector after the accidents of Tazreen Fire and Rana Plaza Collapse. Bangladesh, along with EU, USA and ILO, has adopted “Compact for Continuous Improvements in Labour Rights and Factory Safety,” in the RMG sector. The international buyers of Bangladeshi RMG products have also come up with initiatives for engaging themselves in the process through Fire Safety Alliance and Accord on fire and building safety in Bangladesh.
All stakeholders are working hard to comply with the action plan, ministry sources said. The commerce ministry has been coordinating with other ministries, agencies, departments and private sector stakeholders, such as BGMEA and BKMEA, to regain the GSP facilities.
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organisations (AFL-CIO), the largest federation of unions in the United States, in February last had alleged serious shortcomings on the part of the Bangladesh government in meeting the GSP eligibility criteria related to workers’ rights. It had also highlighted deficiencies in Bangladesh relating to labour rights to associations, right to recognise and bargain collectively and the right to acceptable conditions of work.
After several years of warning to act on labour standards that fell on deaf ears, the US has finally initiated action to suspend Bangladeshi products’ duty-free access to that country.
-With The Independent input
